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, [...]
Train to Busan Presents: Peninsula review – a zombie sequel with more bark than bite November 19, 2020 Train To Busan broke records around the world while bringing something new to the zombie craze. Four years later, the inevitable sequel arrives with grimly ironic timing for a world where infection rates and quarantine are now the norm. The reason for the ‘presents’ in the title is that it’s a sequel with little relation [...]
English sports clubs granted £300m emergency funding package November 19, 2020 The government has announced a £300m emergency funding package to help sports clubs in England survive ongoing coronavirus restrictions during the winter. Rugby League and Rugby Union, horse racing and the lower tiers of National League football are among the beneficiaries of the support. The funding, which is largely made up of loans, comes as [...]
Why Francis Warren is taking the family Queensberry empire to Poland November 18, 2020 Boxing promoter Francis Warren is hoping to expand his family’s Queensberry empire by mining an untapped Polish fight scene. The son of hall-of-fame promoter Frank Warren has launched Queensberry Poland, which is due to stage its first show on Saturday. Warren Jr, 36, hopes to groom future Polish world champions who buck the trend by [...]
You Cannot Kill David Arquette documentary film review November 18, 2020 Remember David Arquette? He played the lovable cop in the Scream movies, the lovable brother in Never Been Kissed, and for a brief time was the not-so-lovable World Heavyweight Wrestling Champion. Whether you’re aware of that last credit or not is likely to determine how interested you are in this new documentary that follows his [...]
Hillbilly Elegy film review: Netflix Oscar-bait falls flat November 18, 2020 This awards season may see Netflix get its clearest run yet at the coveted Best Picture Oscar, with the streamer’s output thriving in the wake of cinemas shutting down. But while there are contenders in its catalogue, it’s doubtful Ron Howard’s new drama Hillbilly Elegy will give voters any trouble. Based on a memoir of [...]
English cricket fans set to be welcomed back to grounds for full summer of international action November 18, 2020 English cricket chiefs have announced a full programme of international action — with fans in attendance — for next summer. England’s men’s will play India in a five-Test series starting August, following white-ball matches against Sri Lanka and Pakistan. The women’s side will host one-day and Twenty20 series with South Africa and New Zealand, while [...]
ATP Finals prize money: Why payouts at one of tennis’s most lucrative events have been cut by up to 59 per cent November 17, 2020 What the ATP Finals lacks in prestige next to grand slam events it makes up for in prize money. Or at least it did. Because this year’s prize money fund at the men’s tennis showpiece has been cut by more than a third. And whoever claims the title on Sunday will bank barely half the [...]