Chorley FC, Marine AFC and the true value of a fairytale FA Cup run to non-league football clubs January 22, 2021 When Chorley FC take on Wolves in the FA Cup tonight, there will be more at stake for the non-league club from Lancashire than a place in the fifth round. If Chorley manage another upset against their Premier League opponents, they will earn £175,000 from broadcast payments and the FA’s prize fund alone. Chorley’s FA [...]
Week in Sportbiz: Fifa spooked into action by Super League talk; Uefa may rip up Euro 2020 plans; London Marathon chiefs eye records January 21, 2021 Is football governing bodies’ ultimate bogeyman the European Super League in danger of actually happening? Fifa and its six confederations, including Uefa, have been sufficiently spooked into warning they will ban any footballer who takes part in a putative breakaway competition from playing in World Cups and their regional equivalents, such as the European Championship. [...]
Glastonbury is cancelled, so what about other cultural events? January 21, 2021 Last year was a virtual write-off for the cultural calendar, with the year’s most hotly-anticipated events being brushed aside by the ceaseless march of Covid. This year the world seems to be drawing close to a solution to the crisis – but that hasn’t com in tiume to save Glastonbury. So what of the other [...]
Gloucester Rugby CEO Lance Bradley: Scrap relegation this season, it’s not right and would be catastrophic for any Premiership club January 21, 2021 “It would be catastrophic,” says Gloucester Rugby chief executive Lance Bradley, matter-of-factly, about the prospect of relegation. Gloucester sit bottom of the Premiership table after six rounds of fixtures, raising the spectre of another swingeing financial blow as all clubs count the cost of the pandemic. It hardly bears thinking about – and Bradley doesn’t [...]
Schemers review – Dave Mclean biopic is a flat B-Side January 21, 2021 Biopics that feature their subjects are not a new thing – Muhammad Ali and radio host Howard Stern both played themselves in the stories of their lives. However, they are rarely followed by rave reviews. Schemers is based on the early breakthrough of Dave Mclean, a music promoter who went on to work with some [...]
White Tiger review – a thrilling adaptation of the best-seller January 20, 2021 Netflix’s film output can be a mixed bag. The streaming giant sinks a lot of money into expensive, star driven vehicles that are average at best (see last year’s Rebecca, Hillbilly Elegy, and The Midnight Sky). However, it has also provided a platform for interesting stories that in ordinary times may have struggled for breathing [...]
Head coach Eddie Jones among three England rugby staff forced to self-isolate ahead of Six Nations January 20, 2021 England’s preparations for the Six Nations have been further disrupted by head coach Eddie Jones needing to self-isolate for 10 days. Jones and attack coach Simon Amor must isolate as they have been deemed close contacts of forwards coach Matt Proudfoot, who has tested positive for Covid-19. It follows the news that skills coach Jason [...]
Right to Dream founder Tom Vernon to explore buying British football club after securing €100m investment for pioneering project January 20, 2021 The English coach behind Africa’s leading football academy, Right to Dream, has secured a €100m investment to expand the pioneering model and explore the purchase of a British club. The deal sees Egyptian conglomerate the Mansour Group become majority shareholder in Right to Dream, which also owns Danish football club FC Nordsjaelland. Founder Tom Vernon, [...]
Culture in the age of Trump: His legacy in theatre, art and film January 19, 2021 Tomorrow marks the inauspicious end to one of the most divisive and controversial Presidencies in American history. Trump’s four-year legacy includes a partially-built wall, the dismantling of decades worth of environmental legislation, and a record-setting second impeachment. But he also had a huge influence over the world of art and culture, with creators across the [...]
Alexei Navalny calls for UK sanctions against Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich January 19, 2021 Detained Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny has called for the UK to sanction Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich and former Arsenal shareholder Alisher Usmanov if he is not released from prison. Navalny’s close associate Vladimir Ashurkov said today that Navalny had written up a list of eight Russian oligarchs that “he felt should be sanctioned if [...]