If BBC battle change, is it time to abolish sport’s Crown Jewels? August 7, 2025 With change needed to ensure lesser followed sports get their time in the spotlight, is it time to abolish the Crown Jewels and ditch the BBC for some coverage? What I know about aquatics could be scribbled with a waterproof Sharpie on a pair of skimpy Speedos. I do know, though, that swimming is one [...]
Is director training the answer to football’s governance woes? July 31, 2025 A new study suggests reforming football governance by testing and training directors. But is the regulator capable, asks Ed Warner? Countless millions follow professional football in England, claiming allegiance to a favourite club whose fortunes are entwined daily with each individual’s emotions, their highs and lows in seemingly unavoidable synchronicity. Turns out these essential forces [...]
Fans and athletes both lose in sport’s endless entertainment loop July 24, 2025 New tournaments, expanding global championships, tours of dubious sporting merit and very little rest – isn’t it time we gave our athletes a break, asks Ed Warner? If only the world wasn’t spherical, maybe then we wouldn’t have lost the sporting seasons. As it is, summer bleeds from northern hemisphere to southern, which sends winter [...]
Hawk-Eye complaints at Wimbledon? You cannot be serious! July 10, 2025 Wimbledon’s Hawk-Eye controversies were human-made and technology’s role in refereeing sports will only grow, writes Ed Warner. In the chalk dust v Hawk-Eye battle there can only be one winner. Traditionalists may hanker after a Wimbledon of line judges, temper tantrums, smashed rackets and John McEnroe questioning the seriousness of the umpire but in tennis, [...]
Women’s sport needs to convert online fandom into ticket sales July 3, 2025 With England’s Euros defence getting underway on Saturday, how does women’s sport convert online fandom into ticket sales? Attendances down, TV viewing figures falling, but TikTok and Instagram metrics up. This is the current state of engagement with women’s professional sport in the United Kingdom. Phone surfing can be monetised, but there is an urgent [...]
Sports events must decide between purists and entertaining newbies June 26, 2025 With Britain in the height of its summer sporting season, Ed Warner debates how organisers must balance pleasing purists with enticing new fans. “Does anyone talk about The Season anymore? The social whirl of the Lord’s Test, Queen’s, Royal Ascot and then finally Wimbledon? I may have missed others…” I replied to this Sport inc. [...]
Grand Slam Track stumble shows odds stacked against sport’s disruptors June 19, 2025 Michael Johnson’s decision to scrap the last of his four Grand Slam Track events will have pained the wannabe disruptor who has been a persistent critic of the track and field establishment. It will be no comfort to the former superstar to learn that a new study of British broadcast trends shows increased viewing of [...]
Athletes on OnlyFans: It’s time for an adult conversation about funding June 5, 2025 Should athletes be allowed to boost their meagre Lottery funding by performing on OnlyFans, like British canoeist Kurts Adams Rozentals? It’s time for a grown-up discussion, says Ed Warner. How far would you go to fulfil your Olympic dream? Pre-dawn, pre-school training sessions; eschewing a student lifestyle to get a solid night’s sleep with no [...]
The Enhanced Games sporting experiment will prove short-lived May 29, 2025 The Enhanced Games aims to shake up sport by allowing performance enhancing substances, but Ed Warner argues the concept will be short-lived. Man dives into a pool wearing a full racing bodysuit. Swims a single length of front crawl. Alone. Is rewarded with $1m for breaking the world record. Could this be the dullest clip [...]
The FA Cup is still magic – and now this Crystal Palace fan can die happy May 22, 2025 Long-suffering Crystal Palace fan Ed Warner savours his team’s moment in the sun, praises the FA for retaining the cup’s essential magic, and hopes his team don’t get too used to it… Toss a coin six times. The odds of it coming up heads every time is 1:64. Enter the FA Cup in the third [...]
