Champ clubs demand divorce payment from RFU over Prem franchise plan December 23, 2025 The Rugby Football Union is facing the threat of legal action from Champ clubs if the RFU Council approves a proposal from the Prem to become a franchise league with no promotion from the second tier. City AM has learned that the Champ Rugby board held an emergency meeting with clubs last week at which [...]
World Triathlon targets T100 Olympic event as soon as Brisbane 2032 December 22, 2025 World Triathlon president Antonio Arimany on its alliance with the PTO, Olympic expansion ambitions and returning to London in 2026. After a few years of flux characterised by challenger leagues and competitions sprouting up at a dizzying pace, it feels like consolidation is in the air in the sports industry. Golf awaits the consummation of [...]
NBA Europe: Plans advance for league with London and Manchester teams December 22, 2025 The NBA has announced it will step up plans to launch a European basketball league in conjunction with world governing body Fiba by holding further talks with prospective teams and owners next month. The project has been in discussion for months, with NBA top brass meeting existing European clubs and would-be investors during a summer [...]
Ashes: Australian media mock ‘death of Bazball’ after defeating England December 22, 2025 Australian media have revelled in proclaiming the death of England’s much-vaunted Bazball approach after the hosts wrapped up a fourth successive home Ashes series. Sunday’s 82-run win in the third Test in Adelaide saw the Pat Cummins-led Aussies take an unassailable 3-0 lead, making a mockery of pre-series English optimism. And Australian newspapers seized the [...]
How sport and athletes can show the realities of neurodiversity December 21, 2025 Sport and athletes like Simone Biles, Lewis Hamilton and Lucy Bronze can play a key role in reframing attitudes on neurodiversity, writes Matt Readman. Earlier this month Wes Streeting announced a review into how the UK is currently diagnosing mental health conditions, jumping on the bandwagon of those questioning whether normal feelings have become “over-pathologised”. [...]
Private capital is reshaping sport’s financial future, and it’s structural December 20, 2025 Sport is no longer solely passion projects for the super-wealthy. Today, it is becoming a mature asset class supported by institutional and long-term private capital and the shift is visible in the deals transforming clubs, competitions and infrastructure across Europe and beyond. Private capital is stepping in where banks can’t or won’t. Stadium developments, transfer [...]
Joshua vs Paul: A defining moment in evolution of sport entertainment December 19, 2025 Tom Wild discusses how Joshua vs Paul shows sport can no longer be separated from the cultural forces that surround it. In a world where attention is fractured and loyalty is fluid, one of the most powerful tools available to help marketers cut through isn’t new at all – it’s culture. More specifically, it’s the [...]
Newcastle Red Bulls, Dupont and ITV: Top rugby business stories of 2025 December 19, 2025 This year really has been a 12 months where the business of rugby became a major talking point in ovalball discourse. We have always seen the odd deal here or investment there but 2025 has seen a step change across the sport, and it remains to be seen how it will pan out. So here [...]
AJ vs Paul: Netflix hosting amid WBD takeover a signal for sport December 18, 2025 Netflix hosting Anthony Joshua’s showdown against Jake Paul this Friday, at the same time it moves closer to a possible takeover of Warner Bros Discovery, signals something bigger than a one-night spectacle. It shows live sport is changing fast. Netflix has experimented before. Last November it reported that 60m households watched Paul’s fight with Mike [...]
Scotland fans offered World Cup ticket packages starting at £8,000 December 18, 2025 Scotland fans are being offered World Cup travel packages that include guaranteed match tickets for all three group games – starting at more than £8,000. The “Follow My Team” packages include high-end accommodation but not flights to and from the US and are being sold by Qatar Airways Holidays, the official World Cup travel provider. [...]