Ed Warner: How to solve the Hundred and help county cricket with private money September 15, 2022 The Hundred isn’t going away, whatever diehard cricket traditionalists might wish. It’s been cemented into the English calendar until at least 2028 by a television deal finalised just before the arrival of the England and Wales Cricket Board’s new chair. Richard Thompson, erstwhile arch-critic of the controversial competition, now finds his room for manoeuvre severely [...]
Manchester United slip out of Premier League rich list top two for first time September 4, 2022 Manchester United’s on-field decline has seen them fall out of the top two revenue-generating teams in the Premier League for the first time, according to a new report. United, who were named the world’s richest football club just five years ago, have now slipped behind their traditional rivals Liverpool as well as neighbours Manchester City, [...]
Rematch: Meet the Secret Cinema for sport recreating the Rumble in the Jungle August 30, 2022 Founder Richard Ayers and investor Trevor Beattie tell Frank Dalleres about Rematch, the immersive sporting experience bringing the Rumble in the Jungle to London in early 2023. Imagine for a moment that you could attend any sporting event of the past. What would you choose? The 1966 World Cup final? Botham’s Ashes? Serena’s first Grand [...]
Sam Torrance: Rory McIlroy has never been better – and there’s much more to come August 29, 2022 Rory McIlroy’s FedEx Cup victory, clinched at the Tour Championship on Sunday, was the Northern Irishman at his very best. To bogey the first hole but still card a 66 that was enough to pip overnight leader and world No1 Scottie Scheffler was nothing short of magnificent. McIlroy himself remarked how proud he felt at [...]
London 2012 Paralympics: Why the legacy of the Games has fallen short August 29, 2022 Ten years on from the London 2012 Paralympics, Helen Rowbotham assesses the Games’s legacy. Sport should be accessible to everyone, irrespective of race, gender, economic background or whether you are disabled or not. It’s not new to say that participation is a good thing and leaving a sporting legacy was a big part of what [...]
Ed Warner: Does society have a responsibility to retiring athletes? August 25, 2022 We may be just days away from seeing the last of Serena Williams in competitive tennis. The US Open, which starts next week, is marked out as the retirement party for the greatest tennis star of the modern era. At 40 years old, she’s late to step away from elite sport and does so with [...]
England’s outgoing Commonwealth chief still sees future for Games August 24, 2022 Team England’s outgoing chief executive insists there is a future for the Commonwealth Games despite debate surrounding where a multi-sport tournament rooted in Britain’s former Empire sits in the 21st century. Paul Blanchard is preparing to leave his position at the head of the team who hosted this year’s competition in Birmingham games after seven [...]
Decoding football’s transfer market: How can clubs reach objective player valuations? August 23, 2022 As football’s transfer window enters its final few days, one question certain to be at the centre of discussion is: how do you arrive at a fair and accurate valuation for a player? Is Everton’s young attacker Anthony Gordon, for example, worth the £60m that Chelsea are said to be willing to spend on him? [...]
Manchester United takeover could cost $8bn (£6.7bn) but minority sale more likely August 18, 2022 Manchester United’s owners, the Glazer family, are more likely to sanction the sale of a minority stake but such a deal could pave the way for a full buyout costing as much as $8bn (£6.7m). That is the view of sports business experts following a surge in speculation that the Glazers could be persuaded to [...]
Ed Warner: Value of hosting sport found in hearts and minds as well as spreadsheets August 18, 2022 Just what does constitute a sport? Breaking – otherwise known as breakdancing – will debut at the Paris 2024 Olympics. So how about singing with a dose of choreographed body-poppery? The unlikely combination of Vladimir Putin and Sam Ryder is bringing Eurovision to the United Kingdom in 2023. Seven cities – cut from 20 – are [...]