By: Frank Dalleres

Sports Editor Frank Dalleres is Sports Editor of City AM. He has almost two decades' experience covering the business of sport and has reported from Olympic Games and major international football, rugby union, tennis and golf competitions, both at home and abroad. Get in touch with stories and tip-offs and follow him on X at @frankdalleres

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English football clubs turn to MetLife for £117.5m loan after baulking at Bank of England emergency funding conditions

March 30, 2021

Championship football clubs have chosen to take a £117.5m loan from US insurer MetLife instead of the Bank of England’s emergency Covid-19 support scheme. The English Football League (EFL), which represents clubs in the second, third and fourth divisions, said it rejected the Bank of England loan due to the conditions imposed. Teams in the [...]
What is the ‘Swiss model’ set to be used in the Champions League, and why have big clubs chosen a system common to chess but unheard of in football?

March 30, 2021

The biggest changes to the Champions League for 20 years – including the introduction of the controversial “Swiss model” – are set to be rubber-stamped in April. From 2024, it will mean more teams, more matches and a new format common to chess and croquet that, until now, was unheard of in elite European football. [...]
Players vow to scupper Silver Lake £235m bid for All Blacks commercial rights

March 29, 2021

Several leading All Blacks and Black Ferns say they will veto Silver Lake’s bid for a stake in New Zealand Rugby (NZR). The US-based private equity giant has offered £235m for 15 per cent of NZR’s commercial rights, which the deal values at £1.5bn. If successful, it would be the latest investment by private equity [...]
Mason Mount continues emergence as key man in Gareth Southgate’s England Euro 2020 project

March 29, 2021

When Mason Mount collected Harry Kane’s pass and clipped the ball over Albania goalkeeper Etrit Berisha on Sunday it was job done. Another three points for England to continue their flawless start to the qualifying campaign for the Qatar 2022 World Cup. And another exhibit in the burgeoning cache of evidence that Mount deserves a [...]
A drive to survive: How Liberty Media used Netflix and esports to win a new generation of fans and safeguard the future of Formula 1

March 26, 2021

It feels like an awful long time ago now that Liberty Media took the wheel of Formula 1, completing a takeover valued at $8bn including debt in January 2017. Donald Trump had just been inaugurated and the most relevant global health emergency was the Zika virus. In motorsport, meanwhile, Lewis Hamilton had been dethroned and [...]
Week in Sportbiz: Is crypto the next big player in sports sponsorship? Plus Extreme E’s Suez near miss and Amazon’s Six Nations interest

March 25, 2021

Where US sports lead, others tend to follow, so it was with interest that industry insiders noted developments in Florida this week. Miami Heat’s home is set to be rebranded the FTX Arena after the NBA side struck a naming rights agreement with the cryptocurrency exchange. FTX will pay $135m for the 19-year deal, the [...]
Why Chelsea FC are giving away digital advertising to London’s small businesses

March 24, 2021

Chelsea are offering London’s small businesses a pandemic pick-me-up in the form of free digital advertising. The Premier League club plan to showcase a different start-up each matchday for the rest of the season, giving away digital assets worth five figures a time. “Rather than celebrating us, we wanted to celebrate the city that we’re [...]
British and Irish Lions summer 2021 tour to South Africa to go ahead

March 23, 2021

The British and Irish Lions tour to South Africa will go ahead this summer despite uncertainty over whether fans will be allowed to attend. Alternative arrangements, such as postponing the tour or playing the series in the UK or Australia, had been considered due to the Covid-19 pandemic. “After reviewing information relating to the various [...]
The most complex World Cup qualifying process yet? England’s path, the role of Qatar, the Nations League and Russia in the race for Europe’s 13 spots

March 23, 2021

When Bill Shankly quipped that “football is a simple game complicated by people who should know better” he could have been talking about the Qatar 2022 World Cup qualifiers. This week, England and the other 54 European national teams kick off their campaigns to reach next year’s tournament with a triple-header of matches. And the [...]
Thomas Tuchel has turned Chelsea into a winning machine – but the football is surprisingly dull

March 22, 2021

Thomas Tuchel’s transformation of Chelsea from freewheeling self-saboteurs to uber-efficient winning machine continues apace. Days after reaching the Champions League quarter-finals by beating kindred spirits Atletico Madrid, they marched into the last four of the FA Cup with minimal flourish against Sheffield United on Sunday. So serene has their recent progress been that media-shy Roman [...]

From crown jewel to €180m courtroom battle: The investor revolt targeting Atos

SailGP, rugby and PJL: Inside the new £50m budget sporting asset class

Humble Grape is up for two Toast the City Awards: Here’s why

By: Frank Dalleres

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