‘Most expensive lottery ticket on the planet’: Premier League told why it must give more money to rest of English football March 2, 2023 English football’s financial structure needs a “proper reset” to make clubs outside the Premier League sustainable, says EFL chairman Rick Parry. The riches on offer in the top tier incentivise teams lower down the pyramid to overspend to dangerous degrees, says Parry, who wants the Premier League to reduce the inequality between divisions with more [...]
Formula 1: Hamilton hits back at Button and Hill over retirement talk March 2, 2023 Formula 1 driver Lewis Hamilton has rejected talk from former drivers Jenson Button and Damon Hill about the seven-time world champion retiring. The season begins this weekend and it will be Hamilton’s 17th year on the grid, but Hill and Button have called into question the future of the driver. Hamilton on a mission When [...]
Premier League reveals stance on scrapping Saturday 3pm blackout March 2, 2023 The Premier League has ruled out supporting the abolition of the Saturday 3pm blackout which restricts when live football can be televised in the UK. The English Football League (EFL) has floated scrapping the ban and broadcasters have said they would consider it but Premier League chief executive Richard Masters insisted they had no intention [...]
FA Cup: Fifth round recap and quarter-final draw March 2, 2023 This week has seen a number of upsets in the world of football as the fifth round of the FA Cup took place across Tuesday and Wednesday. There were epic scenes last night as League Two Grimsby knocked Premier League Southampton out of the famous knockout competition while Sheffield United beat Tottenham on Wednesday, too. [...]
Formula 1 to target China expansion? McLaren commercial chiefs hope so March 2, 2023 Formula 1 team McLaren would back the sport venturing further into China and the surrounding Asian continent amid a growing feeling that the series is yet to cash in on the opportunities the Far East market provides. Nick Martin, the director of new business at the Woking-based F1 outfit, told City A.M. that McLaren acknowledges [...]
Politicians must step in to protect sport in legal minefield of trans policy – Ed Warner March 2, 2023 The ruck over transgender women participating in female sport is fiercely contested. Opinions are polarised, each side shouting in its own echo chamber. Into my inbox and into the debate drops an email from a PR agent containing a legal opinion that is a reminder that this issue is nuanced. It reinforces my own view [...]
How a Fifa climbdown has paved the way for expanded Club World Cup to start in 2025 March 1, 2023 Europe’s top football teams are closing in on a deal with Fifa that would give the green light to an expanded Club World Cup in 2025 but rule out a switch to biennial international World Cups. After months of tense exchanges, talks between umbrella organisation the European Club Association and world governing body Fifa are [...]
Former Chelsea bidder hints at interest in Liverpool and Manchester United March 1, 2023 Former Chelsea bidder Stephen Pagliuca has hinted that he could be interested in buying Liverpool or Manchester United but says he won’t be sucked into overpaying. The private equity veteran and co-owner of Italian club Atalanta and the NBA’s Boston Celtics missed out on Chelsea to Todd Boehly’s consortium last year. Pagliuca says he is [...]
Just Fontaine: Record-breaking former France footballer and World Cup icon dies, aged 89 March 1, 2023 Former France striker Just Fontaine, whose 13 goals at a single World Cup proved to be one of football’s most enduring records, has died aged 89. Fontaine scored 30 goals in just 21 appearances for France, including a hat-trick on his debut, before his career was cut short by injury at the age of 28. [...]
Women’s Lions ‘must be based on form’ after tour gets early green light February 28, 2023 Former England international Shaunagh Brown has backed the idea of a women’s Lions tour following a feasibility report but insisted that the squad must only be made up of the best players and not employ quotas to stop English dominance. The study, funded by Royal London, investigated key aspects of what would make up a [...]