Footballers suffered worse injuries after Qatar World Cup, shocking study finds November 19, 2023 The Premier League had the second most injuries last season.
Why sponsors won’t sweat another desert World Cup – even a dry one November 14, 2023 What will a Saudi World Cup mean for football's many commercial partners?
Another winter World Cup on cards after Australia withdrawal leaves one bid standing October 31, 2023 Australia's withdrawal of interest leaves Saudi Arabia as the last bid standing.
Sportspeople ‘perilously close’ to limit, says major player group chief October 22, 2023 Professional sportspeople are “perilously close to going over the limits of what is sustainable” according to a top player association executive. Simon Taylor of the Professional Players Federation has insisted that player welfare has not been given enough priority within the international game. Footballers in the past have spoken of the demands of a full [...]
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 [...]
Qatar tightens grip on elite padel with takeover of rival Spanish-owned circuit August 24, 2023 Qatar Sports Investments, the owner of French football champions Paris Saint-Germain, has confirmed its takeover of the World Padel Tour. The move concludes around 18 months of wrangling over control of the fast-growing sport at elite level, following the launch of QSI’s rival Premier Padel circuit. It will see Premier Padel become the main tour [...]
Manchester City receive biggest payout for releasing players for 2022 World Cup July 15, 2023 Manchester City received $4.6m (£3.51m), the biggest payout of any club, for releasing players for last year’s World Cup in Qatar. City’s compensation from world governing body Fifa narrowly beat Barcelona’s $4.54m and the $4.33m paid to Bayern Munich. Real Madrid and Paris Saint-Germain, who both received $3.84m, completed a top five monopolised by leading [...]
20,000 abusive social media posts made during Fifa World Cup, England v France with the highest proportion June 19, 2023 There were almost 20,000 abusive social media posts aimed at players, teams and officials during last year’s Fifa World Cup, according to a new report by the sport’s governing body and player union Fifpro released yesterday. The 19,600 abusive messages came from 12,600 accounts during the showpiece event held in Qatar last winter. Fifa went [...]
Ed Warner: What’s next for the losers in the rush to embrace sovereign wealth? June 15, 2023 City A.M. columnist Ed Warner discusses the recent LIV Golf merger, the Saudi Arabia PIF deal and what comes next for the losers in the rush to embrace sovereign wealth. Elite runners focus on every step of every run. Us mere mortals seek displacement tricks to block out the pain. And so I found myself [...]
Kemi Badenoch urged to ‘walk away’ from Gulf trade deal over human rights concerns May 22, 2023 Kemi Badenoch has been urged to “walk away” from “worrying” trade negotiations with Gulf states due to concerns about human and labour rights abuses. The UK has “absolutely no reason” to discuss trade with states where “human, women’s and LGBT rights and workers’ rights abuses are so widespread”, union boss Paul Nowak said. Amnesty International [...]