Ollie Phillips: Private equity investment is the impetus rugby needs for short-term survival and long-term prosperity January 31, 2021 Private equity in rugby is back on the agenda, with the long-rumoured CVC Capital Partners and Six Nations deal now said to be imminent. Meanwhile, US buyout firm Silver Lake is keen to add a stake in the All Blacks to a portfolio that also includes Manchester City. All this will make some in sport [...]
Former England cricket chief Colin Graves: ‘I know Indian investment in The Hundred is there if the doors are opened’ January 30, 2021 Colin Graves may have stepped down as chairman of the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) last year but he is not done shaping the game he loves. This month, the 73-year-old joined the board of Oakwell Sports Advisory, which advised CVC Capital Partners on its investment in Premiership Rugby and the Pro14. The man [...]
Week in Sportbiz: Premier League still No1 in China; Leeds boss keeping busy; Matchroom’s media move; Wimbledon optimism; London 2012 gold for sale January 28, 2021 The Premier League’s ongoing dispute with a Chinese broadcaster doesn’t appear to have affected its popularity in the Far East. England’s top division has been named the most popular football league in China by a new report ranking digital performance. It had 80 per cent more engagement on leading social media platform Weibo than La [...]
Olympic chiefs expected to press ahead and draw up plans for Tokyo 2020 Games in summer 2021 despite Covid-19 concerns January 26, 2021 The International Olympic Committee (IOC) will meet tomorrow to draw up plans for the delayed Tokyo 2020 Games, despite persistent speculation of a Covid-enforced cancellation. Wednesday’s video meeting of the IOC’s executive board is expected to focus on how it will ensure the vaccination of athletes, manage international visitors and accommodate spectators. The Japanese government, [...]
World’s richest football clubs 2021: Barcelona top Deloitte Football Money League ahead of Real Madrid while Bayern Munich overtake Manchester United January 26, 2021 Barcelona have retained their status as the world’s richest football club, according to Deloitte’s latest Football Money League. Barca remained fractionally ahead of fellow Spanish giants Real Madrid despite their revenue falling by €125m to €715.1m in 2019-20. European champions Bayern Munich climbed to third ahead of Manchester United, the highest placed English team in [...]
Covid-19 deals €2bn blow to world’s leading football clubs, says Deloitte January 26, 2021 The world’s 20 richest clubs will lose €2bn in revenue due to Covid-19, says Deloitte’s latest Football Money League report. Those teams have already seen income fall €1.1bn to €8.2bn in 2019-20 and Deloitte predicts a similar effect in 2020-21. Football clubs have lost significant revenue from matchday activity and broadcast rights payments during the [...]
Manchester United slip to fourth in Deloitte Football Money League as Liverpool, Manchester City, Chelsea and Tottenham also make top 10 January 26, 2021 Manchester United have slipped further down the ranking of the world’s richest football clubs, according to Deloitte. England’s highest-placed team are fourth in the 2021 Football Money League, published today, after being overtaken by Bayern Munich. Barcelona and Real Madrid continue to occupy the top two places as clubs saw revenues contract due to Covid-19. [...]
Chorley FC, Marine AFC and the true value of a fairytale FA Cup run to non-league football clubs January 22, 2021 When Chorley FC take on Wolves in the FA Cup tonight, there will be more at stake for the non-league club from Lancashire than a place in the fifth round. If Chorley manage another upset against their Premier League opponents, they will earn £175,000 from broadcast payments and the FA’s prize fund alone. Chorley’s FA [...]
Week in Sportbiz: Fifa spooked into action by Super League talk; Uefa may rip up Euro 2020 plans; London Marathon chiefs eye records January 21, 2021 Is football governing bodies’ ultimate bogeyman the European Super League in danger of actually happening? Fifa and its six confederations, including Uefa, have been sufficiently spooked into warning they will ban any footballer who takes part in a putative breakaway competition from playing in World Cups and their regional equivalents, such as the European Championship. [...]
Gloucester Rugby CEO Lance Bradley: Scrap relegation this season, it’s not right and would be catastrophic for any Premiership club January 21, 2021 “It would be catastrophic,” says Gloucester Rugby chief executive Lance Bradley, matter-of-factly, about the prospect of relegation. Gloucester sit bottom of the Premiership table after six rounds of fixtures, raising the spectre of another swingeing financial blow as all clubs count the cost of the pandemic. It hardly bears thinking about – and Bradley doesn’t [...]