Meerkats at the cricket? Compare the Market becomes new sponsor of The Hundred July 11, 2023 Compare the Market is to become the new main sponsor of The Hundred, English cricket chiefs have announced. City A.M. revealed two weeks ago that the England and Wales Cricket Board was finalising terms on a multi-year deal with a principal partner making its first entry into the sport. That partner has now been confirmed [...]
England Cricket refuses to cash in on Bazball brand (and Australians could benefit) July 10, 2023 Rarely can a sports team have become as synonymous with a slogan or philosophy as the England men’s Test cricket side and Bazball. It has proliferated every discussion of their successes and failures during the current Ashes series and since head coach Brendon McCullum, from whom the term derives, brought his buccaneering style to the [...]
Chelsea forced to launch new home kit without a sponsor after talks falter July 10, 2023 Chelsea have launched their new home kit without a sponsor after failing to find a new principal partner in time. The Blues saw a deal with streaming service Paramount Plus fall foul of Premier League rules and broke off talks with online casino Stake.com in the face of supporter opposition. The new Nike shirt, which [...]
Chelsea fans’ group hail supporter power after Stake.com sponsorship deal axed July 6, 2023 The Chelsea Supporters’ Trust has welcomed suggestions that the Premier League football club has shelved a possible sponsorship deal with crypto betting platform Stake.com. Chelsea had been in talks to make Stake.com their new front-of-shirt sponsor for next season, replacing mobile network Three, which chose not to renew its £40m-a-year contract. The news provoked a [...]
Enhanced Games president likens doping to ‘being gay 50 years ago’ July 3, 2023 Ever thought about watching a 100m race where you knew everyone was using substances to artificially enhance themselves, rather than finding out a couple of years later when a ban is issued? Well the Enhanced Games may be for you. The idea pits competitive sport alongside the world of performance enhancing drugs in an Olympics-style [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
Ryan Reynolds joins Wrexham co-owner and RedBird in buying stake in F1 team Alpine June 26, 2023 Hollywood star Ryan Reynolds and RedBird Capital Partners, which has a stake in Liverpool’s owners, have invested in Formula 1 team Alpine. Otro Capital, Reynolds’ Wrexham AFC co-owner Rob McElhenney and their fellow actor Michael B Jordan, who owns a stake in AFC Bournemouth have also invested. The €200m (£171m) cash injection is for 24 [...]
Inside the PTO Tour: Triathletes plotting their own path, backed by a billionaire June 26, 2023 Ibiza usually moves to the beat of its clubbing crowd but for one weekend last month it was a different Lycra-clad set working up a sweat: top triathletes, including Alistair Brownlee, Lucy Charles-Barclay and Kristian Blummenfelt. In the shadow of world-famous nightclubs like Pacha, some of the sport’s biggest names took on a 100km swim-bike-run [...]