A brief history of cryptocurrency in football – and how blockchain technology might shape our experience of the game in future August 30, 2021 Bitcoin and cryptocurrency have reimagined finance and money as concepts. Now more than ever, however, blockchain technology and, more specifically, NFTs and tokens are disrupting everything else. And that includes human culture. NFTs especially have captivated millions of people around the world. This is because we, as humans, have an innate desire to collect and [...]
Cristiano Ronaldo asks to leave Juventus amid Manchester City interest as PSG line up Erling Haaland to replace Kylian Mbappe August 27, 2021 Cristiano Ronaldo has told Juventus that he wants to leave the club, paving the way for a possible transfer to Manchester City. Juventus manager Massimiliano Allegri confirmed rumours about Ronaldo’s eagerness to quit the Italian side, where he has scored 101 goals in three seasons. Joining City would complete a remarkable return to the Premier [...]
Altrad to replace AIG as All Blacks and Black Ferns front-of-shirt sponsor as French-Syrian billionaire Mohad Altrad increases rugby influence August 27, 2021 Construction conglomerate Altrad has increased its presence in rugby union by becoming the new front-of-shirt sponsor to the All Blacks, Black Ferns and New Zealand’s other national teams. Altrad, which owns Montpellier Herault in the Top14 and is a sponsor of the French national teams, has agreed a six-year deal with New Zealand Rugby (NZR) [...]
Rugby League World Cup chiefs confirm new dates for tournament pushed back to 2022 August 26, 2021 Rugby League World Cup organisers have confirmed new dates for the postponed tournament, which is to be staged in England next year. It will now start in Newcastle on 15 October 2022 and conclude with a men’s and women’s final double-header in Manchester on 19 November. The men’s, women’s and wheelchair World Cups had been [...]
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 [...]