Ben Proud’s Enhanced Games switch puts pressure IOC to use its $5bn September 18, 2025 Rather than wondering why Ben Proud would sign up for the Enhanced Games, it is better to ask why he wouldn’t. The British swimmer’s commitment to the competition with an “anything goes” attitude to performance-enhancing drugs is a wake-up call for the Olympic movement. Money, as ever, lies at the heart of the matter. Proud [...]
Tokyo has another bite at athletics cherry – will fandom blossom? September 11, 2025 If you’re an athletics fan, time to perfect your “work from home” excuses as the World Championships begin in Tokyo tomorrow. If you live west of Japan, that spells disrupted sleep patterns and unproductive days as medals are won in Tokyo nights. These Championships are part reward for a local populace twice denied the chance [...]
Are franchise IPOs the end game for The Hundred’s £1bn investors? August 28, 2025 Have The Hundred’s investors figured out yet how they will make a return? Look out for minority stake sales and maybe even listings in India, says Ed Warner. Never make an investment without having a plan on how to sell it. Illiquidity can scupper the most enticing of propositions. The very best portfolio managers, especially [...]
RFU backing of Red Roses can aid better English pro structure August 21, 2025 So it begins. Red Roses vs USA at the Stadium of Light. Friday night, BBC 1. That’s a USA fielding the rugby player with by far the biggest social media following on the planet, Ilona Maher. You won’t find a hotter ticket this year than the Women’s Rugby World Cup final at Twickenham on 27 [...]
Premier League: Is football the closest sport to perfection? August 14, 2025 Football never seems to go away. Between international tournaments, transfer sagas and pre-season tours, the game hums year-round. But last weekend’s EFL fixtures and this weekend’s Premier League matches mark something more definitive: the start of the new English season. The return of tribal loyalties, tactical debates, and the weekly rhythm that defines so many [...]
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 [...]
