Erling Haaland follows Eze and Salah chess passion with investment March 20, 2026 Manchester City and Norway striker Erling Haaland has followed fellow Premier League stars Eberechi Eze and Mohammed Salah in sharing his passion for chess after investing in the game. Haaland has backed Norway Chess and its modernised format, the Total Chess World Championship Tour, alongside Norwegian business leader Morten Borge. It is the superstar’s latest [...]
Football missing bank-grade infrastructure as regulator powers grow March 19, 2026 English football is entering a new era: the Premier League has just handed Chelsea a record fine for hidden payments, while the Independent Football Regulator (IFR) is starting to flex its intentions to improve financial soundness and resilience across the pyramid. The latest licensing proposals go further, allowing the regulator to categorise clubs as “high‑risk” [...]
Government ‘must not delay’ over Abramovich’s £2.5bn Chelsea funds, Tories say March 18, 2026 Shadow chancellor Mel Stride has insisted the government “must not delay taking further action” against Roman Abramovich to unlock £2.5bn held after his sale of Chelsea. The Russian was forced to offload the Premier League club in 2022 after Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, with the proceeds of the sale to a consortium led by [...]
Chelsea punishment ‘extremely lenient’, says club’s former exec Purslow March 18, 2026 Former Chelsea executive Christian Purslow has labelled the club’s punishment from the Premier League for making undisclosed payments totalling £47.5m “extremely lenient and favourable”. Chelsea escaped with a £10.75m fine and suspended transfer ban after the club’s current owners self-reported offences they said they had discovered in an audit of the previous ownership of Roman [...]
Football regulator told: Give well-run clubs a bigger slice of game’s billions March 17, 2026 The Independent Football Regulator has been urged to mandate a new deal between the Premier League and English Football League that funnels more money to well-run clubs. The IFR this week published a new consultation on the club licensing regime it will implement from next year, which will give it the power to suspend a [...]
Chelsea hit with £11m fine and Premier League transfer ban March 16, 2026 Chelsea have been slapped with a £11m fine and a transfer ban for breaching Premier League rules under their previous ownership. An investigation into the London club found “undisclosed payments by third parties associated with the club were made to players, unregistered agents and other third parties” between 2011 and 2018, when the club was [...]
Why World Cup hydration breaks will push traditional ads to the subs bench March 15, 2026 Hydration breaks at the World Cup could usher in major changes to advertising during live sport, writes Jonathan Haines. As broadcasters prepare for the 2026 World Cup, an unexpected talking point has emerged. The tournament will feature mid-half hydration breaks, introduced to protect players from the searing heat predicted this summer in North America. But [...]
Arsenal: Leading the digital charge as well as the Premier League March 14, 2026 If Arsenal lift the Premier League trophy this season, it won’t just be a victory on the pitch; the club could also win the race to redefine how fans engage with football online. Arsenal are building a quiet revolution, investing in digital platforms that house ticketing, merchandise and original content to pull fans deeper into [...]
Women’s Super League fans spend more on matchdays than Premier League counterparts March 12, 2026 Football fans attending Women’s Super League matches spend more than those going to Premier League games, according to new research commissioned by Barclays. Fan spend per matchday, excluding tickets, averaged £145 for supporters in the WSL compared with £138 in the Premier League, the research found. Non-food spending – merchandise and match programme – was [...]
Premier League +: Football following the Disney playbook with streaming platform March 8, 2026 When the Premier League last week quietly confirmed that it will be launching its own streaming platform, Premier League +, in Singapore, it might have slipped under the radar for many. At first glance, it’s a new app in a new territory; a controlled test of in-housing distribution and cutting out the broadcasters. But this [...]