Clear and simple calendars like NFL, not tennis, should be applauded in sport January 23, 2025 The NFL, unlike tennis, should be applauded for its clear and simple sport calendar that sees athletes thrive, writes Ed Warner. Naomi Osaka, Gael Monfils, Jack Draper. Each retired from the Australian Open mid-match. No substitutes bench in tennis, so the ultimate anticlimax for spectators. Injuries are an occupational hazard, but across sport the sheer [...]
Naomi Girma: Chelsea agree first $1m transfer in women’s football January 22, 2025 Chelsea are set to make USA defender Naomi Girma the first $1m transfer in women’s football after agreeing a world-record fee with San Diego Wave. Girma is expected to join the reigning Women’s Super League champions this week in a deal worth $1.1m (£889,000) – more than double the previous British record fee. The transfer [...]
Ambani family on course for £100m London Spirit in Hundred auction January 22, 2025 The likely destinations of English cricket’s crown jewels in the Hundred auction are taking shape, with the Ambani family’s determination to buy 49 per cent of the London Spirit in a deal expected to exceed £100m forcing other bidders to look elsewhere. A consortium of Californian investors led by Nikesh Arora, chief executive of Palo [...]
Man United legend Bryan Robson to be hit with tax bill over ambassador role January 21, 2025 Former Man United legend Bryan Robson has lost a chunk of his IR35 case against HMRC leaving him exposed to a undisclosed tax bill
Haaland: Man City striker could pay £150m to HMRC over new deal January 21, 2025 Signing a lucrative contract, as Erling Haaland did with Manchester City this month, is usually one of the happiest days of someone’s life. Haaland has signed for nearly a decade in a deal that is reportedly worth £26m a year before bonuses. But the reality is that the taxman is coming, and for the Norway [...]
Football regulator: Tory peers right to question changes, says Collins January 20, 2025 Former Culture, Media and Sport select committee chair Damian Collins has defended Conservative peers’ thorough questioning of the Labour government’s beefed-up plans for an independent football regulator. Sport Minister Stephanie Peacock last week accused some Tory peers of submitting amendments “cynically designed to dither, delay and block” the progress of the Football Governance Bill through [...]
Fifa boss Infantino on Trump: ‘We will make entire world great again’ January 20, 2025 Fifa chief Gianni Infantino has hailed his “great friendship” with US president-elect Donald Trump and vowed that they will “make the entire world great again”. Infantino has forged close connections with Trump and the US, which will host the first edition of the expanded Club World Cup this summer and co-host the men’s World Cup [...]
English football’s record year for legal spending – can it stay secret? January 19, 2025 Before the Christmas break the Premier League published an article posing the question: what Premier League records for a calendar year can still be broken? While fans watched the glut of fixtures over Christmas, another record had already been set: 2024 was the year that English football was dominated by legal disputes. The Premier League [...]
Destination Calcio: Why a little-known website bought Serie B media rights January 18, 2025 Destination Calcio only popped up last summer and has a modest audience but has snapped up the live rights to Italian football’s Serie B in the UK and US until 2027. What’s going on? Serie B may be at the niche end of football fandom, especially for British lovers of the game, but the Italian [...]
Why the football regulator shouldn’t ignore clubs below National League January 18, 2025 The case of Ebbsfleet United shows why the incoming football regulator’s powers are needed throughout the English game, says Damian Collins. The deeply entwined relationship between English football clubs and the communities they serve is never more evident than at the midpoint of the season and the turn of the year. Whilst most Europeans enjoy [...]