Landmark Royal Antwerp case is another test of EU’s appetite to help football consumers Sport Business EU law protects market competition but has been used too little to help football fans. Worse still, Europe has helped the big clubs to increase their market power, writes Tsjalle van der Burg. Football tickets have become expensive. Paris Saint-Germain currently top the European ranking: in 2024-25, the average admission price for a seat was [...]
Good call: How Wimbledon’s comms help it to avoid break points Sport Business Wimbledon’s success lies in heritage, prestige and scale but its disciplined communications also give it a competitive advantage, writes Jess Chan. Wimbledon is one of the most commercially successful institutions in global sport. I won’t dispute that its heritage is to be credited for its prestigious reputation. But its biggest competitive advantage is how it [...]
Real Madrid decision sounds death knell for European Super League Sport Business Real Madrid have become the final club to abandon the ailing European Super League project in a move that effectively kills off any prospect of a breakaway football competition in the foreseeable future. It follows talks between Real Madrid, governing body Uefa and influential umbrella group European Football Clubs leading to an “agreement of principles”, [...]
Football regulator may have popular support but many will be disappointed January 22, 2026 The Independent Football Regulator will not be the panacea for all of the English game’s ills that some are hoping for, says Ed Warner. To a stimulating conference titled “The Independent Football Regulator: challenge or opportunity?” There I found myself a minority voice in an echo chamber of regulatory advocates. An opening poll of the [...]
Europe or US: Which sports league system will come out on top? November 16, 2025 Three distinct sports league models are all jostling for dominance in global sport. For decades, European, US and centralised leagues have defined how sport is run, financed and experienced. But, as sport becomes a focus for global investment and a key part of the entertainment industry, traditional models are breaking down. The question is, which [...]
Real Madrid vow to sue Uefa for millions over European Super League stance October 29, 2025 Real Madrid have vowed to seek damages from Uefa expected to run into the millions of Euros for the governing body’s efforts in quashing the European Super League breakaway. The Spanish giants said they would seek financial compensation after a Madrid court rejected appeals by Uefa, LaLiga and Spain’s FA and reaffirmed a previous European [...]
Inside SLB v BBF: Top lawyers, bitter barbs and the European Super League August 2, 2025 Next week lawyers representing Super League Basketball clubs will lodge their response to a counter-claim from the British Basketball Federation, the latest move in a High Court legal battle that is giving the sport much-needed attention but for all the wrong reasons. In a nutshell, the BBF has stripped SLB of its licence to run [...]
Tennis shines a light on new competition law battleground in sport July 20, 2025 Does the tennis court situation prove that communication is always the answer, asks Thorndon Partners co-founder Charles McKeon. The problem with trying to shut down a conversation is that it often has the opposite effect. That’s a lesson the governing bodies of tennis may be learning the hard way. Public and private communications between players [...]
British basketball at war: How can BBF and SLB bloody battle be resolved? July 4, 2025 British basketball is no stranger to turmoil but even by its warped standards the raging civil war between SLB clubs and governing body the BBF is extraordinary. At its heart is a power struggle for the right to run the domestic league. But it also involves claims of dishonesty, mission creep, vindictiveness and outright illegality [...]
Will NBA Europe’s format and salary cap comply with EU law? March 28, 2025 It wasn’t quite the papal white smoke, but the NBA made the clearest statement yet this week that it intends to launch a new league in Europe. In a joint appearance with the head of Fiba, basketball’s international governing body, NBA commissioner Adam Silver spoke of the “enthusiastic support” within both organisations to push ahead [...]