Why brands can learn from sports teams about earning fandom November 18, 2025 Brands shouldn’t start imitating sports teams but they do need to understand how fandom makes them so powerful, writes Sarah Hackett. Inflation, tough market conditions and uncertainty around the upcoming Budget are forcing us to make challenging financial choices. Two-thirds of consumers now say that price matters far more than it did before. Our loyalty [...]
Exclusive: Middlesex to play just two T20 Blast games at Lord’s in 2026 November 12, 2025 Middlesex will play just two Twenty20 Blast matches at Lord’s next year in a further indication of their declining foothold at the Home of Cricket. The 13-time county champions have been tenants at Lord’s since 1864 and have a 12-month rental agreement with the Marylebone Cricket Club that is renewed on an annual basis, but [...]
Where do Premier League clubs go after betting sponsor ban? November 11, 2025 Adam Raincock analyses where Premier League clubs turn when their voluntary ban on gambling front-of-shirt sponsorship comes into force. The 1984 film The Terminator ends with Sarah Connor being told ‘There’s a Storm Coming’. Fast-forward to 2025, and you could replace Connor with any Premier League commercial director. The same warning applies – there’s a [...]
Can the government force the Abramovich Chelsea money to go to Ukraine? November 8, 2025 This week former Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich hit out at the UK government over their handling of the proceeds from the sale of the Blues to a Todd Boehly-fronted consortium, describing the process as “paralysing”. Around £2.3bn is sitting frozen in a bank account with the two parties at odds over whether Ukraine, or “all” [...]
Trial of Nottingham Forest owner Evangelos Marinakis begins in Greece November 6, 2025 The trial of Nottingham Forest owner Evangelos Marinakis has begun in Greece, with the recognisable Premier League figure accused of instigating football violence and supporting a criminal organisation. Marinakis co-owns Super League Greece side Olympiacos and is on trial in Athens alongside four other board members on misdemeanour charges. The trial stems from charges lodged [...]
Abramovich hits out at UK government over frozen £2.3bn Chelsea proceeds November 5, 2025 Former Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich has criticised the government over moves that have “paralysed” his £2.3bn windfall from the sale of the Premier League club. Following the invasion of Ukraine, the Russian billionaire sold the Stamford Bridge club to a consortium fronted by American Todd Boehly, with the proceeds placed in a frozen bank account [...]
Tottenham Hotspur set for new front-of-shirt sponsor despite AIA deal November 4, 2025 Tottenham Hotspur is ending its front-of-shirt sponsorship deal with insurance giant AIA Group Limited at the end of next season. The Hong Kong–based multinational firm has featured on the front of the north London club’s home shirts for a decade and will continue to do so until the conclusion of the 2026-2027 season. But then [...]
Premier League exec steps down to lead Major League Soccer challenger competition November 3, 2025 The Premier League is set to lose one of its top staff, chief football officer Tony Scholes, at the end of the season after he agreed to head up a challenger to Major League Soccer in the US. Scholes is to be president of a new top-tier competition to be launched in 2028 by the [...]
Single Premier League Boxing Day fixture huge opportunity for TV November 2, 2025 Boxing Day football has long been woven into the nation’s cultural fabric, with families traditionally watching multiple matches throughout the day. It is intertwined into Britain’s festive rhythm, as familiar as the Boxing Day sales. But that tradition could change if the Premier League proceeds with plans to stage just one Boxing Day fixture. By [...]
Exclusive: Budweiser to challenge Heineken for Uefa Champions League deal October 29, 2025 Uefa’s long-standing Champions League beer partners, Heineken, are facing competition from Budweiser for the contract to be the competition’s official suppliers from 2027 onwards. City AM has learned that Budweiser’s parent company, AB InBev, are willing to pay Uefa €200m per season, a significant increase on the €120m-a-year they are currently getting from Heineken. Budweiser [...]