Usain Bolt: I considered athletics comeback for Tokyo 2020 Olympics but my coach talked me out of it September 9, 2021 World’s fastest man Usain Bolt has revealed that he was talked out of making a comeback at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics. Bolt, who won the men’s 100m and 200m titles three Games in a row, bowed out from athletics after the 2017 World Championships in London. But the Jamaican says he had second thoughts in [...]
Paris Saint-Germain hit back at LaLiga boss Javier Tebas in increasingly bitter war of words with Spanish football league chief September 8, 2021 Paris Saint-Germain have hit back at LaLiga boss Javier Tebas after he labelled them “enemies” and “as dangerous as the European Super League”. The outspoken Spanish league chief, a long-standing critic of the spending of PSG and Manchester City, also derided the French club’s signing of Lionel Messi at the age of 34. In a [...]
Tickets go on sale for Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games – including track cycling in London September 8, 2021 Tickets for the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games, the biggest multi-sport event to be held in Britain since the Olympics, have gone on sale today. Prices start at £15 for adults and £8 for children, with more than 1m seats being offered at £22 or less. London’s Lee Valley Velopark is staging the track cycling events [...]
Manchester City and Leeds United chiefs hit back at Fifa bid for more frequent World Cups September 8, 2021 Manchester City and Leeds United chiefs have joined the chorus of opposition towards Fifa’s plans to stage the World Cup every other year. City chief executive Ferran Soriano told The Times: “There is no space [in the calendar] for anything. No room at all. The players cannot play more games, for sure.” Leeds chairman Andrea [...]
Financial Fair Play is not about making football more competitive, says one of the executives behind the new rules September 7, 2021 Proposed changes to European football’s Financial Fair Play (FFP) rules will not address concerns about competitive balance, says one of the executives involved. New regulations involving a salary cap and luxury tax are set to replace the current, 10-year-old framework, which is loosely based on breaking even. Economists and legal experts have warned that the [...]
World 12s: Plans unveiled for rugby union’s £250m answer to the Indian Premier League, featuring eight franchises playing 12-a-side, 30-minute matches September 7, 2021 Some of rugby union’s biggest names have announced plans to launch a new 12-a-side tournament, World 12s, in England next year. The competition would feature eight franchise teams playing in 30-minute matches over three consecutive weekends in August and September. World 12s chairman Ian Ritchie, the former head of the Rugby Football Union and Premiership [...]
European Club Association boss Al-Khelaifi promises loan fund for clubs hit by pandemic, Financial Fair Play shake-up and Uefa joint venture September 6, 2021 Nasser Al-Khelaifi, the chairman of the European Club Association, has outlined a series of measures that he says will bring “urgent financial stability” to the game across the continent. Al-Khelaifi, also the president of Paris Saint-Germain and chairman of the beIN Media Group, promised a multi-billion Euro loan facility and new Financial Fair Play rules [...]
World Cup farce as Brazil v Argentina qualifier abandoned as health officials enter pitch to demand deportation of Argentina players September 6, 2021 A Brazil v Argentina World Cup qualifier was abandoned after Brazilian health officials demanded the deportation of three England-based Argentinian players for failing to quarantine. Officials walked onto the pitch just six minutes into the game in Sao Paulo last night to insist that the trio of Premier League players – Aston Villa goalkeeper Emiliano [...]
West Ham United and the London Stadium have been good for each other – legacy chiefs should do a new deal to give the club more control September 2, 2021 This isn’t the article I expected to write; I went back to the London Stadium to bury it not to praise it. Instead, I came away with a deeper understanding of just what a valuable asset West Ham United Football Club has become. Nine years on from London 2012 and four from the World Athletics [...]
Honda to sponsor England Rugby and RFU in long-term deal that includes naming rights for team’s Pennyhill Park training centre September 1, 2021 Honda has become a major sponsor of England Rugby and governing body the Rugby Football Union (RFU) in a long-term, multi-year deal. England’s Pennyhill Park training base will be renamed the Honda England Rugby Performance Centre as part of the arrangement. The deal will also see the car maker’s branding appear on the kits of [...]