Global investors increasingly drawn to English football’s booming bargain bin August 11, 2016 Wealthy Premier League clubs and extravagant transfers such as Manchester United’s world record deal for Paul Pogba may hog the limelight, but canny investors are increasingly taken by England’s less glamorous teams. Four in 10 clubs in the three divisions below the top flight fielded approaches from potential investors in the last year, and that [...]
End the stadium standing ban: It’s an open goal for football fans and clubs August 11, 2016 Twenty eight people died at the 30 June Stadium in Cairo last year, suffocating in a crush that began when police fired tear gas at away fans entering without tickets. It was another in a long line of stadium tragedies. But like the 2006 PhilSports Arena disaster in the Philippines, and the disasters in Johannesburg [...]
Great Britain crashes Olympic Games medal party and moves ahead of tally secured at same stage of London 2012 August 10, 2016 Gold in the pool and on the water headlined Great Britain’s rampant charge during a historic and medal-fuelled fifth day of the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro. Tearful duo Jack Laugher and Chris Mears won Team GB’s first ever Olympic diving gold medal in the men’s synchronised 3m springboard, hours after Joe Clarke’s kayak triumph [...]
No1 spot in the Test world rankings beckons for England. That’s all well and good, the real challenge is staying there August 10, 2016 It's all very well getting to No1 in the world Test rankings but the true measure of a side worthy of that tag is to stay there for a long time. That’s the challenge facing England should they hit the summit by the end of the summer. Such a feat will be achieved if Alastair [...]
Why the £10bn surfing industry deserves its introduction as an Olympic sport in 2020 August 10, 2016 Once the epitome of sporting counter culture and the natural home to the mavericks and outsiders of the sports world, surfing has finally been accepted as an Olympic sport. With Brazilian pro surfers like Gabriel Medina and Filipe Toledo now superstars in a sport which is rivalling football in its appeal to younger generations, the [...]
Leicester’s Claudio Ranieri challenges Premier League title contenders to turn big wallets into trophies August 10, 2016 Leicester boss Claudio Ranieri has thrown down the gauntlet to fellow Premier League contenders and challenged them to turn their big-spending summers into a title charge. Defending champions Leicester have not been shy in bolstering their squad with the signing of six players, including a club-record outlay of £16m for forward Ahmed Musa from CSKA [...]
What to watch at the Olympics: Bradley Wiggins and Laura Trott set to star for Team GB with rowing and canoe medals also up for grabs August 10, 2016 Sir Bradley Wiggins is the big name making his bow at the Games on Thursday when the velodrome opens its doors for the men’s team pursuit qualifying round at 9:23pm. The cycling icon won gold in the event eight years ago and is back on the track this year after racing on the road in [...]
Brazil national football team: Why playing at home could be crushing Neymar and co August 10, 2016 If there is one event at this year's Olympics that host nation Brazil could safely boast of both packed out stadiums of supporters and the most accomplished athlete in the field, it's football. While the majority of football loving nations shrug at the Olympic event, Brazil arguably have put together the tournament's strongest squad with elite level superstar Neymar leading [...]
How Manchester United stepped up for sponsors Adidas and Chevrolet when unveiling Paul Pogba August 10, 2016 Football players have always had huge marketing value off the pitch. In fact, Real Madrid president Florentino Perez built the club’s whole strategy around it. He invented the concept of Galacticos in his first stint at the club in the early 2000s, bringing in Figo, Ronaldo, Zidane, Beckham and Robinho before repeating the trick with Cristiano [...]
Johanna Konta keeps alive her Olympic dream and progresses to quarter-finals, while Andy Murray surges into last 16 August 10, 2016 British No1 Johanna Konta followed the lead of team-mate Andy Murray and kept her Olympic dream alive with victory over Russia’s Svetlana Kuznetsova in the Rio tennis singles. Konta progressed to the quarter-finals after navigating a dramatic three-hour contest against eighth seed Kuznetsova 3-6, 7-5, 7-5. The 25-year-old will now face her Australian Open semi-final [...]