British Basketball League to begin £7m overhaul after US fund invests December 20, 2021 The British Basketball League (BBL) has announced a major investment by US fund 777 Partners in a move that it hopes will realise the sport’s potential in the UK. Miami-based 777 Partners, which already owns BBL team London Lions, is paying £7m for a 45 per cent stake in the league. The fund also owns [...]
Peng Shuai: Women’s Tennis Association concerned despite new interview December 20, 2021 The Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) says it remains concerned about Peng Shuai after the Chinese tennis player appeared to retract claims she was sexually assaulted by a high-ranking government official. Singapore-based newspaper Lianhe Ziabao quoted Peng as saying: “I have never said or written that anyone sexually assaulted me. This point must be emphasised very [...]
Gallagher CMO: ‘Let’s get a Premiership Rugby game in Singapore’ December 16, 2021 Premiership Rugby’s main sponsor, the US-headquartered insurer Gallagher, has called for the league to stage matches overseas in locations such as Singapore and Kuala Lumpur. English club rugby’s top competition has played two regular season games in the US, in 2016 and 2017, but the experiment has not been repeated. “Let’s get a game in [...]
Ed Warner: Cricket should follow Ryder Cup to save Test matches December 16, 2021 The matter-of-fact delivery of his bleak assessment was like a punch to the gut. Here was someone woven into the fabric of international cricket who believed Test matches would become extinct in his lifetime. The individual in question, who shall remain nameless, might hope to have a good four or five decades ahead of him, [...]
Barclays to pump record £30m into WSL and women’s UK sport December 15, 2021 Banking giant Barclays are set to double their investment in Women’s football as they extend their sponsorship deal to include the Women’s Championship. The deal will begin from the 2022-23 season and run through to 2025, and will see Barclays pump £30m into the women’s game. Sasha Wiggins, Barclays Group head of public policy and [...]
McLaren boss Zak Brown: ‘I can’t remember a F1 season more exciting than this one’ December 10, 2021 Sunday’s showpiece final Formula 1 race of the season will see either Max Verstappen or Lewis Hamilton crowned world champion and Red Bull or Mercedes win the constructors’ title. But a few spots behind the two current big hitters are McLaren Racing. A team with a longstanding F1 history is now in the hands of [...]
Channel 4 to show decisive Formula 1 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix December 9, 2021 Channel 4 will show live coverage of the decisive final race of the Formula 1 season, the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, after striking a deal with rights-holder Sky. Britain’s Lewis Hamilton is bidding to win a record eighth drivers’ championship and see off the challenge of rival Max Verstappen, with whom he is level on [...]
Ed Warner: Soft power and sport – why do they do that? December 9, 2021 To the Guildhall for the launch of EY’s study of soft power and major sporting events, commissioned by the City of London and UK Sport. The publication was timely, coinciding with the findings of the inquiry into the chaos at the Euro 2020 final at Wembley which tarnished Britain’s hosting credentials, as well as the [...]
Eight Premier League stars in KPMG top 10 most valuable players list December 8, 2021 KPMG has underlined the financial supremacy of English football by naming eight Premier League stars among its top 10 most valuable players. Erling Haaland of Borussia Dortmund, valued at €142m (£121m), and Paris Saint-Germain’s Kylian Mbappe, valued at €128m (£109m) occupy the top two places. But the remainder of KPMG’s top 10 is comprised of [...]
Australia joins US in boycott of Beijing Winter Olympics as China hits back: ‘They violate Olympic spirit’ December 8, 2021 Australia’s prime minister said this morning the country will join the US in a diplomatic boycott of the Beijing Winter Olympics over human rights concerns. Scott Morrison said it should come as no surprise that Australian officials would boycott the event after the nation’s relationship with China had broken down in recent years. He added [...]