Chelsea fined £10m, avoid points penalty and receive Mykhailo Mudryk boost July 31, 2026 Chelsea have been fined a further £10m by the Football Association but avoided a points deduction after admitting more than 70 charges of breaking financial rules. The breaches took place under the previous ownership of Roman Abramovich and related to secret payments to agents, including in the signings of Eden Hazard, Willian and Samuel Eto’o. [...]
Cristiano Ronaldo on Mars: Where will sport take us in the next five years? July 30, 2026 Tech disruption, athlete power and new formats: sport has changed dramatically since Ed Warner started writing weekly about the industry in 2021. This column – based on my weekly newsletter, Sport Inc. – has just reached its fifth anniversary. The book of the same name is three years older. In this short span of time, [...]
Why do six Premier League clubs still not have front of shirt sponsors? July 13, 2026 Not so long ago it was unthinkable that a Premier League club would go into a new season without a sponsor on the front of their shirt. In recent years Chelsea and Nottingham Forest have made headlines for starting a campaign with a vacancy in that prime spot, precisely because it was such an anomaly. [...]
Hated World Cup hydration breaks here to stay for even hotter 2030 and 2034 July 1, 2026 Hydration breaks are expected to remain a feature of future World Cups despite attracting widespread criticism, City AM understands. The divisive three-minute pauses, taken midway through each half, have become one of the tournament’s hottest talking points. They have effectively turned football into a game of four quarters and head coaches have said they are [...]
Enzo Maresca pays Chelsea compensation to become Manchester City manager June 29, 2026 Manchester City have confirmed the appointment of Enzo Maresca as manager – but only after he personally paid compensation to former club Chelsea. City are themselves reported to have paid £17m to the Blues in order to secure Maresca’s signature on a three-year contract, but Chelsea have made clear that the Italian was also forced [...]
Premier League clubs warned crypto deals could be worthless in a year June 25, 2026 Premier League football clubs have been warned that long-term sponsorship deals with crypto firms could be rendered worthless in a year’s time. It comes after the Financial Conduct Authority took the unusual step of writing to teams about the issue this month and as the watchdog rolls out plans for tighter scrutiny of the sector. [...]
Cole Palmer: Chelsea footballer launches range of ‘premium craft ice’ for £2 a bag June 22, 2026 Chelsea and England footballer Cole Palmer has put his World Cup snub behind him by launching a new range of “premium craft ice” with grocery delivery platform Gopuff. The “Cole’d” product range – a nod to his nickname “Cold Palmer” – includes chewable “pebble ice” with added electrolytes, and large, football-shaped “ice spheres”, and is [...]
Manchester City and Chelsea boosted by lawyer’s compensation claims verdict June 22, 2026 Any football clubs seeking to bring compensation claims in the wake of Burnley’s landmark £40m award will face significant hurdles, a former Premier League lawyer has warned. The decision by an independent disciplinary commission earlier this month to order Everton to pay an eight-figure sum to Burnley has been tipped to trigger a landslide of [...]
Arsenal launch £7k-a-head VIP package with seats behind dugout and player meeting June 19, 2026 Premier League champions Arsenal have launched a new ultra-premium hospitality offering, the Hero Experience, that costs almost £7,000 a head for top games. The VIP package, believed to be the most expensive single ticket in the Premier League, includes seats behind the Arsenal dugout, a private pitch-side tour with a club legend, a shirt or [...]
Justice For Players hopeful of Fifa deal in football class action after Diarra settlement June 9, 2026 Justice For Players insists its multi-billion-pound claim against Fifa has been strengthened by the governing body settling with the man who triggered the class action, Lassana Diarra. Diarra’s lawyer Jean-Louis Dupont confirmed on Tuesday that his client had reached agreement with Fifa and the Belgian football federation over an out-of-court settlement in relation to the [...]