MMA in the Olympics? New global body targets Games inclusion Sport Business Mixed-martial arts could be added to the Olympic Games under plans announced today by Asian MMA chiefs. The Asian Mixed Martial Arts Association (AMMA) says it wants to unify the sport under a new world governing body called FIMMA, which will meet for the first time next week. They believe that will boost their chances [...]
Union threatens LA Olympics strike and issues $5bn demand Sport Business The 2028 Los Angeles Olympics has been threatened with strike action by a union demanding a $5bn investment in local housing. The Unite Here Local 11 union has issued a list of demands ahead of the next Olympiad, insisting their 32,000 members could strike over the Olympics if they’re not listened to. They have asked [...]
Paris 2024 Olympics was watched by 5bn, claims IOC Sport Business The Paris 2024 Olympic Games were the most-watched in history, according to the International Olympic Committee (IOC). The IOC said 5bn people – 84 per cent of the world’s population – watched action from France last summer on TV or digital devices. In Britain, 36.1m people – 59 per cent of the population – watched [...]
Does cricket have Olympic future in Brisbane and, maybe, India? May 29, 2025 Team GB may put forward a cricket team for the LA 2028 Olympic Games, but with Australia and potentially India hosting next does the sport have a long-term future? Over a decade ago at the London 2012 Olympics Welshmen Ryan Giggs, Joe Allen, and Neil Taylor joined the likes of Daniel Sturridge, Micah Richards and [...]
London yet to fire starting gun on 2040 Olympic bid despite Khan backing April 29, 2025 Talk of a London bid to host the 2040 Olympic Games is premature and faces competition from Saudi Arabia, despite the enthusiasm of Mayor Sadiq Khan, City AM understands. Khan this week reiterated his ambition for the capital to become the first city to host the event four times, saying that it would “knock it [...]
After losing IOC election, how about Seb Coe for chair of football regulator? March 27, 2025 It was, with hindsight, not a “keep Seb Coe out” but a “get Kirsty Coventry in” campaign that determined the International Olympic Committee (IOC) presidential election outcome. I was as guilty as most British observers in believing that Seb Coe would take it to the wire. Unconscious bias and all that. In the event, eight [...]
Coventry IOC election clears Russia ‘return to Olympic podium’, says Kremlin sport minister March 21, 2025 Russia believes the election of Kirsty Coventry as IOC president can see the banned nation “return to the Olympic podium”. Russian Olympic Committee president and sports minister Mikhail Degtyarev congratulated Coventry on her election, in a vote that surprisingly took just one round to find an overall majority conclusion. Briton Lord Coe got just eight [...]
Lord Coe awaits IOC election result in Greece March 20, 2025 Lord Coe will today find out whether he has been elected to one of the biggest jobs in sport, president of the International Olympic Committee. The two-time Olympic champion and current president of World Athletics spent the final few days of campaigning telling potential voters – IOC members – how he’d take the Olympic movement [...]
Trump is making Russia the next IOC president’s burning issue March 20, 2025 If Trump can claim to have brokered peace in Ukraine, and with swathes of the world still beholden to Russia, the IOC will have to accept them back into the Olympics, says Ed Warner. The final bell has sounded at the IBA Women’s World Boxing Championships in Nis, Serbia. The tournament’s medal table is emblematic [...]
Ainslie heads 400 Olympians urging IOC to take fight to climate change March 14, 2025 British sailing great Sir Ben Ainslie heads a list of 400 Olympians who have signed a letter urging the next president of the IOC to prioritise tackling climate change. Other signatories include swimmer Emma McKeon, Australia’s most decorated Olympian, Ferdinand Omanyala, Africa’s fastest sprinter, refugee boxer Cindy Ngamba and Paris 2024 surfing gold medallist Carissa [...]