Week in Sportbiz: Mexican stand-off over Club Necaxa NFT; press conferences overshadow French Open; English football in distress June 3, 2021 From NBA Top Shot to Christian Fuchs, the march of the NFT in sport has looked unstoppable. Until now, that is. Mexican football chiefs this week put the brakes on the plans of Club Necaxa to become the world’s first sports team to sell an ownership stake using blockchain technology. Club Necaxa, whose shareholders include [...]
Matchroom leaves Sky Sports for DAZN in five-year, £100m deal – but Anthony Joshua fights aren’t included June 3, 2021 Boxing promoter Matchroom has signed a deal with DAZN to show its fights exclusively on the sports streaming platform in the UK and Ireland. The five-year agreement, reported to be worth more than £100m, begins in July when Matchroom’s contract with Sky Sports ends. The deal also cements the relationship between Matchroom and DAZN, which [...]
Exclusive: Vegan footballer Chris Smalling invests six-figure sum in plant-based meat company Heura June 3, 2021 Former Manchester United footballer Chris Smalling has become an investor in plant-based meat company Heura. Smalling, who switched to a vegan diet five years ago, is understood to have invested a six-figure sum in the Spanish brand. “Backing from a top athlete like Chris further bolsters Heura’s nutritional credentials, which are second to none,” said [...]
Sponsors and sports must do more to protect the mental health of athletes like Naomi Osaka June 2, 2021 Naomi Osaka’s withdrawal from the French Open on mental health grounds should come as a surprise to no one, given the conversation around the wellbeing of elite athletes. The four-times grand slam winner may be one of the more reserved tennis players on the women’s circuit, so to speak openly about her depression and anxiety [...]
Ladies European Tour CEO Alexandra Armas on new $4m Aramco Team Series, raising the profile of women’s golf and working with Saudi Arabia June 2, 2021 The Ladies European Tour (LET) has announced a stellar line-up for the London leg of the inaugural, big-money Aramco Team Series. Major winners Georgia Hall, Lexi Thompson, Anna Nordqvist and order of merit champion Emily Kristine Pedersen have all signed up to play at Centurion Club in St Albans from 8 July. Each of the [...]
Trevor Steven: Gareth Southgate may regret naming four right-backs in England squad for Euro 2020 instead of Jesse Lingard or Danny Ings June 2, 2021 On the face of it, it’s difficult to work out why Gareth Southgate has named four right-backs in his England squad for Euro 2020. While Kyle Walker, Kieran Trippier, Reece James and Trent Alexander-Arnold are all talented players, each is also taking up a space that could have gone to someone else. If only two [...]
Cazoo Derby Festival: Bolshoi Ballet and High Definition head Ballydoyle challenge June 2, 2021 Ireland’s champion trainer Aidan O’Brien has outlined his plans for the 2021 Cazoo Derby Festival at Epsom Downs. Already the most successful trainer of all time in The Cazoo Derby with eight victories, the master of Ballydoyle confirmed that the premier Classic, which he described as “the most important race of all” remained the plan [...]
Alexander-Arnold, Grealish, Saka and Coady named in England Euro 2020 squad but Lingard, Ward-Prowse and Watkins miss out June 1, 2021 Gareth Southgate has named Trent Alexander-Arnold in his England Euro 2020 squad. Jack Grealish, Bukayo Saka and Conor Coady have also made the 26-man party. But there is no place for Jesse Lingard, James Ward-Prowse or Ollie Watkins. Harry Maguire and Jordan Henderson are in Southgate’s England Euro 2020 squad despite not being fully fit. [...]
Hong Kong Racing Tips: Ted with weight advantage at the Valley June 1, 2021 KEEP an eye on the weather when racing resumes with a nine-race programme at Happy Valley on Wednesday. Three track records were smashed on a lightning quick surface at the city-track last week but don’t expect a similar scenario this time around. The temperature is still extremely hot in the city at present, but thunderstorms [...]
French Open chiefs ‘sorry and sad’ at ‘unfortunate’ withdrawal of Naomi Osaka following row over media duties June 1, 2021 French Open organisers say they are “sorry and sad” after women’s world No2 Naomi Osaka pulled out of the tennis grand slam. Osaka withdrew on Monday following a row over her refusal to take part in post-match press conferences. She revealed in her statement that she had suffered long bouts of depression, and said it [...]