Champions League-chasing Chelsea – and women’s football more generally – on the cusp of something extraordinary May 13, 2021 As the strangest football season on record hurtles to a climax, blue is most certainly the colour. While the sky blues of Manchester City contemplate a treble almost on par with their neighbours’ efforts in 1999, Chelsea can claim a double of their own if they beat City in the Champions League final and defeat [...]
Premier League and Manchester United named top of the table for cashing in on social media May 12, 2021 The Premier League and Manchester United have the most valuable social media output across all sports, according to a new report. The Premier League is projected to derive £302m from activity on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram by year end, more than any other sport competition in the world. Manchester United, meanwhile, have a digital inventory [...]
Steering clear of the cliff edge: Why it makes business sense for sport to put the human first May 11, 2021 We’ve seen a seismic shift in attitudes around athlete welfare but the sentiment ‘it’s only what happens on the pitch that counts’, albeit largely unspoken, is sadly still common in professional sport. With the global sports market expected to reach $600bn by 2025, there is no doubt about the pressure clubs are facing to deliver [...]
Women’s Super League Team of the Season 2020-21: The best performing players in the WSL, as identified by Carteret Analytics May 10, 2021 The FA Women’s Super League champions have been crowned, but which players deserve to be in the WSL Team of the Season? We asked Carteret Analytics to answer that question using the sort of quantitative analysis used in investment banking. They have crunched the numbers on all WSL players to determine their Carteret Rating, which [...]
Week in Sportbiz: Ed Sheeran sponsors Ipswich Town; Javier Tebas blasts Gianni Infantino; Tokyo 2020 set for first transgender Olympian May 6, 2021 It has been a whirlwind few weeks at Ipswich Town. Fresh from welcoming new owners, the League One club now has an unlikely new shirt sponsor: Ed Sheeran. The Suffolk songsmith, a long-standing fan of the Tractor Boys, has agreed to sponsor the men’s and women’s team on a one-year deal that starts next season. [...]
No away fans at Premier League games until next season after clubs decide to keep last two matches of the season for home supporters only May 5, 2021 The final two rounds of the Premier League season will reopen to home fans only, organisers have confirmed. There had been speculation that a small number of away supporters would be permitted to attend games once lockdown is eased further on 17 May. But that has now been ruled out, with the Premier League citing [...]
European Super League organisers claimed Bayern had caved in order to tempt PSG to table May 4, 2021 European Super League organisers lied about which teams had joined the breakaway in a bid to get others to sign up, sources close to the talks have claimed. Bayern Munich and Paris Saint-Germain, last season’s Champions League finalists, were among the big clubs to refuse a spot in the scuppered project. But just hours before [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
Spotify founder Daniel Ek says he is “very serious” about Arsenal takeover interest and has secured the funds to make Stan Kroenke an offer April 28, 2021 Spotify co-founder Daniel Ek says he has secured the financial backing to make an offer for Arsenal. The Swedish billionaire, who is chief executive and part-owner of the music streaming platform, added that he was “very serious” about buying the Premier League football club. Ek also urged current Arsenal owner Stan Kroenke to listen to [...]