Free-to-air bonanza boon for fans, sport and marketers July 4, 2026 A weekend of wall-to-wall live sport on free-to-air television will serve as a boon for brands, terrestrial broadcasters and fans, experts have said. This weekend will see a monumental volume of sport across the five main free-to-air channels – BBC1, BBC2, ITV1, Channel 4 and 5 – as well as ITV4 – as sports look [...]
World Cup: Boost for pubs as Brits set to buy 1m pints during England vs Mexico July 4, 2026 Brits are poised to buy one million extra pints throughout the England and Mexico’s World Cup showdown, in what is set to be the one of the booziest Sunday nights the country has ever seen. The fixture in Mexico City – which will kick off at 1am BST – is expected to spark a major [...]
Nottingham Forest owner Marinakis announces £210m stadium plans July 3, 2026 Nottingham Forest owner Evangelos Marinakis has announced a new £210m stadium construction project as he looks to grow his football empire. Plans for a 53,000-capacity arena have been submitted by the Greek funder, who owns Premier League club Nottingham Forest as well as Olympiacos, Rio Ave FC and a number of other sporting franchises. The [...]
Formula 1’s governing body wants more races in China and Asia July 3, 2026 Formula 1’s governing body has insisted it wants more races in China and Asia as part of a Far East pivot ahead of this weekend’s British Grand Prix at Silverstone. The Federation Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA) told City AM that Asia had become a key growth market for the not-for-profit motorsport governing body, which this [...]
Tech, trackers and tourniquets: How England are preparing for Mexico World Cup altitude July 3, 2026 For an array of reasons, England face the toughest test of their World Cup credentials late on Sunday night when they face co-hosts Mexico. At the Azteca Stadium, they will come up against a team who have won four games out of four at this tournament, are backed by fervent home support and who have [...]
Ferdinand, Crouch, Foster: How footballers have built media empires for the future July 3, 2026 Footballers need to retire eventually. Calum Hopkins takes a look at how they can do it in a changing media landscape. With the World Cup knockouts well underway, it is time to consider whether the people sitting in the studio continue to have the power. We are seeing a massive shift in football; the audience [...]
Fifa accused of bullying in attempt to kill off multi-billion class action claim July 3, 2026 Fifa has been accused of using bullying tactics in a bid to kill off a class action lawsuit claiming billions in lost earnings from football’s governing body on behalf of current and former players. Justice For Players is pursuing a mega claim deriving from the European Court of Justice’s landmark Diarra Ruling, which declared Fifa’s [...]
Why brands can fail miserably at sponsoring Wimbledon July 3, 2026 With the Grand Slam in full swing, Sam Milne discusses why brands still manage to fail at Wimbledon Pimm’s, strawberries and cream, pristine grass courts, and royalty and sporting legends intermingling evoke only one place: Wimbledon. It’s one of the few global sporting events that feels timeless, and minus the players themselves, an image from [...]
Reality is rugby’s Nations Championship is botched July 3, 2026 With the inaugural Nations Championship around the corner, Ollie Phillips looks at why the sport’s bosses missed a trick. The Nations Championship kicks off this weekend, but when you look at what is the star match of round one based on the players involved – South Africa’s home fixture against England on Saturday – it [...]
Cruyff turn: Starmer allows pubs to stay open for England World Cup game July 2, 2026 Sir Keir Starmer has performed a Cruyff turn as he announced that pubs would be able to stay open until 5am for England’s game against Mexico on late Sunday night. Before the change in policy, pubs were set to be forced to kick punters out at half time in the early hours of Monday morning. [...]