Uefa chief Ceferin hails ‘correct decision’ as away goals rule is scrapped from European club football June 24, 2021 European football is breaking with more than 50 years of tradition and scrapping the away goals rule. Uefa has used the away goals rule to separate teams who finished level after a two-legged tie since 1965. Instead, from next season Champions League, Europa League and Europa Conference League ties that finish level will go straight [...]
Debbie Hewitt to become first female chair of the FA as she leaves Restaurant Group June 8, 2021 Debbie Hewitt is set to become the FA’s first female chair, with the Restaurant Group confirming she will be leaving the same position at the hospitality firm this morning. Hewitt will leave the Restaurant Group – which owns Wagamama and Frankie and Benny’s – at the end of December 2021. Read more: FA Cup to [...]
Kevin De Bruyne named PFA Player of the Year for the second year running June 6, 2021 Kevin De Bruyne has been named men’s PFA Players’ Player of the Year for the second consecutive year. Manchester City team-mate Phil Foden won the men’s PFA Young Player of the Year award. Chelsea’s Fran Kirby was voted women’s PFA Players’ Player of the Year, while a third City player, Lauren Hemp, won the women’s [...]
Champions League-chasing Chelsea – and women’s football more generally – on the cusp of something extraordinary May 13, 2021 As the strangest football season on record hurtles to a climax, blue is most certainly the colour. While the sky blues of Manchester City contemplate a treble almost on par with their neighbours’ efforts in 1999, Chelsea can claim a double of their own if they beat City in the Champions League final and defeat [...]
Women’s Super League Team of the Season 2020-21: The best performing players in the WSL, as identified by Carteret Analytics May 10, 2021 The FA Women’s Super League champions have been crowned, but which players deserve to be in the WSL Team of the Season? We asked Carteret Analytics to answer that question using the sort of quantitative analysis used in investment banking. They have crunched the numbers on all WSL players to determine their Carteret Rating, which [...]
Week in Sportbiz: Ed Sheeran sponsors Ipswich Town; Javier Tebas blasts Gianni Infantino; Tokyo 2020 set for first transgender Olympian May 6, 2021 It has been a whirlwind few weeks at Ipswich Town. Fresh from welcoming new owners, the League One club now has an unlikely new shirt sponsor: Ed Sheeran. The Suffolk songsmith, a long-standing fan of the Tractor Boys, has agreed to sponsor the men’s and women’s team on a one-year deal that starts next season. [...]
Week in Sportbiz: Taxman cometh for football (again); BT Sport; Simone Biles; social media boycott; and NHS x NFL draft April 29, 2021 HMRC has cashed in by increasing scrutiny of the football industry, so perhaps it should be no surprise that the taxman has begun a new crackdown on players and clubs. Investigations into footballers almost tripled in 2019-20, while those concerning clubs more than doubled. The result was an increase from £35m to £73m in tax [...]
European Super League criticised for ‘unilaterally deciding future of women’s football’ without consultation April 22, 2021 Campaign group Women in Football has criticised the lack of consultation with the women’s game over the short-lived European Super League breakaway. Plans for the European Super League, the biggest shake-up in club football in living memory, stated that a corresponding women’s competition would follow but did not go into further details. The project unravelled [...]
European Super League: Who is in it? How will it work? Why is it happening? And can it be stopped? April 19, 2021 Twelve clubs, including Real Madrid, Barcelona, Juventus and six English teams, have confirmed they are planning to launch a breakaway European Super League. If it goes ahead, the move would represent the most significant change to club football in living memory. But what will the new competition look like? Which teams will be involved? And [...]
Laura McAllister interview: Former Wales captain and Fifa Council candidate on women’s football, greedy clubs and moderniser Infantino April 16, 2021 Wales have come to be a force to be reckoned with in international football. Their men’s team, led by galactico Gareth Bale, have qualified for successive European Championships for the first time, while their women have also continued their steady rise up Fifa’s world rankings. Now Welshwoman Laura McAllister is aiming to make a similar [...]