Pots of money: Here’s how much snooker players can win at the UK Championship November 24, 2020 The UK Championship, the second most lucrative event on the snooker circuit, begins this week. Despite the absence of ticket revenue due to events being played in empty venues, prize money has remained the same. That means the winner will receive £200,000 from a total prize money fund of £1,009,000. Players are guaranteed £6,500 just [...]
PM confirms return of fans to live sport when lockdown lifts on 2 December November 23, 2020 Spectators will be allowed back to live sport when the second national lockdown is lifted in England next week. Prime minister Boris Johnson confirmed today that up to 4,000 fans will be able to attend sport outdoors in low-risk Tier 1 areas. Up to 2,000 will be able to attend outdoor sport in Tier 2 [...]
Safe, sterile football is undermining Arsenal’s progress under Mikel Arteta November 23, 2020 It is little more than three months since Mikel Arteta and Arsenal swept to the FA Cup on a wave of optimism, but it feels a lot longer. Victory at Wembley and a run of eight wins in 11 games appeared to confirm that, under their former captain, the Gunners were on the up again. [...]
Lockdown weekend #4: How to stay sane in the age of Covid November 21, 2020 The end of lockdown is – hopefully – in sight, if not quite within touching distance. As we enter the fourth (!) weekend of lockdown 2, here are some ways to keep yourself entertained. After all, you know what the devil does with idle hands… Eat like a Roman emperor Whether you’re in the mood [...]
Cover story: How the Premier League ‘wrapped’ every stadium and hid the empty seats November 20, 2020 Football fans will by now be familiar with Premier League “stadium wraps” or “seat kills”, even if they don’t recognise the terminology. The vast seat coverings, typically emblazoned with club colours and slogans, have provided a backdrop to the action since English football returned to empty grounds in June. But who makes these displays and [...]
The City A.M. Punter Podcast EP:27 Haydock, Ascot & Hong Kong November 20, 2020 Olly Murphy talks to us about his chances of landing a winner or two this weekend. He has runners at both Haydock and Ascot. Racing editor Bill Esdaile looks at the best of the weekend jumps action, and Wally Pyrah talks us through Sunday’s big Hong Kong race meeting. Hosted by Chris Barnett The City [...]
The Mandalorian season 2 episode 4 review: S2E4 feels like classic Star Wars November 20, 2020 *** SPOILERS AHEAD: If you haven’t watched the most recent episodes of The Mandalorian Season 2, look away now*** In last week’s chapter, The Heiress, we were introduced to new characters who are likely to play a big role in this season at some point. This week, we go back to a relatively self-contained adventure, [...]
MPs threaten football regulation as they urge bosses to end funding ‘fiasco’ November 20, 2020 MPs have called on the bosses of England’s top football leagues to end the “fiasco” over emergency funding, warning they could introduce new regulation if the game failed to reform itself. The Premier League has been locked in fraught negotiations over a bailout deal for clubs in the English Football League (EFL), which have seen [...]
The Big Rebuild: Why sport must recognise importance of PR before it’s too late November 20, 2020 Covid-19 has ripped the sports industry to shreds, leaving a trail of bare-bones teams who are overworked and stretched. During a second lockdown it might seem hasty to think about rebuilding and planning for the coming months. But we know that one day sport’s fan ban will be lifted. Once it does, it will happen [...]
The Week in Sportbiz: Cricket meets hip-hop; Germany exports VAR; and the ‘Yes Sir, I Can Boogie’ goes global November 19, 2020 Cricket and hip-hop aren’t obvious bedfellows but they cosied up this week when South Africa fast bowler Lungi Ngidi joined Jay-Z’s talent stable Roc Nation. Ngidi, South Africa’s player of the year in one-day and T20 internationals, is the first cricketer to sign with Roc Nation Sports. Roc Nation has snapped up mostly American athletes, [...]