Chelsea’s annual loss tops £145m despite increased turnover December 30, 2021 Chelsea FC have announced an annual loss of £145.6m after tax in the year leading to 30 June 2021. The club, owned by Roman Abramovich since 2003, did however increase its turnover to £416.8m – up from £387.8m. Chelsea are currently third in the Premier League and are reigning European Champions, having beaten Manchester City [...]
Best of 2021: Football training can be safer with VR technology December 26, 2021 Technology is ever-changing, and that includes in sport too. Matt Hardy took a look at how new VR could revolutionise the way football teams train. Originally published on October 15. A whipped cross and a powerful header towards goal are staples of football and the essence of set-piece tactics used by every football team. But [...]
Best of 2021: Lewes FC, the football club of the future? December 25, 2021 In this article from March 2021, Frank Dalleres speaks to Maggie Murphy, general manager and now CEO of Lewes FC about the club’s pioneering stance on equal pay, how a purpose-led approach can attract commercial partners, and bold plans for the future. They take pride in doing things differently at Lewes FC, the small football [...]
Big Sport Quiz of 2021: How much do you remember? December 20, 2021 From teenagers sweeping to Grand Slam tennis titles to England reaching a major football final, an Olympic Games like no other and the introduction of a brand new cricket competition, it has been a hugely eventful year in sport. Off the field it has been just as transformative, with private equity and, increasingly, cryptocurrency and [...]
Barclays to pump record £30m into WSL and women’s UK sport December 15, 2021 Banking giant Barclays are set to double their investment in Women’s football as they extend their sponsorship deal to include the Women’s Championship. The deal will begin from the 2022-23 season and run through to 2025, and will see Barclays pump £30m into the women’s game. Sasha Wiggins, Barclays Group head of public policy and [...]
Women’s football was once banned but now it is a beacon of possibility December 5, 2021 Though 40,000 plus fans will celebrate Women’s sport at today’s FA Cup final between Arsenal and Chelsea, there’s a darker occasion being marked at the weekend – the 100-year anniversary of women’s football being banned in England. “Essentially, the Football Association (FA) said that the game of football was ‘quite unsuitable for women’,” said Charlotte [...]
Academics find fairer format for penalty shootouts, but will football accept it? December 2, 2021 Football took a chance on the ABBA format in the hope of minimising the inherent unfairness of penalty shootouts, but that experiment swiftly met its Waterloo. Now, though, economists at Durham University have devised a new way of ordering penalty kicks that they believe could change the name of the game. They tested a score-dependent [...]
The Women’s FA Cup final marks dark of past and possibilities of future December 1, 2021 On Sunday, tens of thousands will head into the home of English football for the Women’s FA Cup final between Arsenal and Chelsea in what could be the best attended domestic match for 101 years, when 53,000 packed into Goodison Park. This weekend, however, will also offer a reminder of a darker era for women’s [...]
Historic night for Ellen White: England’s Lionesses 20 (yes, twenty) – Latvia 0 December 1, 2021 The Lionesses crushed Latvia 20-0 at Doncaster’s Keepmoat Stadium last night as Ellen White broke England Women’s all-time scoring record and the team recorded their biggest ever competitive victory. White scored twice early on in the World Cup qualifier to take her level with and then past Kelly Smith’s mark of 46 goals, before completing [...]
Record £3.2bn in private equity deals for sports teams as funds target football, rugby and F1 November 22, 2021 The last twelve months saw a record £3.2bn of sports team acquisitions by private equity funds, almost treble last year’s total, as they targeted football, rugby and Formula 1 teams, according to new data shared with City A.M. this afternoon. Last year saw an all-time high of 11 PE purchases of stakes in sports teams [...]