Jamie George: Premiership turmoil ‘darkest week in rugby history’ October 18, 2022 England hooker Jamie George has described recent days in the Premiership as the “darkest week in rugby history” after Wasps joined Worcester Warriors in administration. The Saracens front rower is out of England’s Autumn Nations Series with metatarsal damage but says watching domestic rugby’s financial crisis worsen is concerning. Wasps plunged into administration on Monday [...]
Rugby chief suggests French-style governance can save game in England October 16, 2022 England rugby chief Bill Sweeney has insisted the Premiership and Championship should look across the Channel to France for inspiration as the domestic game faces a crisis unlike anything it has seen in the professional era. Two clubs – Worcester Warriors and Wasps – have been suspended from the league after going into administration, with [...]
Claressa Shields v Savannah Marshall and the rise and rise of women’s boxing October 13, 2022 The last time Savannah Marshall and Claressa Shields met in a boxing ring, they were both amateurs with no realistic prospect of making a good living from the sport. A decade on, the bitter rivals are due to renew hostilities at the top of the professional ranks on a historic occasion that promises to earn [...]
Once, twice, goald: Maradona ‘Hand of God’ ball to go under hammer October 13, 2022 The ball which became the infamous victim of Diego Maradona’s ‘Hand of God’ fist in the 1986 World Cup is set to go under the hammer next month. The ball, used for the entirety of the match between Argentina and England in Mexico, is being sold by the man who refereed the match – Ali [...]
Ed Warner: Boxing’s parallel existence, Benn-Eubank, and a Trussian shambles October 13, 2022 The Sweet Science. The Noble Art. Boxing has a lore of its own and is a law unto itself. It occupies a parallel existence in which its rules, first published under the sponsorship of the ninth Marquess of Queensbury in 1867, and a love of litigation – real and threatened – are deemed sufficient to [...]
Wasps teeter on the brink as Premiership club suspended October 12, 2022 One of the Premiership Rugby’s most successful and historic clubs has become the second English side within a month to be suspended from the top flight after Wasps announced that they would likely fall into administration in the coming days. The Coventry-based outfit today said that they had withdrawn from their Premiership fixture against Exeter [...]
Tsunami of takeovers in sports swells deal values by record 433 per cent with private equity leading the pack October 11, 2022 The value of M&A and major stake-building in the sports industry has increased 433 per cent in the last year, rising from £1.8bn last year to £9.6bn this year, according to fresh data shared with City A.M. this morning. As more private equity, sovereign wealth funds and other institutional investors pursue deals in the sports [...]
Former Liverpool FC CEO says live sports needs to up its game to keep Gen Z’s attention October 11, 2022 Peter Moore knows a thing or two about making sport work as a business. After all, his time as the boss at videogame developer EA Sports coincided with the boom in online sports competition that still continues today. And his time running Liverpool FC saw the club win the Champions League and the Premier League, [...]
Red Bull found guilty of cap breach but team insist they were below limit October 10, 2022 Reigning Formula 1 constructors’ champions Red Bull Racing have been found guilty of breaching their £114m budget cap for last season but are unlikely to have their titles revoked. The decision yesterday by motorsport’s governing body the FIA stated that the energy drink branded outfit had outspent their $140m budget and committed a procedural breach [...]
Former Wasps chief executive interested in bid for club October 9, 2022 Financially troubled Premiership rugby club Wasps could be taken over by a bid headed by former chief executive David Armstrong. The club, who moved to Coventry from High Wycombe in 2014, are facing money woes in relation to tax owed to HMRC, bond repayments and other debt. Sources close to the auction of the club [...]