Asian Tour CEO Cho Minn Thant: Saudi alliance was ‘a no brainer’ February 1, 2022 “It’s the dawn of a new era,” says Cho Minn Thant, chief executive of golf’s Asian Tour, of this week’s Saudi International, a tournament that has shaken up the sport even before a ball has even been teed up. He is not wrong. The $5m event, which begins in Jeddah on Thursday, is the richest [...]
Padel: The racket sport proving a smash but heading for the courts January 28, 2022 It’s loved by footballers, boasts celebrity investors and is among the fastest growing sports in the world, yet you may not even have heard of padel. The fast and furious hybrid of tennis and squash has long been hugely popular in Latin countries but recently participation has rocketed elsewhere, including the UK. Now it is [...]
Cinch and Cazoo zoom into top tier of sports sponsors January 27, 2022 Online car marketplaces Cinch and Cazoo, takeaway service Just Eat and social media platform Tik Tok were the biggest entrants to sports sponsorship in the UK last year, according to a new report. The four brands were the only new entrants in consultancy Onside’s Top 10 Most Appealing UK Sports Sponsors, which is published today. [...]
Ed Warner: Stand up for English cricket January 27, 2022 Wanted: someone to stand up for English cricket. National governing body the ECB is hunkered in its bunker, losing the PR battles over racism and the Ashes debacle. This simply won’t do. Challenging though the circumstances are, the sport needs visible leadership with a strong voice, prepared to defend what is good about it while [...]
Deloitte forecasts late flurry of Premier League transfer activity January 24, 2022 Premier League clubs are being tipped to embark on a trolley dash in the final week of the January transfer window. Spending in the English top-flight has already passed £100m this month, eclipsing the total outlay in last year’s Covid-affected winter window. And Deloitte’s Sports Business Group is forecasting a busy final few days before [...]
Navratilova blasts Australian Open for ‘pathetic’ Peng Shuai stance January 24, 2022 Martina Navratilova has criticised Australian Open officials after they removed “Where is Peng Shuai?” T-shirts and banners at the tournament. The retired 18-time Grand Slam winner called the act “pathetic” amid continued concern for the welfare of Chinese tennis player Peng. “That’s just pathetic,” Navratilova wrote on social media. “The WTA [Women’s Tennis Association] stands [...]
How Derby County slipped to edge of disappearance January 20, 2022 They are former English champions and in top form under the management of Wayne Rooney, yet day by day Derby County are inching towards liquidation and disappearing from football forever. Their story is one of financial mismanagement in a desperate bid to achieve promotion to the Premier League; administrators scrambling to find a buyer – [...]
Sports must protect its precious human capital like Djokovic and Hamilton January 20, 2022 Picture Novak Djokovic. Do you see a villain sticking two fingers up at vaccine orthodoxy, or a heroic advocate for personal freedoms you’d risk a pepper-spraying for? What of Lewis Hamilton and his rainbow helmet and sloganed T-shirts? Gesture politician or vital diversity campaigner? And what say you as one football team takes the knee [...]
Qatar 2022 World Cup tickets priced at £50 for overseas fans and on sale today January 19, 2022 The cheapest Qatar 2022 World Cup tickets for travelling supporters will have a starting price of £50. From today, football fans can register to buy tickets for the tournament, which is taking place in November and December this year. Category Three tickets, the cheapest on offer to anyone outside of Qatar, are due to start [...]
Netflix tennis doc to capture Novak Djokovic Australian visa drama January 13, 2022 The Novak Djokovic Australian Open visa saga is set to feature in a new fly-on-the-wall docuseries to be shown on Netflix, according to reports. The makers of smash-hit Formula 1 show Drive To Survive are currently filming a tennis version featuring some of the biggest names on the men’s and women’s tours, says the Mail. [...]