What Burnham’s Sporting Events Bill means for brands and media owners August 16, 2026 As Andy Burnham’s government presses on with the Sporting Events Bill, what does it mean for brands and media owners? The World Cup may have wrapped up, but the sporting calendar is relentless, and brands and media owners will already be preparing for the next big event. Indeed, the domestic football season has already kicked [...]
Inside the London workshop that made Hundred, FA Cup and World Cup trophies August 15, 2026 Ahead of the Hundred final Matt Hardy spoke to the makers of the trophy, Thomas Lyte, who now hold a royal warrant Sports may vary in rules, squad sizes, scoring systems and the rest of it but something remains a constant across each and every discipline thousands of us pay our hard-earned cash to watch: [...]
Ticket price hikes proof Wales Rugby Union is tone deaf to loyal fan concerns August 14, 2026 Earlier this month the Wales Rugby Union announced ticket price hikes for the Six Nations and if nothing else it is utterly tone deaf. Over the Severn Bridge the sport is in turmoil, with regions fighting for their lives not only because of difficult macroeconomic factors but because their own governing body is actively trying [...]
Where Mbappe will go if he breaks up with Nike August 13, 2026 With rumours swirling about Kylian Mbappe’s future with Nike, marketing expert Steve Martin breaks down what could come next. I have spent more than 30 years working in sports marketing, and one of the most consistent truths I have learned is that the football boot market is one of the most tightly controlled consumer categories [...]
Aston Villa commercial status a tonic for Premier League in big-spending era August 12, 2026 Aston Villa may not have thought they’d feature in a Super Cup anytime soon, but their commercial foundations have allowed them to challenge the best. Amidst much of the doom and gloom that surrounds the Premier league and its inevitable collapse into monotony under the financial suffocation of the ‘Big Six’ – no better represented [...]
How Britain can stay clear of rivals as home of overseas sport club owners August 9, 2026 Sport is more political than ever. Matt Sutton asks how clubs navigate the geopolitical risks in 2026. Ownership and investment have become increasingly international, with sports clubs, leagues and governing bodies relying on global capital to drive growth. For years an argument has been rumbling on about whether it’s right to have foreign investment in [...]
Why HMRC is huge Premier League transfer window tax headache August 8, 2026 Is HMRC the biggest barrier stopping a healthier Premier League football transfer system, Alistair Culverwell asks. Another World Cup ended after high drama on the pitch and off the pitch,it was the scene of high stakes deal-making as clubs negotiated with agents to secure the most sought after talent – particularly players who shone. And [...]
Sorry Hearn, Northampton Saints idiots if they pay Pollock £1m August 7, 2026 Is Henry Pollock worth £1m per season? No. Sorry to burst an Eddie Hearn-shaped bubble but it is just not realistic in the world of rugby union. The business of rugby – especially in England – is to fund a squad of more than 30 players within a salary cap of just over £6m, rising [...]
How sevens and Olympics can be commercial rugby lifeline August 6, 2026 Dan James argues that rugby sevens is a developmental step for some of the best players, and that can be a boon for a struggling sport. The rugby rumour mill has been turning again, as reports have circulated over the last fortnight that some of England’s young stars – Henry Pollock, Marcus Smith, Tommy Freeman, [...]
Fifa crisis: Is it possible to defend Infantino’s World Cup sell-off plan? August 6, 2026 Crafting a defence of Infantino isn’t easy, but it is possible to assemble both a behavioural excuse and a commercial justification for the Fifa president’s plan to sell stakes in the World Cup. One newspaper evocatively likened Gianni Infantino to Icarus at the weekend after his proposal to sell stakes in the World Cup melted [...]