Premier League’s first NFT partnership explained: Inside the £120m deal with Sorare January 30, 2023 The Premier League has taken its first step into the NFT market by agreeing a deal with fantasy gaming and digital collectible platform Sorare. After more than a year of deliberations, English football’s top division has signed a four-year contract worth around £30m annually which includes an option to take equity in the French company. [...]
Derby County: Why West Ham United should fear a giant killing at the hands of resurgent Rams’ dad’s army January 30, 2023 It’s only six months since Derby County’s nightmare ended but already they are starting to dream big again. The former champions of England and founding members of the Football League spent two years with their existence in the balance – nine months of it languishing in administration, which they only exited after being relegated to [...]
EXCLUSIVE: Six Nations unions and Netflix producers yet to agree level of access for documentary January 29, 2023 Six Nations teams and producers of a new Netflix documentary about the Championship are yet to agree how much access will be granted just days before the opening matches, City A.M. understands. With the tournament kicking off in Cardiff and London on Saturday, questions still remain over how much intrusion will be allowed, with some [...]
Rugby MUST get off its moral high horse if it’s ever going to become global January 29, 2023 It’s about time rugby got off its high horse about its so-called values. For too long the oval balled sport has claimed moral superiority over every challenger because fans are silent for opposition kicks and can drink in stands (really?!). But the truth is, rugby is as rotten as the rest and only a rebuild [...]
Australian Open prize money 2023: How much can tennis players win in Melbourne this weekend and how does it compare to other Grand Slam tournaments? January 27, 2023 The Australian Open may be the first Grand Slam on the calendar, but it comes last of the four tennis majors for prize money. The men’s and women’s singles champions in Melbourne this weekend stand to receive AUD $2.98m, which equates to $2.08m or £1.67m at current exchange rates. That trails the £2m ($2.5m) Wimbledon [...]
Explained: Why replays are back in the 2022-23 FA Cup but face an uncertain future January 27, 2023 FA Cup replays were one of the casualties of the pandemic but they are back in football’s oldest knockout competition in 2022-23. The congested calendars caused by Covid-19 delays to English football’s normal schedule caused the Football Association to shelve replays in the last two seasons. Instead, all ties were decided on the day, going [...]
English football transfer spending tops £1.7bn in 2022 January 26, 2023 Clubs in England spent three times more than any other country on men’s international transfer business last year, Fifa data has revealed. A total of £1.78 was spent in transfers in 2022, over £1bn more than the second placed side Italy, who spent £543m. A total of 12.5 per cent of the total £5.24bn spent [...]
International Tennis Federation facing mounting questions over Davis Cup deal after Gerard Pique’s Kosmos group brings legal action January 26, 2023 Former footballer Gerard Pique’s Kosmos investment group has heaped more pressure on the embattled International Tennis Federation by launching legal action over the early termination of their $3bn Davis Cup deal. The ITF ripped up the 25-year agreement after less than five years earlier this month in response to Kosmos asking to renegotiate the $120m-a-year [...]
Sponsors departing the England crease opens up chance for a new wave of commercial interest while the Test team are on a high January 26, 2023 They say bad news comes in threes. For the England and Wales Cricket Board, the announcement last week that three of its major sponsors would not be renewing their deals looked on the surface like a significant challenge for its commercial team. Yet, for the nation’s second most popular sport, there are plenty of reasons [...]
World Rugby should be taking the lead on tackle heights, not following January 26, 2023 It is the work of just a minute or two to create a petition on the Change.org website, to be one of the ‘people taking action’ whose signatures the public-benefit corporation claims to be turning into ‘victories every day’. Takes only a few seconds to add a signature to a petition. By contrast, seven years [...]