FIVE sports including squash and cricket to feature in LA Olympics October 16, 2023 The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has granted inclusion to five sports ahead of the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles. Cricket will return to the roster for the first time since 1900 while there is also appearances for squash, baseball-softball, flag football and lacrosse. It comes as breakdancing makes its debut in Paris 2024 next summer [...]
Russia Olympic Committee ditched by IOC for including bodies from Ukraine as members October 12, 2023 The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has suspended the Russian Olympic Committee after they sought to include Ukrainian sports bodies in Donetsk. The ROC took the decision to include, as its members, “the regional sports organisations which are under the authority of the NOC of Ukraine (namely Donetsk, Kherson, Luhansk and Zaporizhzhia), the IOC said. The [...]
Ed Warner: VAR cock-ups are hastening the inevitable arrival of AI referees October 12, 2023 How long until a match is refereed entirely by AI, following the latest Premier League VAR blunders?
Squash chiefs’ delight at LA 2028 Olympics announcement October 10, 2023 After years of lobbying for inclusion, squash looks set for its moment in the sun at the LA 2028 Olympics.
Golfers can play for brand value at Olympics and Ryder Cup, not a pay cheque October 5, 2023 This week’s Ed Warner column looks at the Patrick Cantlay “pay or no pay” discussion and how Olympians can only dream of being in a situation where they don’t need payment to compete at the highest level. Can those Ryder Cup golfers simply increase their brand value by rubbing shoulders with Olympians in Paris next [...]
Idyllic Paris set to give Olympic Games much needed revival, and hospitality will play a part October 2, 2023 Bradley Wiggins rounding the Arc de Triomphe in the yellow jersey, Mark Cueto’s disallowed Rugby World Cup final try against South Africa and the Ronaldo “will he start?” debate ahead of the 1998 football World Cup final; it is fair to say Paris has hosted its share of incredible sporting moments. So it is no [...]
Russian athletes allowed to compete as neutrals at next year’s Paris Paralympics September 29, 2023 Russian athletes will be able to compete as neutrals at next year’s Paralympic Games in Paris despite the country’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine. International Paralympic Committee member nations voted against a full suspension of the Russian committee at the organisation’s General Assembly in Bahrain, but a motion to partially suspend was passed on Friday afternoon. [...]
Poland confirms bid to host Olympic Games for first time – but faces major rival September 28, 2023 Poland will bid to host the Olympic Games for the first time in 2036 after president Andrzej Duda announced its intention to nominate Warsaw. The country has never staged either the Summer or Winter Games but successfully hosted the smaller regional version, the European Games, this year. Poland faces competition from other bidders including Mexico, [...]
Ed Warner: Is Saudi’s goal of using sport to boost GDP by 1.5 per cent achievable? September 28, 2023 John Maynard Keynes argued for government spending – any spending – to stimulate economies in recession, even paying people to dig holes and then fill them up again, given the multiplier effect when they spend their wages. Saudi Arabia may not be facing such an economic challenge, but the sports investments pursued by its Crown [...]
Dazn hits back at MP plans to close free-to-air sport loophole September 25, 2023 Calls from politicians to stop streaming platforms from bidding to show major sporting events have been slammed as “very narrow-minded and anti-competitive”. Sports streaming giant Dazn, best known for showing high-profile boxing matches, has hit out at recent recommendations by a group of MPs to stop streaming platforms from bidding for “crown jewel” sporting events. Crown jewel [...]