IOC looks tin-eared at best, cruel at worst over Ukraine helmet saga Sport Business The reputations of the IOC and its president Kirsty Coventry have suffered badly from its handling of the Ukraine helmet row at the Winter Olympics, says Ed Warner. Are you not entertained? The Winter Olympics have delivered stories ranging from the titillating (penile injections, condom shortages and a narcissistic declaration of infidelity) to the enraging [...]
Sport’s overreachers like Sussex and Leicester are guilty of hope not greed Sport Business As long as sport’s governing bodies and regulators reward risk over restraint, the cycle of boom, bust, sanction, repeat will continue, writes Ed Warner. First the disclaimer: I live in Sussex and although its county side isn’t my first cricketing love – that “honour” belongs to Middlesex CCC – I’ve enjoyed days at Hove’s County [...]
Forget medal targets, Winter Olympics success will be decided on sofas not ski slopes Sport Business Sports fans have a feast of action, from the Winter Olympics to the Six Nations and the T20 World Cup, to gorge on over the coming days, writes Ed Warner. Have you planned your viewing schedule for the next few days? Pushed the football to the margins of your calendar for once? Six Nations opener [...]
Sorry performative politicians, a 2026 World Cup boycott just won’t work January 29, 2026 Politicians calling for a boycott of the World Cup are only proving how out of touch and powerless they are, writes Ed Warner. Every four years, politicians rediscover our football. And inevitably, they then threaten to take it away from us. Think Russia, then Qatar. This time, President Trump is the trigger. Quelle surprise! The [...]
Football regulator may have popular support but many will be disappointed January 22, 2026 The Independent Football Regulator will not be the panacea for all of the English game’s ills that some are hoping for, says Ed Warner. To a stimulating conference titled “The Independent Football Regulator: challenge or opportunity?” There I found myself a minority voice in an echo chamber of regulatory advocates. An opening poll of the [...]
Magic of the FA Cup has resisted tinkering and is only getting stronger January 15, 2026 Macclesfield’s historic defeat of Crystal Palace warmed even this Eagles fan’s heart and shows the FA Cup retains its powerful magic, writes Ed Warner. The first WhatsApp arrived seconds after the final whistle. “Will this get a mention in the next edition of your column?!!!” Of course it does. After Macclesfield went ahead against Crystal [...]
Manchester United head coach’s job is to be a fall guy and human shield January 8, 2026 AI is the scourge of the modern employment market. Applicants generate automated covering letters that tick off every requirement in a job spec, and are then interviewed by robots which provide almost instantaneous rejections. Reluctant to be a Luddite in this mind-scrambling new world, here is my open letter to Sir Jim Ratcliffe applying to [...]
Why 2026 is the year sport needs to confront the man vs machine question January 1, 2026 Man vs machine is the future of sport, whether we like it or not, but what do we want it to look like? If you want to understand where sport is heading, don’t look at the Olympic programme or the Premier League fixture list. Look instead at the strange, noisy, algorithm‑friendly world growing just outside [...]
Is the Premier League decoupling from the rest of English football? December 18, 2025 Ed Warner pores over a report on the polarisation of English football and comes up with a solution to the Premier League’s stand-off with the EFL for the new regulator. “I just hope they don’t mess it up.” The Premier League club chairman’s answer to my question about his hopes for the Independent Football Regulator [...]
Greedy Fifa rinsing fans over World Cup tickets – even Americans are baulking December 11, 2025 Ed Warner finds that even Americans accustomed to paying through the nose for live sport are outraged at the prices Fifa is allowing to be set for tickets at the 2026 World Cup. It was a bitterly cold evening in Boston, the temperature well below zero, and yet the Bruins fans still rolled up to [...]
