Week in Sportbiz: Mexican stand-off over Club Necaxa NFT; press conferences overshadow French Open; English football in distress June 3, 2021 From NBA Top Shot to Christian Fuchs, the march of the NFT in sport has looked unstoppable. Until now, that is. Mexican football chiefs this week put the brakes on the plans of Club Necaxa to become the world’s first sports team to sell an ownership stake using blockchain technology. Club Necaxa, whose shareholders include [...]
Exclusive: Vegan footballer Chris Smalling invests six-figure sum in plant-based meat company Heura June 3, 2021 Former Manchester United footballer Chris Smalling has become an investor in plant-based meat company Heura. Smalling, who switched to a vegan diet five years ago, is understood to have invested a six-figure sum in the Spanish brand. “Backing from a top athlete like Chris further bolsters Heura’s nutritional credentials, which are second to none,” said [...]
Championship Play-Off Final: £170m prize at stake for Brentford and Swansea in football’s most lucrative match May 29, 2021 Saturday’s Championship Play-Off Final is worth £170m to the winning team, making it football’s most lucrative match, according to Deloitte. The Wembley fixture, to decide which team gets the remaining place in next season’s Premier League, is this year between Brentford and Swansea City. “Promotion to the Premier League remains the most valuable prize in [...]
Leicester City title hero Christian Fuchs explains why he is auctioning his viral video of the team’s Premier League celebrations as an NFT May 28, 2021 Former Leicester City player Christian Fuchs is auctioning his viral video clip of the team celebrating the Premier League title as part of an NFT (non-fungible token). Fuchs shot the clip of the moment Leicester became champions on his mobile phone and shared it on Twitter, where it has received 12m views. The defender is [...]
Week in Sportbiz: Castore eyes Chinese market with Wolves kit deal; Rosberg signs up IG Prime to Extreme E team; Koepka does rival DeChambeau a favour May 27, 2021 Change is in the air at Wolves, and not only because manager Nuno Espirito Santo departed this week. The Black Country’s finest have also signed a new kit deal with fast-growing premium British sportswear brand Castore. Castore has been canny in its choice of sportspeople and teams to get behind, from Andy Murray to Owen [...]
Week in Sportbiz: Bitcoin plunge hits chess grandmasters; ‘Stamford Beach’ stunt recalls Chelsea row; and Hundred teams get new spinners May 20, 2021 When is a $100,000 bonus not worth $100,000? That is a conundrum for the chess grandmasters taking part in the FTX Crypto Cup. The tournament, which features world champion Magnus Carlsen and starts this weekend, is offering a $320,000 prize to the winner – a record for an online chess event. But $100,000 of that [...]
Modernising Burnley: How ALK Capital plan to use artificial intelligence and a network of partner clubs to take the Clarets into a new era May 20, 2021 Think of Burnley FC and you think of target men, tigerish midfielders and hulking centre-backs. Of manager Sean Dyche’s gravelly tones. Of one of the Premier League’s less fashionable and most traditional clubs consistently outperforming more glamorous rivals with a defiantly no-nonsense brand of football. But for all that they have punched above their weight, [...]
Inter Milan close to €275m bailout by private equity firm Oaktree May 19, 2021 Inter Milan is said to be closing in on a €275m (£237m) bailout by US private equity firm Oaktree Capital to shore up its finances following the collapse of the European Super League. As part of the deal, Oaktree would take a 30 per cent stake in the Italian football team and provide a much-needed [...]
Roy Hodgson set for emotional farewell to Crystal Palace fans after club confirm he will step down in the summer May 18, 2021 Crystal Palace have announced that Roy Hodgson will step down as manager at the end of the current season. The former England coach, 73, has been in charge at his boyhood club since 2017, during which time he has succeeded in keeping them in the Premier League. “After more than 45 years of coaching I [...]
Premier League and the race for European places: Which teams can still qualify for the Champions League, Europa League and Europa Conference League? May 17, 2021 The Premier League title and relegation may have been decided, but with two rounds of games to go one important question remains: who will qualify for Europe? Champions League, Europa League and Europa Conference League places are still up for grabs ahead of Gameweek 37, which begins on Tuesday 18 May. That means Leicester City, [...]