Ed Warner: VAR cock-ups are hastening the inevitable arrival of AI referees October 12, 2023 How long until a match is refereed entirely by AI, following the latest Premier League VAR blunders?
Golfers can play for brand value at Olympics and Ryder Cup, not a pay cheque October 5, 2023 This week’s Ed Warner column looks at the Patrick Cantlay “pay or no pay” discussion and how Olympians can only dream of being in a situation where they don’t need payment to compete at the highest level. Can those Ryder Cup golfers simply increase their brand value by rubbing shoulders with Olympians in Paris next [...]
Ed Warner: Is Saudi’s goal of using sport to boost GDP by 1.5 per cent achievable? September 28, 2023 John Maynard Keynes argued for government spending – any spending – to stimulate economies in recession, even paying people to dig holes and then fill them up again, given the multiplier effect when they spend their wages. Saudi Arabia may not be facing such an economic challenge, but the sports investments pursued by its Crown [...]
Ed Warner: Lessons for sport from the soft drink industry September 21, 2023 Ed Warner on the lessons from the soft drink industry for sports tempted to tinker with their formats, the wisdom of analytics, and Everton's takeover.
Ed Warner: English cricket ought to wise up and encourage outside investment September 14, 2023 Middlesex's financial woes highlight wider problems in English cricket, which should be putting plans in place to embrace investment from India and elsewhere, writes Ed Warner.
Ed Warner: Will this really be the best Rugby World Cup ever? September 7, 2023 Are you ready for the best ever Rugby World Cup? A tournament for the ages? Two phrases that would best be banned, argues Ed Warner.
Ed Warner: London 2012 convinced us that Para sport was moving forward, but it isn’t August 31, 2023 There are 363 days until the opening ceremony of the Paris 2024 Paralympics. Tickets go on sale on 9 October. The most expensive events are €100, a sliver over a tenth of the price of the best seats for Olympic athletics. I can guarantee there won’t be only one tenth of the enjoyment. You might [...]
Ed Warner: Why sport shouldn’t waste its time courting royals and politicians August 24, 2023 Politicians and royals rarely mix well with sport, so the fuss about the Prime Minister and Duke of Cambridge missing the Women’s World Cup final was classic British nonsense. In my experience, the less time spent trying to sprinkle dubious stardust on sporting events, the better. Civil servants and UK Sport spent ridiculous time that [...]
Ed Warner: Lionesses bonus row will rear its head again after Women’s World Cup August 17, 2023 Ed Warner on why the FA could face a public broadside from the Lionesses after the Women’s World Cup, this week’s World Athletics Championships in Hungary and Team GB’s selection policy. Within 24 hours of winning the Davis Cup for the first time in almost eight decades, Andy Murray and his Great Britain team captain [...]
Is chess a sport? It soon may be chasing the Olympic Holy Grail August 10, 2023 Columnist Ed Warner discusses chess, funding fringe sports and what makes a solid sporting body chief executive. Where do you draw the line between games and sports? Mine is at the door of the pub, so ruling dominos, bar billiards, space invaders and darts out of the sporting firmament. I realise of course that this [...]
