Fifa president Gianni Infantino writes to Prime Minister Boris Johnson in attempt to resolve club v country red list quarantine row August 25, 2021 Fifa president Gianni Infantino has called on Prime Minister Boris Johnson to waive quarantine rules for footballers to resolve a stand-off between clubs and national teams. Premier League clubs say they will refuse to let their players take part in World Cup qualifiers next month if the fixtures involve travel to countries on the Covid-19 [...]
Premier League spending down in this summer transfer window as Covid-19 pandemic forces clubs to tighten belts August 24, 2021 The pandemic has forced Premier League clubs to dial down their summer transfer spending, according to new research by Deloitte. With one week of the transfer window remaining, England’s top-flight teams have committed £70m less in gross terms than at the same stage last year. And although Manchester City broke the Premier League transfer record [...]
The Hundred has succeeded in attracting a new audience, say English cricket chiefs August 24, 2021 English cricket chiefs have hailed the success of The Hundred in reaching new audiences. Almost 60 per cent of the 16.1m people who watched the new domestic men’s and women’s competition on television had not tuned in to any other English cricket this year, the England and Wales Cricket Board said. More than half of [...]
UK beefs up international trade effort by naming cricket legend Ian Botham envoy to Ashes rivals Australia August 23, 2021 Former England cricket captain Ian Botham has been appointed as a UK trade envoy to Australia. Lord Botham is to be one of 10 new UK trade tsars tasked with drumming up business for Britain in overseas markets that also include New Zealand and Canada, The Sun reported. “It’s a great honour to carry out [...]
Justin King: Big business must do more to support grassroots sport August 23, 2021 Observing the wonder of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, it underlined my belief that big business must do more to support grassroots sport. As we enjoy this fantastic summer of sport, it’s important to remember that our sporting stars all started at a grassroots club somewhere. While only a select few make it to elite [...]
Why a salary cap and luxury tax are unlikely to succeed where Financial Fair Play failed and make European football more competitive August 21, 2021 It feels symbolic that two of the biggest football transfers of the summer should precede the death knell for Financial Fair Play, the rules designed to rein in spending that now look set to be replaced with a salary cap and luxury tax. Paris Saint-Germain’s signing of Lionel Messi and Manchester City’s Premier League record [...]
Women’s British Open prize money 2021: How much can players win at Carnoustie and how does it compare to other women’s and men’s majors? August 20, 2021 Women’s British Open prize money is at record levels this year, with both the total prize fund and the winners’ share setting new benchmarks for the tournament. Players competing at Carnoustie this week stand to share a pot worth $5.8m, with the winner in line to take home $870,000. But how have those figures changed [...]
What is the Europa Conference League, why is it happening and how will it work? Uefa’s new third club competition explained August 19, 2021 This season heralds the start of a new, third European competition for club football: the Europa Conference League. England’s role representatives are Tottenham Hotspur, who enter the competition at the play-off stage and play their first match this evening. But why has governing body Uefa created the new competition and how will it work? Read [...]
Bridgestone Tyres: A tale of two Olympic Games August 19, 2021 Thanks to Covid-19, the recently-concluded Tokyo Olympics was always going to be a unique Games:from the complete lack of in-person spectators, to the cardboard beds (allegedly, but not actually)designed to stop athletes from getting too friendly in between events. But with peak viewing figures lower than half of those for Rio 2016 among the BBC [...]
Japanese Grand Prix cancelled amid rising Covid case numbers August 18, 2021 This year’s Formula 1 Japanese Grand Prix, due to be held in October, has been cancelled amid rising Covid-19 case numbers in the country. It is the fifth race to be cancelled this season in Formula 1 and the second year in a row that the Japanese Grand Prix has been axed. “The decision has [...]