Premier League criticised by Football Supporters Association over NFT partnership with Serena Williams and Lionel Messi-backed company January 30, 2023 Football supporters groups have criticised the Premier League for entering the NFT market in a £120m deal with fantasy gaming and digital collectibles platform Sorare. After more than a year of deliberations, English football’s top division today announced a four-year contract with the French company, which is backed by sports stars including Lionel Messi, Kylian [...]
Australian Open prize money 2023: How much can tennis players win in Melbourne this weekend and how does it compare to other Grand Slam tournaments? January 27, 2023 The Australian Open may be the first Grand Slam on the calendar, but it comes last of the four tennis majors for prize money. The men’s and women’s singles champions in Melbourne this weekend stand to receive AUD $2.98m, which equates to $2.08m or £1.67m at current exchange rates. That trails the £2m ($2.5m) Wimbledon [...]
Australian Open: Seeds Iga Swiatek and Coco Gauff crash out while Felix Auger-Aliassime completes ‘Netflix Curse’ January 22, 2023 Fancied trio Iga Swiatek, Coco Gauff and Felix Auger-Aliassime crashed out of the Australian Open on Sunday as favourites continued to fall and the so-called “Netflix Curse” claimed its final victim. World No1 Swiatek suffered a surprise loss to Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina, while seventh seed Gauff also succumbed in straight sets to her lower-ranked [...]
Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and TikTok are ‘above the law’, say founders of Hoof, the British football app taking on the social media giants January 17, 2023 British tech start-up Hoof is aiming to “elevate the level of football discussion” with a new app that, unlike Twitter, Facebook and the other social media behemoths, stops abusive posts at source, its founders tell City A.M. If football and social media had a relationship status it would be “it’s complicated”. On the one hand [...]
Ed Warner: The row over sport banning Russian players will be even bigger in 2023 January 12, 2023 Wimbledon will be here before we know it. Expect the debate about banning Russian and Belorussian stars to start soon. The tug of war over the two bellicose nations’ participation at next year’s Paris Olympics and Paralympics has already begun. Schisms within sports and between their leaders and politicians are inevitable. Last year, backed (or [...]
Cricket champions Surrey swap Adidas for Andy Murray-backed City boys’ startup January 5, 2023 Surrey County Cricket Club have become the latest team to sign a deal with Castore, the Andy Murray-backed British sportswear startup founded by two former City workers. The reigning men’s County Champions today announced a multi-year agreement for their men’s and women’s teams to swap Adidas kit for apparel made by Castore, starting in the [...]
Ineos hire new chief executive for sporting branch December 27, 2022 British chemicals company and growing sports player Ineos have hired Jean-Claude Blanc as the firm’s new sport chief executive. Blanc will begin in post from February of next year and will be responsible for the development of facilities for each of the teams and franchises Ineos owns. The company, founded by Britain’s richest man Sir [...]
Best of 2022: Michael Doughty on quitting football to found ethical brand Hylo Athletics December 26, 2022 In this interview first published in October 2022, former Premier League footballer Michael Doughty explains why he walked away from the game to set up sustainable sportswear brand Hylo Athletics. The longer that Michael Doughty’s playing career went on, the harder he found it to ignore the effects of climate change. “I saw way more [...]
Freed From Desire: Why did 90s hit become England’s World Cup goal music? December 6, 2022 Lashed home by Harry Kane, dinked by Bukayo Saka or headed by Jude Bellingham, each England goal at this World Cup has had one thing in common. All have been celebrated to the sound of 90s dance hit Freed From Desire, the track that the Three Lions nominated to be played every time they rippled [...]
Ed Warner: Is Infantino a moonbeam or a clown? Either way, Fifa boss is here to stay December 1, 2022 Gianni Infantino. Moonbeam or clown? Flibbertigibbet? Certainly. Problem-solver, or problem to be solved? All depends on where you are coming from – quite literally. Just don’t expect Fifa’s demon/angel (delete according to taste) president to be going anywhere soon. Most likely not until 2031. Football’s Swiss-Italian head honcho has been front and centre of the [...]