Newcastle United doc from makers of All Or Nothing to put focus on business March 24, 2023 Newcastle United’s transformation under Saudi ownership will be the subject of a new documentary series on Amazon’s Prime Video platform, it has been confirmed. The four-part series will focus on the business side of running the club, through interviews with co-owner Amanda Staveley and other club chiefs as well as behind-the-scenes footage. The show, set [...]
Women’s golf, prize money and the fight for equal pay: Is the sport heading in the right direction? March 16, 2023 As women’s world No1, Lydia Ko is accustomed to breaking new ground and last month was no exception. At Royal Greens Golf and Country Club in King Abdullah Economic City, the New Zealander became the first Aramco Saudi Ladies International champion to receive equal prize money to the winner of the equivalent men’s tournament, Abraham [...]
Aramco Team Series 2023: How does the format work, where is it being held and who are the past winners? March 16, 2023 The $5m Aramco Team Series returns for 2023 this week, when dozens of the world’s top women’s golfers will play for individual and team prizes in Singapore. Here is all you need to know about the series. How the Aramco Team Series format works Aramco Team Series events follow a unique format comprising both individual [...]
LIV Golf League’s best kept secret: Why half of the field are at risk of being ditched March 15, 2023 It wasn’t the start to the LIV Golf League that Lee Westwood would have wanted but there were no consequences for the Englishman finishing 41st of a 48-man field in Mexico last month as the big-money tournaments on the upstart circuit famously have no cuts. No cuts, that is, until the end of the season, [...]
Why Fifa’s 2026 World Cup U-turn risks a fresh player welfare row March 14, 2023 Fifa is set to risk a new player welfare row by redesigning the format of the next men’s World Cup in the USA, Canada and Mexico, according to reports. Football’s world governing body had planned to divide the 48 teams at the expanded 2026 tournament into 16 groups of three, in order to allay fears [...]
UK government’s letter to Visa, Deloitte and Allianz prompts rebuke from Olympic chiefs March 14, 2023 Olympic chiefs have issued a rebuke to the UK government over its lobbying of sponsors including Visa, Deloitte and Allianz for Russia to remain banned from sport. The UK has been among the most vocal and active opponents of the International Olympic Committee’s plan to lift the suspension of Russia and its ally Belarus. Culture [...]
Is sports technology the answer to match fixed betting? March 8, 2023 Do you know that feeling when you’ve bet on your favourite team to win a match but, for some reason, they capitulate to a series of goals an under-11s side could have scored and you smell a rat? Well, what if you could eliminate all cheating from sport and sports betting? As of 12 months [...]
CVC Capital Partners moves into women’s tennis with £125m WTA deal March 7, 2023 The Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) is close to confirming a £125m ($150m) investment from CVC Capital Partners, according to reports. A deal would see prolific sports investors CVC take a 20 per cent stake in the WTA, which runs the main women’s tennis tour, reports Mark Kleinman for Sky News. CVC and the WTA would [...]
Why Japanese advertising darling Dentsu has been charged with corruption over Tokyo 2020 Olympics contracts March 1, 2023 Japanese advertising giant Dentsu is among several companies and individuals charged with corruption over the awarding of contracts for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics. Dentsu’s competitors Hakuhodo and Tokyu Agency and event production companies Cerespo, Fuji Creative and Same Two have also been charged. Former Tokyo 2020 operations executive Yasuo Mori and former Dentsu executive Koji [...]
Why football clubs are like tomatoes – and these are salad days for the likes of Manchester United’s owners February 28, 2023 The salad shortage and the appeal of elite football clubs such as Manchester United are both being driven by the same thing, writes Neil Hopkins. Early 2023 seems destined to be remembered for shortages. For most of us, a shortage of tomatoes and other salad produce. For cash-rich investors from the Middle East, a shortage [...]