Volleyball World: How CVC Capital Partners woke sport’s sleeping giant April 9, 2025 Volleyball World CEO Finn Taylor on how CVC Capital Partners has commercialised the sport, its successful D2C platform and ambitions to woo British fans. Private equity in sport can provoke suspicion that it will be funds rather than fans who benefit most from the transaction, yet in volleyball there can be little doubt that it [...]
West Ham’s Paqueta yet to give evidence in spot-fixing trial April 9, 2025 This week’s Ahead of the Game focuses on Lucas Paqueta, the English Football League in New York, rugby league controversy, basketball fines and the Grand National. Lucas Paqueta has yet to give evidence in his spot-fixing trial, a revelation which indicates that the case could have some way to run as the West Ham midfielder [...]
Saudi Arabia aiming for £17bn sports sector valuation by 2030 April 8, 2025 The world’s newest major sports player Saudi Arabia aims to have a sports sector worth $21bn (£16.5bn) by 2030. It comes as the Gulf state confirmed the sector was currently worth $8.5bn (£6.7bn) in 2025 having been worth just $1.3bn (£1bn) in 2016. The entirety of the UK’s sports sector contributes around £100bn to the [...]
Man United to play in Malaysia three days after Aston Villa tie April 8, 2025 Manchester United will play a match in Malaysia just three days after the conclusion of the Premier League season. The 20-time English champions face Aston Villa on 25 May on the last day of the season before taking on the ASEAN All Stars at the Bukit Jalil National Stadium on 28 May. Two days later [...]
URC side Cardiff Rugby to enter administration in blow for Wales April 8, 2025 Two-time European Challenge Cup winners Cardiff Rugby are set for an emergency takeover by Welsh rugby’s governing body the WRU. Players and staff at the United Rugby Championship club were informed on Tuesday by chief executive Richard Holland that the club were poised to go into administration. The decision by Helford Capital Limited, whose investment [...]
Revealed: How much fans spend on overseas sports tourism April 8, 2025 Sports fans spend more than £1,200 per person on average when travelling overseas to watch matches and other events, new research has found. The figure includes £235 on tickets, £330 on flights, £375 on accommodation and £290 on dining and shopping, according to a study by Expedia Group. Football is the most common sport to [...]
Exclusive: India players from IPL close to Hundred cricket inclusion April 7, 2025 Senior figures in English cricket are confident that India will release current men’s internationals to play in the Hundred as soon as next year. India’s governing body the BCCI has not permitted their male stars to play in overseas T20 competitions, maintaining their exclusivity to the Indian Premier League. But with four of the eight [...]
Chelsea received payment from Boehly-linked Vivid Seats April 7, 2025 The controversial ticket reselling site linked to Chelsea co-owner Todd Boehly, Vivid Seats, made a payment to the club in the 2023-24 accounting period. A payment of £93,000 from Vivid Seats is listed under “transactions with related parties” in the club’s accounts published on Companies House over the weekend. Last month the Chelsea Supporters’ Trust [...]
Masters 2025: Spectators paying $1,000 shut out at Augusta National April 7, 2025 Spectators and players at this week’s Masters are set for early disruption after thunderstorms caused organisers to delay Monday’s practice round at Augusta National. Rain is forecast to fall all day, but it is hoped that players will be able to get out onto the famous course in the afternoon if, as expected, the worst [...]
Eddie Hearn and Frank Warren interview: ‘Let’s not f*** this up’ April 7, 2025 Listening to Eddie Hearn and Frank Warren bounce off each other it is easy to forget they were sworn enemies until around 18 months ago. That was when Saudi sports impresario Turki Alalshikh essentially instructed Britain’s two biggest boxing promoters to bury the hatchet if they wanted to keep staging lucrative fights at his expense [...]