O2 Arena owners: Lions announcement future of sport in London May 12, 2025 Last Thursday nearly 2,000 people packed their way into Indigo at the O2 as the squad for the British and Irish Lions tour to Australia was announced. It’s not the first time this kind of event has taken place. At the same site, albeit the larger O2 Arena, earlier this year Formula 1 hosted its [...]
Fifa and football agents brace for ‘hugely significant’ day in war over fees May 11, 2025 The long-running conflict between Fifa and football agents over rules which seek to cap their commission payments will move a step closer to conclusion in the next few days. Football’s world governing body has, perhaps inevitably, received a huge backlash from agents who have sought to challenge their legality – and succeeded in having some [...]
Europa League final: Tottenham and Man United fans face price gouging May 10, 2025 Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester United fans keen to attend the Europa League final later this month face eye-watering flight, match ticket and hotel costs. All remaining seats on direct return flights from London or Manchester to Bilbao, where the final will take place on 21 May, now cost more than £1,000. Regular tickets for the [...]
John Textor’s $2bn Eagle Football Holdings IPO filing ‘imminent’ May 9, 2025 Crystal Palace co-owner John Textor is understood to be close to confirming a filing with the SEC for an IPO in his multi-club group, Eagle Football Holdings. Textor has been gearing up for the IPO in Eagle Football as part of a $1.1bn debt and equity recapitalisation, and announced in November that he had raised [...]
Kogan set for football regulator role after CMS committee endorsement May 9, 2025 David Kogan looks set to be confirmed as chair of the football regulator after a Culture, Media and Sport committee gave him a qualified endorsement for the role. In a report following his grilling by MPs on Wednesday, the committee said it was “content to endorse David Kogan OBE’s appointment as Chair of the Independent [...]
How ‘unsexy’ B2B firms are pushing out consumer brands in sport May 9, 2025 “Unsexy” B2B firms are increasingly replacing consumer-facing brands in some of the country’s most prized sport sponsorship deals, new research has found. Manufacturing/engineering, specialist professional services, construction and software are four of the five fastest-growing industries appearing as front-of-shirt sponsors of England’s top football, rugby and cricket teams. The study by sponsorship intelligence firm Caytoo [...]
Beckham, Neville, PR guru Kelly and Lord Davies take over Salford City May 8, 2025 Former Manchester United stars David Beckham and Gary Neville have joined forces with entrepreneur Declan Kelly and Lord Mervyn Davies to take control of Salford City FC. Beckham and Neville were already shareholders in the League Two football club as part of the Class of ’92 but Ryan Giggs, Paul Scholes, Nicky Butt and Phil [...]
Chelsea Women sign Skoda as first back of shirt sponsor May 8, 2025 Chelsea Women will get their first ever back of shirt partner after signing an extension to its partnership with Skoda. The Czech brand’s UK arm will don the back of the Chelsea shirts, effective immediately, having first partnered with the Kingsmeadow club in 2024. Chelsea won their sixth consecutive Women’s Super League title this month [...]
British and Irish Lions launch takes heritage brand into modern age at O2 May 8, 2025 The British and Irish Lions have followed in Formula 1’s footsteps in hosting launch events in London and it’s dragged a heritage brand into the modern era, writes Will Taylor. This afternoon, the British and Irish Lions did something they’ve never done before, they turned their usual squad selection into a show. For the first [...]
New Zealand Rugby post £8.7m loss months after Ineos saga May 8, 2025 New Zealand Rugby has posted a third consecutive loss despite the firm – which encompasses the All Blacks – achieving record income. A NZ$19.5m (£8.7m) loss for 2024 follows losses of NZ$8.9m (£4m) and NZ$47m (£21m) in 2023 and 2022 respectively. While nowhere near the £34.3m loss at England’s Rugby Football Union recently, the 2024 [...]