Adidas shares plunge after hike in World Cup marketing spend Sport Business Adidas shares sank this morning after the sportswear behemoth missed quarterly profit expectations amid a hike in World Cup marketing spend. Shares in the German firm opened more than 15 per cent down after missing second quarter profit expectations. The dent came despite revenues rising 14 per cent to £5.7bn but the firm maintained its [...]
Manchester United debt pile may force owners to fund new stadium Sport Business Doubts have emerged over Manchester United’s capacity to fund their £2bn-plus new stadium unless the owners inject cash. The club announced on Monday that they had secured the land required to build the 100,000-seater venue – dubbed a “Wembley of the North” – from Indurent, which lets industrial units. The 25-acre site is only 350m [...]
Cole Palmer: Chelsea footballer launches range of ‘premium craft ice’ for £2 a bag Sport Business Chelsea and England footballer Cole Palmer has put his World Cup snub behind him by launching a new range of “premium craft ice” with grocery delivery platform Gopuff. The “Cole’d” product range – a nod to his nickname “Cold Palmer” – includes chewable “pebble ice” with added electrolytes, and large, football-shaped “ice spheres”, and is [...]
Why 2026 World Cup is when AI becomes the interface between fans and football June 21, 2026 The 2026 World Cup is the first AI-shaped major sports event and will change football fandom forever. Jon Williams outlines what sponsors, broadcasters and brands need to do about it. Football, like the creative advertising business I work in, thinks the biggest gains from AI are operational – speed, efficiency, and more. They’re not. AI’s [...]
2026 World Cup: How England went from misery to magnet for blue chip brands June 16, 2026 As they begin their 2026 World Cup campaign, the England brand is unrecognisable from 10 years ago – and it is paying off in growing revenues for the FA. This month marks a decade since one of the darkest days in the Football Association’s history, when England’s men were humbled by Iceland – a nation [...]
Adidas, Burberry and so much Beckham: The six best 2026 World Cup ad campaigns June 13, 2026 An unnecessarily serious review of the best ads around the 2026 World Cup, including campaigns by Adidas, Nike and Burberry, as picked by amateur footballer and professional creative Harriet Russell-Vick. Football ads in 2026 finally remembered a crucial detail: football is supposed to be fun. After years of ultra-serious slow-motion shots of rain hitting crossbars [...]
Real Madrid underline financial power by signing new €1bn kit deal with Adidas June 10, 2026 Real Madrid have received a financial boost after signing a new eight-year kit deal with Adidas that is believed to be the most lucrative in world football. The 15-time European champions and the German sportswear behemoth have opted for an early extension to their partnership, which will now run until at least 2034. Real Madrid’s [...]
Sawe and Adidas London Marathon record could see athletes jump from Nike April 27, 2026 Sabastian Sawe’s use of Adidas footwear at the London Marathon to break the two-hour barrier could lure non-contracted runners away from Nike, experts have warned. Kenya’s Sawe became the first person to legally dip under the two-hour mark on Sunday to etch his name in athletics folklore alongside Roger Bannister and Jim Hines, and did [...]
‘A London Marathon every weekend? I think we can get to that – and sell out’ April 24, 2026 Sam Browne, co-founder of the tech platform, Let’s Do This, which runs the London Marathon ballot, on its rapid growth… and the coming AI revolution. On Sunday 59,000 keen runners, amateur plodders and fundraisers dressed as, among other things, a pair of testicles will line up to take on the London Marathon. This year’s ballot [...]
Enhanced Games, Lance Armstrong and the truth about why we hate doping April 19, 2026 There is an irony in the fact that sponsors and broadcasters won’t touch the Enhanced Games, explains Matt Readman. Last month it was announced that the 2026 Winter Olympic Games was the first Olympiad in 28 years to have zero failed drugs tests. The “cleanest Games for a generation” is a big moment for an [...]