Sally Bolton interview: Wimbledon CEO on taking the Championships to the US July 2, 2023 Wimbledon CEO Sally Bolton on growing the Championships’ presence in the US, how it chooses its partners and its unique business. In SW19, there is no mistaking when the Wimbledon Championships are in full swing. Thousands of tennis fans descend on the All England Club; the air is thick with the scent of grass, Pimm’s [...]
MPs call for football regulator to be established by end of the year June 30, 2023 A football regulator should be established in shadow form by the end of the year and given statutory powers before the next general election in order to prevent more clubs going out of business, MPs have said. The Culture, Media and Sport Committee also urged the Premier League and English Football League to thrash out [...]
Wimbledon chiefs beef up security in bid to prevent Just Stop Oil protests June 29, 2023 Wimbledon organisers have beefed up security for next week’s Championships as they look to head off the threat of Just Stop Oil protesters. SW19 chiefs are on alert after the environmental activists this week sprinkled orange powder at Lord’s, where England’s Jonny Bairstow carried one protester off the pitch during the second Ashes Test. “The [...]
Ed Warner: When risk in sport is a smart choice June 29, 2023 This week columnist Ed Warner looks at risk in sport and how sometimes, such as in Bazball in cricket, it can be the smartest choice. A team of sub-10 second sprinters can be beaten to 4x100m relay gold by a quartet who have never broken that magic barrier. The trick is risk management in the [...]
Bayern Munich end £17m-a-year Qatari sponsor deal following fan protests June 28, 2023 Bayern Munich have ended a long-standing sponsorship relationship with Qatar following sustained protests from some supporters. Germany’s most successful football club have sported Qatar Airways’ logo on their shirt sleeves since 2018 in a deal reported to be worth around €20m (£17m) a year. That replaced a similar sponsorship agreement with Doha Airport, while the [...]
Women’s tennis gets financial boost as WTA Tour pledges more equal prize money events June 27, 2023 The WTA Tour has announced plans for a major increase in the number of tennis tournaments that will pay equal prize money to women and men. From 2027, at least seven WTA 1000 events, the most important tournaments outside of the Grand Slams, will offer equal prize money, the tour said. By 2030, all 10 [...]
Manchester United forecast record revenues as fans protest Glazers’ stalling on a sale June 27, 2023 Manchester United chiefs expect to achieve record revenues of up to £640m this year after raising their guidance for investors. United’s revenue for the three months to March 2023 increased 3.5 per cent on the same period last year to £481.1m. It comes after the 20-time English champions enjoyed a return to form on the [...]
Stormzy and Wilfried Zaha team up to buy hometown football club Croydon Athletic June 27, 2023 Rapper Stormzy and Crystal Palace star Wilfried Zaha have agreed to buy their hometown football club, AFC Croydon Athletic. Stormzy and Zaha are part of a three-man consortium, which also includes former Palace kit man Danny Young, that has exchanged contracts for a takeover with the current ownership. No financial details have been disclosed and [...]
Racism, elitism and sexism ‘entrenched’ in English cricket, damning report finds June 27, 2023 Racism is entrenched in English cricket and other forms of discrimination are widespread and deep-rooted, according to a damning report by the Independent Commission for Equity in Cricket (ICEC) published today. Half of more than 4,000 respondents said they experienced discrimination, with women “marginalised and routinely experiencing sexism and misogyny”, and “little to no focus [...]
Explained: What changes to transfer and loan rules mean for Premier League clubs June 26, 2023 Big clubs such as Chelsea and Manchester City are unlikely to return to hoarding top talent and farming them out on loan despite the relaxation of post-Brexit transfer red tape. Chelsea turned recruiting promising players, loaning them out and ultimately selling for a profit into a fine art in the later years of Roman Abramovich’s [...]