TMRW Sports: Andy Murray and Lewis Hamilton follow US athlete blueprint November 6, 2022 While no one can doubt the achievements of a combined eight NBA titles, 10 Grammys, 21 Olympic medals, 40 Emmys, 42 Grand Slams and 113 Formula One wins, it is away from the stages, studios and stadiums that TMRW Sports could be about to change the game following an investor announcement last week. Founded by [...]
Ed Warner: English football of all levels penetrating hyper-commercial US sport November 3, 2022 Does anyone in England call the Premier League the EPL? I ask because I had a random encounter at Heathrow last week with one of a group of five Crystal Palace fans headed to Selhurst Park for their “first EPL game”. The Ted Lasso effect maybe? I only hope they made it to the Clifton [...]
Ed Warner: Don’t criticise British Cycling for accepting sponsorship from Shell October 20, 2022 Disclaimer No1: I don’t think I’ve written anything in support of British Cycling down the years. Quite the opposite in fact. But I can’t bring myself to add my name to the lengthening petition that splutters in indignation about the governing body’s sponsorship deal with Shell. So, here’s a first for me. British Cycling’s eight-year [...]
Claressa Shields v Savannah Marshall and the rise and rise of women’s boxing October 13, 2022 The last time Savannah Marshall and Claressa Shields met in a boxing ring, they were both amateurs with no realistic prospect of making a good living from the sport. A decade on, the bitter rivals are due to renew hostilities at the top of the professional ranks on a historic occasion that promises to earn [...]
LIV Golf Invitational Jeddah: English contingent aim to end season on a high October 13, 2022 With first place in the championship – and $18m (£16.1m) – already sewn up by Dustin Johnson, interest in this weekend’s LIV Golf Invitational Jeddah is likely to centre on who can triumph in the last individual tournament of the series and, potentially, claim a lucrative podium bonus. Forty points are on offer to the [...]
Ed Warner: Boxing’s parallel existence, Benn-Eubank, and a Trussian shambles October 13, 2022 The Sweet Science. The Noble Art. Boxing has a lore of its own and is a law unto itself. It occupies a parallel existence in which its rules, first published under the sponsorship of the ninth Marquess of Queensbury in 1867, and a love of litigation – real and threatened – are deemed sufficient to [...]
Tsunami of takeovers in sports swells deal values by record 433 per cent with private equity leading the pack October 11, 2022 The value of M&A and major stake-building in the sports industry has increased 433 per cent in the last year, rising from £1.8bn last year to £9.6bn this year, according to fresh data shared with City A.M. this morning. As more private equity, sovereign wealth funds and other institutional investors pursue deals in the sports [...]
LIV Golf Bangkok: Rookie Eugenio Chacarra wins as Dustin Johnson secures £16m bonus October 9, 2022 Spanish prospect Eugenio Chacarra was among the least well-known players to ruffle a few feathers by signing up to LIV Golf, but that may be about to change. Chacarra announced his arrival on Sunday with a wire-to-wire win against a field stacked with major winners at the LIV Golf Invitational Bangkok. It delivered the first [...]
Dustin Johnson could bank record $22m prize money at LIV Golf event in Bangkok October 6, 2022 A row over world ranking points may be dominating the agenda ahead of this weekend’s LIV Golf Invitational in Bangkok but by the end of it all the talk could be about Dustin Johnson and the biggest prize money payout in the history of the sport. Johnson stands to bank $22m (£20m) in total if [...]
Hummel’s Denmark kit, the Qatar World Cup and what it means for sport sponsorship October 4, 2022 Sports industry expert Ben Peppi assesses Hummel’s controversial new Denmark kit for this year’s Qatar World Cup and what the ramifications may be for future sponsorships and commercial deals. The domino effect is in full motion. It started last summer when Cristiano Ronaldo advised people to “drink water” after removing two Coca-Cola bottles from view [...]