Chelsea bankers reject bids from Saudi Media Group and Woody Johnson March 24, 2022 The sale of Chelsea took a major step towards conclusion today when a number of bidders, including Saudi Media Group and Woody Johnson, were reportedly rejected. US bank the Raine Group, hired to sell the club by sanction-hit owner Roman Abramovich, contacted a number of unsuccessful bidders as it whittled down would-be buyers. Saudi Media [...]
PM Boris Johnson dents UK and Ireland bid by suggesting Ukraine should host Euro 2028 March 24, 2022 Prime Minister Boris Johnson has appeared to undermine the UK and Ireland’s bid for Euro 2028 by suggesting Ukraine be named hosts. Johnson also joined a chorus of criticism of Russia, who only declared their interest in staging the championship hours before the deadline on Wednesday. “The idea of Russia holding any football tournament or [...]
Ed Warner: Does it really matter if Chelsea buyers are true Blues fans? March 24, 2022 Who are the wannabe owners of Chelsea trying to impress when they flaunt their fandom? Investment bank the Raine Group is only likely to give a jot when someone first stood in the Shed, or how long they’ve sat in the same seat in the Matthew Harding Stand, if this matters to HM Treasury. If [...]
Chelsea handed £30m cash boost and permission to sell tickets as government relaxes licence March 23, 2022 Chelsea have been handed a £30m boost from the government and given permission to sell some tickets again. The strict licence that the Premier League club has been operating under since owner Roman Abramovich was sanctioned was relaxed slightly today. It means Chelsea can receive up to £30m from their parent company “in respect of [...]
Arsenal set goal of selling out 60,000-seater Emirates Stadium for women’s game March 23, 2022 Arsenal’s new commercial chief Juliet Slot believes their women’s team can attract sell-out crowds to the 60,000-capacity Emirates Stadium as the club embarks on a wider push behind the Women’s Super League leaders. Arsenal Women switch big games from Boreham Wood FC to Emirates Stadium to allow for bigger attendances and are due to play [...]
Russia labelled ‘trolling infants’ over plans to scupper UK and Ireland Euro 2028 bid March 23, 2022 Russia’s football association has confirmed that it hopes to scupper the UK and Ireland’s bid to host Euro 2028 with a rival proposal. The move drew immediate and fierce condemnation, with MPs accusing Russia and the Russian Football Union (RFU) of behaving like “trolling infants”. England, Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland’s [...]
European football to scrap Financial Fair Play for new spending rules March 23, 2022 European football’s governing body Uefa is set to ditch its controversial Financial Fair Play (FFP) rules in favour of new cost-control regulations that will limit clubs’ spending to a proportion of revenue. Teams will only be allowed to spend 70 per cent of their income on transfers and wages under the new rules, which will [...]
UK and Ireland set to be confirmed as hosts of Euro 2028 today March 23, 2022 The UK and Ireland are today expected to be effectively confirmed as joint hosts of Euro 2028 after no other bidders came forward. Russia and Turkey had been in the running but the war in Ukraine caused the former to drop out and the latter lacked the support to rival the UK and Ireland. The [...]
Inside the Super Golf League: Sean Bratches on LIV Golf’s mission to redesign the sport March 23, 2022 It was at the Ryder Cup in Wisconsin six months ago that Sean Bratches accepted Greg Norman’s invitation to join LIV Golf Investments, the vehicle behind long-rumoured plans for a Super Golf League. Former ESPN and Formula 1 executive Bratches had already been working with world No1 turned LIV Golf CEO Norman and the Saudi-backed [...]
First, England. Next, the world? Why those behind The Hundred have big ambitions March 21, 2022 “Every successful brand in the world has to start somewhere, in one geography,” says Nick Sykes, global chief executive of FutureBrand, the company that developed the branding for The Hundred, English cricket’s newest tournament. “But if you look at sporting formats around the world, many of them have travelled geographies and there are large parts [...]