Ahead of the Game: British Horseracing Authority accused of ‘selling out sport’ December 11, 2024 Campaign group Clean Up Gambling has switched horses and is backing racing in the sport’s push to be regulated separately from online casinos and slots. Clean Up Gambling, which is funded by multimillionaire Labour donor Derek Webb and run by former party official Matt Zarb-Cousin, has called for racing to be exempt from affordability checks [...]
Exclusive: Forest, Chelsea and Inter players join £1.1m boot firm Sokito’s funding round December 11, 2024 Players from clubs such as Nottingham Forest, Chelsea and Inter Milan have joined a £1.1m funding round for eco-friendly football boot firm Sokito. A total of 60 players, 44 of whom are new investors, have joined the roster of investors from leagues including the Premier League, MLS and the Bundesliga. Chelsea’s Trevoh Chalobah is on [...]
McLaren winning Constructors’ Championship shifts tectonic plates of F1 December 10, 2024 At first glance Formula 1 might look like a billionaire boys’ club, where the cash reserves are endless and the supplies infinite. And to a large extent, that’s true. But the motorsport series has a budget cap now which was introduced to level the playing field, to allow challenger teams to take on the might [...]
Former Sunak spokesperson lands Chelsea comms job December 10, 2024 Chelsea have hired Rishi Sunak’s former spokesperson, Nerissa Chesterfield, to be their new head of communications. Chesterfield worked with Sunak when he was Prime Minister and in his previous role as Chancellor. It was during this time that the UK government sanctioned Roman Abramovich, forcing him to sell Chelsea. Confirmation of her appointment as director [...]
Ferrari to help General Motors and Cadillac Formula 1 entry December 10, 2024 Ferrari will provide engines and a gearbox to the General Motors and Andretti bid that will see Cadillac enter Formula 1 in 2026. The agreement, subject to the American newcomers having their application approved by both Formula 1 and the sports governing body the FIA, represents a huge obstacle passed for the General Motors team, [...]
Credit ratings agency tips more top football clubs to ‘do a Tottenham’ December 10, 2024 More European football clubs will follow Tottenham Hotspur’s lead by investing in stadiums as broadcast revenues plateau, credit ratings agency Morningstar DBRS has forecast. After decades of strong growth, most top leagues have seen a fall or only marginal increases in the value of their TV contracts – the source of the majority of their [...]
Khan’s Global Fighters’ Union wants TV cash to fund ‘Fair Fight’ mission December 10, 2024 Amir Khan’s Global Fighters’ Union has called for broadcasting revenue to fund better working standards for boxers, mixed martial artists and other competitors in combat sports. The Global Fighters’ Union is seeking a similar arrangement to the Professional Footballers’ Association, which receives a £25m annual subsidy from the Premier League’s TV contracts. Khan’s union, which [...]
How Playtomic surfed – and fuelled – tidal wave of interest in padel December 10, 2024 The platform now boasts 1.4m active users in Europe, up 40 per cent on last year.
Major bank sponsor follows Carlos Sainz from Ferrari to Williams December 9, 2024 Spanish banking group Santander has switched its Formula 1 team sponsorship from Ferrari to Williams after driver Carlos Sainz Jr made the same move. Williams said the partnership was a “multi-year” agreement, believed to be in line with Sainz’s contract at the Oxfordshire-based team, which runs until 2026 with the option of an extension. Santander’s [...]
Biggest contract in sport history tempts baseball star to join city rivals December 9, 2024 Major League Baseball star Juan Soto has agreed sport’s biggest ever contract, worth $765m (£599m), to join the New York Mets. The Dominican’s 15-year deal eclipses Shohei Ohtani’s $700m contract with the LA Dodgers, signed last year, although that is worth more per season. Soto, a free agent after leaving the New York Yankees, is [...]