Week in Sportbiz: English football puts the boot into Twitter and Facebook; Rolex deal shows value of golf tours’ alliance; dystopian snack marketing February 11, 2021 It is rare to see all of English football sing from the same hymnsheet. But that was in evidence today as the game’s leading bodies joined forces to demand more action from Twitter and Facebook against racist, sexist and threatening behaviour. The Premier League, Football Association, English Football League, Women’s Professional Game, players’ union the [...]
Should football brace itself for a dementia claims crisis? February 10, 2021 Last week the Football Association’s head of medicine, Charlotte Cowie, announced the governing body was considering “likely risk factors” for dementia among players. The review comes as concern grows across contact sports around the potential link between neurodegenerative disorders and head trauma. The concern isn’t new – Alan Shearer’s 2017 documentary Dementia, Football and Me [...]
Sport on TV: How to watch India v England, the Six Nations, Liverpool v Man City and Super Bowl LV in the UK February 6, 2021 What better way to beat the lockdown blues than by gorging on a feast of sport on TV? Answer: none. And this weekend’s fare is the most abundant yet this year, with an England Test series on terrestrial TV, the first round of the Six Nations, a Premier League title showdown between Liverpool and Manchester [...]
Week in Sportbiz: Fenerbahce step up attacks on beIN; CVC serves up $300m volleyball deal; London pipped by Big Apple; Qatar sales record; Man Utd February 5, 2021 Conflict is in the air at Fenerbahce – and not just because they face rivals Galatasaray in the Istanbul derby this weekend. Mesut Ozil’s new club have embarked on a bizarre crusade against broadcaster beIN Sports, accusing it of conspiring against the club by manipulating VAR and choosing camera angles or highlights that show them [...]
Premier League set for its lowest January transfer window spend since 2012, barring unexpected deadline day splurge February 1, 2021 The Premier League is heading for its lowest January spend since 2012, barring an unexpected transfer deadline day flurry of activity. Heading into the final hours of the transfer window, English top-flight clubs had forked out around £78m. Unless they spend more than £40m before tonight’s 11pm deadline, it will represent their lowest outlay for [...]
Why football clubs face an increased threat from cyber criminals during the transfer window January 31, 2021 It isn’t just football’s wheeler-dealers springing into action this month for the January transfer window. Increasingly, it is open season too for cyber criminals who see the game as rich pickings for various forms of hacking. “Right now there are big amounts of money changing hands,” says Max Heinemeyer of cyber defence firm Darktrace. “So this [...]
Week in Sportbiz: Premier League still No1 in China; Leeds boss keeping busy; Matchroom’s media move; Wimbledon optimism; London 2012 gold for sale January 28, 2021 The Premier League’s ongoing dispute with a Chinese broadcaster doesn’t appear to have affected its popularity in the Far East. England’s top division has been named the most popular football league in China by a new report ranking digital performance. It had 80 per cent more engagement on leading social media platform Weibo than La [...]
Trevor Steven: Lampard’s Chelsea had become a runaway train but Tuchel is the perfect man to steer them back to the top January 27, 2021 Chelsea need a manager who can pick up the reins quickly and in Thomas Tuchel I think they’ve got the perfect man. Experience at a big club? Check. Knows how to handle superstars? Check. Able to get a team performing at close to their maximum? Again, check. And that’s all in his last job at [...]
Chelsea confirm Thomas Tuchel appointment as German former PSG manager replaces sacked Frank Lampard January 26, 2021 Chelsea have confirmed the appointment of former Paris Saint-Germain head coach Thomas Tuchel as manager. Tuchel, 47, has signed a contract until the end of next season, with the option of a further year. The German replaces club record scorer Frank Lampard, who the club sacked on Monday after 18 months in charge. “I would [...]
World’s richest football clubs 2021: Barcelona top Deloitte Football Money League ahead of Real Madrid while Bayern Munich overtake Manchester United January 26, 2021 Barcelona have retained their status as the world’s richest football club, according to Deloitte’s latest Football Money League. Barca remained fractionally ahead of fellow Spanish giants Real Madrid despite their revenue falling by €125m to €715.1m in 2019-20. European champions Bayern Munich climbed to third ahead of Manchester United, the highest placed English team in [...]