Comment: Criticise me not Qatar for World Cup, says Infantino. OK then, here goes November 20, 2022 In a speech riddled with crass false equivalences on the eve of the World Cup, Gianni Infantino had a message for critics of this tournament. “Don’t criticise Qatar. Don’t criticise the players” the Fifa president said. “Criticise me, because I am responsible for everything.” OK, Gianni; here goes. There is no shortage of material. Criticise [...]
Ed Warner: If Liverpool’s owners want to sell, expect more American buyers November 17, 2022 Ed Warner addresses why American investors are the most likely purchases of any Liverpool shares on the market, why England’s Rugby World Cup defeat was good for the women’s game, and cricket song choices with a sense of humour. Forty-three days without the Premier League. Three days in and already I’m suffering withdrawal symptoms. Yes, [...]
Size matters: Why tiny Qatar decided it needed to host the World Cup November 16, 2022 Sport business and geopolitics expert Professor Simon Chadwick explains the economic, security-related and nation-building reasons why Qatar is hosting the World Cup. With the start of the men’s World Cup in Qatar imminent, fans are looking ahead to the action starting. Some will be anticipating Harry Kane retaining his Golden Boot, though others may feel [...]
Magic materials, paperless tickets and Web3: Sports technology trends to watch in 2023 November 16, 2022 Rebecca Hopkins, chief executive of the STA Group, picks out the sports technology trends to watch in the next year. It is exciting to realise how far sport has come in the past 12 months and whilst the post-pandemic era is throwing up more external challenges than could have been predicted, the sector remains as [...]
Sir Chris Hoy: Track Champions League can win over new fans in London November 15, 2022 Sir Chris Hoy believes the UCI Track Champions League can create new cycling fans when it returns to London next month. The five-date competition, which got its second season underway in Mallorca last weekend, features some of the world’s best riders including Britain’s Dame Laura Kenny and Katie Archibald. London’s Lee Valley VeloPark is set [...]
LIV Golf announces Adelaide event as part of inaugural £344m league season November 14, 2022 LIV Golf’s inaugural league season will visit Adelaide in April, organisers of the big-money circuit have announced. The Grange Golf Club in the capital city of South Australia is set to feature early in LIV Golf’s expanded 14-date schedule for 2023, which will run from February to September. Open champion Cameron Smith is one of [...]
Trussonomics, Super League and Qatar World Cup: Why proactive PR matters November 10, 2022 Communications expert Matthew Fletcher-Jones explains why Qatar and Fifa are fighting a losing PR battle over perceptions of this year’s World Cup. Imagine you proposed a revolutionary approach, promising growth and a brighter future. Yet you never got out of the blocks as your first step was revealing that the rich would get richer. Revolutions [...]
Ed Warner: Richard Thompson must continue bold start at helm of English cricket November 10, 2022 No deckchair shuffling for Richard Thompson. English cricket’s new leader has pretty much cleared the deck of the governing body’s directors. His kind words about departing colleagues he has barely overlapped with suggests this is a diplomat with admirable stiletto-wielding skills. Now he must hire replacements capable of backing the reset that the sport so [...]
Catriona Matthew on the rise of women’s golf and playing Aramco Team Series Jeddah November 9, 2022 Women’s golf has come a long way since Catriona Matthew first swung a club, thanks in no small part to the trailblazing Scot. When she joined her local club in North Berwick in the early 1980s, prize money was a fraction of that in the men’s game, with just £5,600 on offer to the winner [...]
Georgia Hall aiming to cap fine season with success at Aramco Team Series Jeddah November 9, 2022 A major champion and two-time European order of merit winner by her early twenties, Georgia Hall has already ticked a lot of boxes in her young career. Over the coming weeks she hopes to reach a new milestone: a first multiple title-winning year. Having claimed the Saudi Ladies International in March, Hall will aim for [...]