Geoff Thomas interview: Crystal Palace hunger and skill reminds me of our class of 1990 April 13, 2022 On Sunday, a vibrant and fast-improving Crystal Palace team on an exciting FA Cup run head to Wembley seeking another big scalp. It’s a scenario that Geoff Thomas remembers well. Former England midfielder Thomas was the captain of Palace’s class of 1990, who toppled Liverpool in an epic semi-final to set up a showdown with [...]
Chelsea sale heading for full time as deadline arrives for potential world record £2.5bn deal April 13, 2022 This is a big week for Chelsea Football Club on the field, with the Blues’ men’s and women’s teams both preparing for FA Cup semi-finals on Sunday. For the men, the game is a must-win if they are to lift a trophy this season, as well as a chance to bounce back from a painful [...]
Kenny Shiels: Football manager sparks row by claiming women are more emotional than men April 13, 2022 The manager of the Northern Ireland women’s football team, Kenny Shiels, has claimed that it is difficult to stop women’s teams conceding one goal after another because they are “more emotional than men”. Shiels, who is due to lead the team in their major tournament debut at Euro 2022 this summer, said an “emotional imbalance” [...]
Sorare still confident of Premier League NFT deal and preparing US sports expansion April 12, 2022 Sorare, the NFT-based fantasy football platform valued at $4.3bn last year, remains confident of signing a deal with the Premier League despite suggestions it had missed out. The fast-growing French tech company has targeted licensing agreements with football’s top 20 leagues and already has contracts with Spain’s LaLiga and Germany’s Bundesliga. NFTs – non-fungible tokens, [...]
Victoria to become first regional host of the Commonwealth Games in 2026 April 12, 2022 The Australian state of Victoria has been selected to host the 2026 Commonwealth Games. The Games, to be staged in Melbourne, Geelong, Bendigo, Ballarat and Gippsland, will be the first to take place predominantly in a region rather than a single city. The last edition took place in Australia four years ago and organisers have [...]
Sam Torrance: Scottie Scheffler has earned his fairytale – with a little help from the Ryder Cup April 11, 2022 From first PGA Tour win to world No1 and Masters champion in eight weeks; I don’t think anyone has enjoyed a rise quite like Scottie Scheffler’s. It has been a fairytale, but 25-year-old Scheffler has earned it with a series of faultless performances and by staying in control whatever the circumstances. He was already ranked [...]
Multiple US investors signal interest in £350m deal with Farhad Moshiri for Everton April 11, 2022 Everton are the latest Premier League club to attract interest from US investors, according to reports. The Merseyside club have made huge losses under owner Farhad Moshiri, who has spent heavily on players in a failed attempt to restore the Toffees to former glories. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has also hit Everton, who have been [...]
Manchester City and Liverpool trade blows but neither finds a knockout in title fight April 10, 2022 It was more slugfest than sweet science, but Manchester City and Liverpool lived up to their billing as the heavyweights of the Premier League in this wildly entertaining 2-2 draw, which leaves the title race finely poised. The champions and their closest challengers traded haymakers for 90 minutes but ultimately neither delivered a knockout blow [...]
Review: Football: Designing the Beautiful Game at the Design Museum April 10, 2022 A photo emerged last summer of beaming England footballer Bukayo Saka leaping into a swimming pool astride an inflatable unicorn. Such was the pure joy captured by the image that it quickly attained cult status and, as these things do, spawned a thousand memes. Well, anyone who quipped on social media to “Hang it in [...]
European football confirms new ‘financial sustainability regulations’ to replace FFP April 7, 2022 European football’s governing body Uefa has confirmed the adoption of new “financial sustainability regulations” to replace its controversial financial fair play rules (FFP). The biggest change under the new system will see clubs’ spending on wages, transfers and agents capped at 70 per cent of revenue. The financial sustainability regulations will apply to all teams [...]