So far, snow good: How Britain became an unlikely force in winter sports April 15, 2023 While casual skiers and snowboarders put boots back into lofts as the European snow season becomes a thing of months past, the cream of Britain’s winter sportspeople are not done in continuing a record-breaking campaign on the white stuff. A year on from a disappointing Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics, where Team GB medalled only in [...]
Brits buy more Paris 2024 Olympics tickets than any other overseas nation April 11, 2023 Great Britain is leading the way for ticket purchases outside of France ahead of next year’s Paris 2024 Olympics. The French capital will host the iconic multi-sport extravaganza for the first time in 100 years in what is also set to be the first Olympiad since the Covid-19 pandemic. It also marks a return to [...]
Ed Warner: Fear of losing to the Poms may get Australian sport its extra A$2bn April 6, 2023 As an English sports fan it’s always fun when others cite your nation as their greatest rivals when they wouldn’t make your own top three. Cricket aside, such is the case with Australia. Last week a cry from Australia’s sporting hierarchy for more financial backing from politicians caught my eye. The need to beat the [...]
Ed Warner: Is China about to bring Russia and its athletes in from the sporting cold? March 30, 2023 The war in Ukraine doesn’t look like ending any time soon. Just as Russia is recalibrating its geopolitical and industrial relations, so the prospect of a conflict stretching years into the future will necessitate a realignment of its place in the sporting world. Asia’s warmth towards the Kremlin points a way back into the international [...]
Allowing athletes from Russia back into sport ‘works’ despite Ukraine war, says Olympic chief Bach March 28, 2023 The president of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) Thomas Bach today doubled down on plans for Russian and Belarusian athletes to be allowed back into competitions, adding that his plans “work” despite the war in Ukraine. The German spoke at the IOC’s executive meeting. There was, however, no decision on whether Russians and Belarusians would [...]
Russia’s athletics doping suspension is OVER, but ban remains due to Ukraine invasion March 23, 2023 World Athletics president Seb Coe has said that Russia’s seven-year doping ban has been lifted, but restrictions due to the Ukraine invasion remain. An investigation uncovered widespread state-sponsored doping was present across many disciplines in Russia and the country was banned from having athletes compete under the Russian flag unless they were categorically, in no [...]
Putin the boot in: Vladimir takes swipe at Britain over Russian sport ban lobbying March 23, 2023 Vladimir Putin has accused Russia’s critics including the UK of “using sports for unseemly purposes”. Putin said calls, led by Britain, for Russian athletes to remain banned from international sport were politically motivated. “Western countries are trying to use sports for unseemly purposes as a tool of pressure,” the Russian president told news agency TASS. [...]
UK government’s letter to Visa, Deloitte and Allianz prompts rebuke from Olympic chiefs March 14, 2023 Olympic chiefs have issued a rebuke to the UK government over its lobbying of sponsors including Visa, Deloitte and Allianz for Russia to remain banned from sport. The UK has been among the most vocal and active opponents of the International Olympic Committee’s plan to lift the suspension of Russia and its ally Belarus. Culture [...]
UK culture sec urges Olympic partners like Coca-Cola and Visa to back Russia athlete ban March 11, 2023 The UK’s culture secretary has written to sponsors of the Olympics including Coca-Cola and Visa urging them to back a ban on Russian and Belorussian athletes. Lucy Frazer addressed the letter to the CEOs of the International Olympic Committee’s (IOC) Worldwide Partners, which include Coca-Cola, Intel, Samsung and Visa. The letter to CEOs comes after [...]
Is sports technology the answer to match fixed betting? March 8, 2023 Do you know that feeling when you’ve bet on your favourite team to win a match but, for some reason, they capitulate to a series of goals an under-11s side could have scored and you smell a rat? Well, what if you could eliminate all cheating from sport and sports betting? As of 12 months [...]