Indian Premier League suspended after several players test positive for Covid-19 May 4, 2021 Cricket’s Indian Premier League (IPL) has been suspended after a number of players fell victim to the country’s rising Covid-19 cases. Fixtures scheduled for Monday and Wednesday had already been called off as a result of players testing positive for the virus. Organisers said they had “unanimously decided to postpone IPL 2021 season, with immediate [...]
Sadiq Khan pledges to explore 2036 London Olympics bid if re-elected May 3, 2021 Sadiq Khan has pledged to launch an “exploratory committee” to look at a potential 2036 or 2040 London Olympics bid if re-elected as London mayor on Thursday. Khan said this evening that if London was chosen to hold either of the games that he would want them to be “the most sustainable Olympic and Paralympic Games [...]
Premier League introduces new Owners’ Charter in wake of European Super League saga May 3, 2021 The Premier League will require all clubs to sign up to a new Owners’ Charter, committing them to the principles of football. The Premier League has taken action to prevent a repeat of its clubs threatening to breakaway in response to the Super League fallout. Six top-flight teams, including Manchester United and Liverpool, announced late [...]
Olympics: Tokyo welcomes foreign divers to test event May 2, 2021 Diving and volleyball on Saturday became the first Olympic test events to include international athletes since such competitions resumed last month, as both began under close supervision in Tokyo. The diving World Cup, also a qualifier for this summer’s Games, features more than 200 athletes from 50 countries including powerhouse China. “We’re not allowed out [...]
Hal Robson-Kanu interview: West Brom and Wales footballer on his health drink business, the Turmeric Co, and targeting more Euros glory May 2, 2021 2016 was a breakthrough year for Hal Robson-Kanu, and not only because he scored one of international football’s most memorable goals. His strike against Belgium at the European Championship – a Cruyff turn and finish that Johan himself would have been proud of – sent Wales into a major semi-final for the first time and [...]
European Super League fallout: Tottenham fans’ group calls for radical shake-up of football club ownership May 1, 2021 Club executives involved in the failed European Super League were forced to resign from advisory roles at the Premier League this week. The move was a consequence of England’s so-called ‘Big Six’ – Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur – agreeing to join a new breakaway competition which collapsed under the [...]
How to celebrate International Viognier Day in style April 30, 2021 It’s the 30 April, which may as well be my birthday, as it’s the international celebration of one of my favourite types of wine – Viognier. And it is a Friday, so let us all raise a glass to this aromatic, romantic grape. It’s like it knew it was the start of the weekend. Viognier [...]
BT confirms talks to offload stake in TV arm in broadband push April 30, 2021 BT has confirmed that it is in talks with major streaming platforms to offload a stake in its television arm as it focuses on its broadband division. BT Sport launched in 2012 in a bid to take out rival Sky which has accrued somewhat of a monopoly on Premier League television rights. It confirmed this [...]
Captain Tom’s family open fundraising drive at Lords April 30, 2021 Members of Captain Sir Tom Moore’s family were at Lord’s Cricket Ground today to mark the start of the Captain Tom 100 Challenge – a weekend of fundraising in honour of the second world war veteran who raised £38.9m for the NHS at the start of the Coronavirus pandemic. They were joined by former England [...]
Week in Sportbiz: Taxman cometh for football (again); BT Sport; Simone Biles; social media boycott; and NHS x NFL draft April 29, 2021 HMRC has cashed in by increasing scrutiny of the football industry, so perhaps it should be no surprise that the taxman has begun a new crackdown on players and clubs. Investigations into footballers almost tripled in 2019-20, while those concerning clubs more than doubled. The result was an increase from £35m to £73m in tax [...]