Manchester City, Premier League titles and the many asterisks in European football May 21, 2023 Release the ticker tape, crank up Blue Moon and fetch Pep Guardiola’s dancing shoes: Manchester City are Premier League champions again for the fifth time in six years and the seventh time in a decade. With FA Cup and Champions League final appearances to come before the season is out, there is every chance that [...]
Man Capital buys new Major League Soccer franchise in San Diego for record £400m May 18, 2023 London-based Man Capital has been confirmed as the owner of a new San Diego franchise in Major League Soccer after agreeing a record deal with US football chiefs. The family office of Egyptian billionaire Mohamed Mansour, the Conservative Party senior treasurer, is understood to have paid around $500m (£402m) for the team, who will begin [...]
Taking flight: Inside the rise and rise of darts – and where the sport is heading next May 15, 2023 “More people in this country know who Michael van Gerwen is – a darts player from the Netherlands – than who the fastest British man and woman are,” declares Matt Porter, chief executive of the Professional Darts Corporation. Porter might have a dog in that particular fight but he is on the money about the [...]
LIV Golf Tulsa: Dustin Johnson rediscovers winning touch ahead of US PGA May 15, 2023 Former world No1 Dustin Johnson toasted a timely return to form after warming up for this week’s US PGA Championship by winning the LIV Golf League event in Tulsa on Sunday. Johnson beat Open champion Cameron Smith and South Africa’s Branden Grace in a three-man play-off in Oklahoma to claim the $4m (£3.2m) first prize. [...]
London brawling: Why the city has become a combat sports capital again May 15, 2023 Wrestling and MMA have followed boxing in staging huge shows in London this summer, cementing the city’s reputation as a leading destination for combat sports’ biggest events. An earthquake hit the world of professional wrestling earlier this month and its epicentre was London. All Elite Wrestling, formed to compete with the all-conquering World Wrestling Entertainment, [...]
Women’s FA Cup final prize money and how it compares to men’s FA Cup May 13, 2023 The winners of the Women’s FA Cup final between Chelsea and Manchester United on Sunday are in line to receive record sums thanks to a major boost to prize money. There is £100,000 on offer to whichever team lifts the trophy at Wembley, where Chelsea will be looking to triumph for a third year in [...]
Chelsea respond to supporters’ warning with season ticket price decision May 11, 2023 Chelsea have bucked the Premier League trend and announced a freeze on their cheapest general admission season ticket prices for next season. The majority of teams in English football’s top division, including Manchester United, Arsenal, Liverpool and Manchester City, have hiked their prices for the 2023-24 campaign. But Chelsea chiefs have decided to maintain their [...]
24 places and Tulsa: Why Westwood, Poulter and LIV Golf’s Brits need an upturn in form May 11, 2023 Since LIV Golf launched last year, Ian Poulter and Lee Westwood have rarely been out of the headlines for long. Sure, commissioner and CEO Greg Norman has been LIV’s most prominent spokesperson and Phil Mickelson and Dustin Johnson its two most high-profile signings but, after that, the British pair have been the focus of much [...]
Ed Warner: Taking part is all well and good, but compelling sport is about winning May 11, 2023 “The important thing in the Olympic Games is not winning but taking part.” Really, Baron? That’s so 19th century! I’d love to hear the thoughts of a time-travelling Pierre de Coubertin in the Stade de France at Paris 2024, or perhaps in the stands at a Premier League football match, or ringside at a heavyweight [...]
Back-to-back Jacksonville Jaguars games pave way for London NFL franchise May 10, 2023 The NFL is stepping up preparations for a possible London franchise by handing the Jacksonville Jaguars a historic double-header in the capital later this year. The Jags, who have staged a game in London every year since 2013, will become the first NFL team to play two fixtures in consecutive weeks outside the United States. [...]