Clear and simple calendars like NFL, not tennis, should be applauded in sport January 23, 2025 The NFL, unlike tennis, should be applauded for its clear and simple sport calendar that sees athletes thrive, writes Ed Warner. Naomi Osaka, Gael Monfils, Jack Draper. Each retired from the Australian Open mid-match. No substitutes bench in tennis, so the ultimate anticlimax for spectators. Injuries are an occupational hazard, but across sport the sheer [...]
English rugby chief Bill Sweeney defends bonus as critics call for his head January 22, 2025 Bill Sweeney, the embattled president of the Rugby Football Union (RFU), insists he tried to defer his controversial bonus but has defended his acceptance of the six-figure payment. Sweeney is facing a vote of no confidence after the bonus took his overall pay to £1.1m in 2023-24, a year in which the RFU made 42 [...]
Matt Dawson joins Clive Woodward-backed Seat Unique January 19, 2025 England’s Rugby World Cup winning scrum-half Matt Dawson has joined premium ticketing firm Seat Unique, which is backed by his former coach Sir Clive Woodward. Seat Unique have tapped up the former international as a business advisor to help the start-up penetrate into new markets, including the English rugby space and beyond. The platform has [...]
English football’s record year for legal spending – can it stay secret? January 19, 2025 Before the Christmas break the Premier League published an article posing the question: what Premier League records for a calendar year can still be broken? While fans watched the glut of fixtures over Christmas, another record had already been set: 2024 was the year that English football was dominated by legal disputes. The Premier League [...]
Investment firm Sixth Street poach FA bigwig of 20 years January 17, 2025 Investment giant Sixth Street has poached former FA Women’s Technical Director Kay Cossington to take up a new role with the US organisation. Cossington, who has been with the FA for two decades, will become Sixth Street’s Head of Global Women’s Football and serve as chief executive of Bay Collective, a multi-club organisation under Sixth [...]
Tennis star Taylor Fritz donates Australian Open prize money to LA fire relief January 16, 2025 California-born tennis star Taylor Fritz has pledged to donate some of his Australian Open prize money to help victims of the fires that have swept through LA. The American men’s No1 is giving his first-round winnings of A$132,000 (£67,000) to relief efforts as the wildfires continue to wreak devastation on the city. “I just want [...]
Howden: Insurance giant expands sport portfolio with SailGP sponsorship January 16, 2025 Insurance giant Howden this morning expanded their sports sponsorship portfolio, announcing a three-year partnership with SailGP team Emirates GBR. The group, headquartered at One Creechurch Place, will see Sir Ben Ainslie’s sailing team join their roster of sporting sponsorships, which include the British and Irish Lions, Ascot Racecourse, Victoria Racing Club in Australia and the [...]
Saudi Public Investment Fund nearing $1bn stake in Dazn January 14, 2025 Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund is nearing a $1bn acquisition of a small minority stake in sport streaming platform Dazn. The London-based rights holder, which enjoys relationships with boxing’s Riyadh Season and a number of the top European football leagues, could potentially see its value pushed into the tens of billions after the injection. It [...]
Tyson Fury turns back on £100m Joshua fight by announcing retirement January 13, 2025 Tyson Fury appears to have turned his back on a £100m windfall by announcing his retirement from boxing in the wake of a second defeat by Oleksandr Usyk. Fury, 36, made the shock statement in a short video clip posted to Instagram on Monday, just three weeks after he lost to Usyk in a controversial [...]
Brit Fearnley stuns Kyrgios at Australian Open to bank £100,000 prize money January 13, 2025 British tennis prospect Jacob Fearnley achieved the biggest prize money payout of his burgeoning career by beating Nick Kyrgios in the first round of the Australian Open on Monday. Fearnley, 23, only turned professional last year after impressing on the US college circuit and quickly broke into the men’s top 100 after winning four titles [...]