More subs, fewer sackings: Five key trends in European club football September 15, 2025 Every year Uefa provides a snapshot of the trends playing out across the continent’s top football leagues in its annual European Club Talent and Competition Landscape report. At 85 pages, it’s not a quick read but it is a useful window on how the game is evolving, from attendances and player workload to manager sackings [...]
How do you regulate the Independent Football Regulator? September 14, 2025 Former director and chairman of AFC Bournemouth, and current global head of sport at Pinsent Masons, Trevor Watkins discusses how to regulate the Independent Football Regulator This year more than any other promises major change for English football off the field rather than on it: the Independent Football Regulator (IFR) is now in the game. [...]
Football and Robinson march force Met to call in 500 extra police September 13, 2025 Today’s football fixtures in London have contributed to 500 police officers from outside the capital beefing up the Metropolitan Police presence. Nine fixtures across the capital will take place today, including matches involving all seven Premier League teams. Over 1,500 offers in total will police the football matches, as well as a number of demonstrations [...]
Reddit’s Alexis Ohanian says Chelsea Women could be worth $1bn September 12, 2025 Reddit co-founder and Chelsea Women investor Alexis Ohanian has said interest from the United States could turn the London club into a billion-dollar business. Ohanian, who is married to tennis legend Serena Williams, purchased a stake in Chelsea Women in May, believed to be around 10 per cent at a £20m valuation. The investment valued [...]
Rugby is crying out for celebrity investment September 12, 2025 If you take a gander across the sporting landscape there’s a plethora of celebrity faces propping up a new kind of club. Take Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney at Wrexham, or Tom Brady at Birmingham City; both clubs have been propelled to stardom off the field as a result of celebrity investment – with the [...]
Uefa delays decision on controversial overseas games plans September 11, 2025 Uefa has delayed a decision on whether to approve the Spanish and Italian top leagues’ controversial plans to play games overseas this season. LaLiga wants to stage a fixture between Barcelona and Villarreal in Miami in December, while Serie A hopes to take AC Milan’s game with Como to Perth, Australia, in February. European football’s [...]
Chelsea face fine and transfer ban after FA issues 74 charges September 11, 2025 Chelsea face a large fine and a possible transfer ban after being charged with 74 breaches of agent regulations by the Football Association. The charges relate to a period spanning from 2009 to 2022, during Roman Abramovich’s ownership, and come after the club’s current regime raised the alarm about possible “incomplete financial reporting” following their [...]
Overseas games: Uefa and Fifa between rock and hard place as decision looms September 10, 2025 Where US sport leads, Europe usually follows. It’s not a hard and fast rule, but the success of North America’s top leagues in growing – and monetising – the popularity of the NFL and NBA means executives on this side of the pond are only too keen to borrow their playbooks. Which brings us to [...]
Nandy warns Kogan indecision having real-world consequences September 10, 2025 Culture secretary Lisa Nandy has warned that the limbo over David Kogan’s appointment as head of the Independent Football Regulator is “obviously having real-world consequences”. Media rights expert Kogan was named the preferred candidate for the newly created role of chair of the IFR, after the Football Governance Bill passed through parliament this year. But [...]
Tottenham Hotspur take £90m loan following big-spending summer September 10, 2025 Tottenham Hotspur have taken out a £90m loan from Australian bank Macquarie in a move that improves the heavily indebted Premier League club’s cash flow. Spurs have borrowed the sum against future media rights revenue that they are due to receive from the Premier League during the current season. Such loans are not uncommon even [...]