By: Matt Hardy

Deputy Sports Editor - City AM Matt Hardy is the City AM Deputy Sports Editor with a specialism in the business of sport. He covers the likes of rugby, cricket, sporting investment and venture capital funds; while also being across golf, cricket, and the politics of sport.

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Manchester City: Sheikh Mansour faces calls for ban from English football over UAE links to genocide

Sport Business

Manchester City owner Sheikh Mansour could be barred from the Premier League if the UK government heeds calls to sanction him over alleged links to genocide in Sudan. Human rights group FairSquare has called on the government to investigate the man who has led Manchester City’s transformation into one of the world’s richest and most [...]
Why Messi taking 100 per cent stake in UE Cornella matters

Sport Business

Lionel Messi’s purchase of Spanish fifth-tier side UE Cornella represents a broader trend of players seeing football assets as long-term investment opportunities, top football finance experts have said. The Argentinian, who will be heading to the Fifa World Cup this year looking to defend the title he won in Qatar, will own 100 per cent [...]
Trump-hating Fifa World Cup fans should have costs paid if denied visa

Sport Business

Any fan who is denied entry to the Fifa World Cup by the US over their social media accounts should have their visa costs covered, UK politicians have said. US entry rules allow authorities to comb through five years of social media posts, denying entry to applicants should they criticise the government and President Donald [...]

Northampton Saints appoint board member after £2.5m fund raise

April 16, 2026

Northampton Saints have appointed wealthy rugby fan Steve Zander to their board after he led a £2.5m fund raise earlier this year. Zander was part of a raise worth £2.7m which saw him take the majority of nearly 2m newly issued shares, representing 14.5 per cent of the Prem Rugby club. He will join the [...]
Beer fear: CO2 shortage could lead to state-backed beer at World Cup

April 16, 2026

Brits face drinking state-backed beer during the Fifa World Cup as CO2 shortage fears leave breweries and boozers reliant on government gas. The war in Iran has caused chaos across Gulf shipping lanes with government analysis suggesting a closure of the Strait of Hormuz for a long period of time could lead to shortages of [...]
Aramco ties with Formula 1 could see Saudi Arabia Grand Prix rescheduled

April 16, 2026

Aramco ties with Formula 1 could see the Saudi Arabia Grand Prix, cancelled after the Iran conflict, rescheduled for later in the year. Grands prix in both Bahrain and Saudi, which were scheduled for this month, were postponed following the outbreak of the conflict in the Gulf between the United States, Israel and Iran. Formula [...]
Russell set to join Pollock after London meetings with Matchroom

April 15, 2026

Scotland rugby star Finn Russell has held talks with Matchroom about following England’s Henry Pollock in signing for the multi-sport promoters’ new talent agency. Northampton Saints back-row Pollock joined the Eddie Hearn-run talent roster after the promoter made comments about the untapped potential of rugby during the Six Nations. In subsequent interviews, Hearn – whose [...]
Exeter Chiefs set for US investment as Prem Rugby flurry continues

April 15, 2026

Exeter Chiefs are set to become the latest in a flurry of Prem Rugby clubs to take fresh investment, with American backing set for Sandy Park. An extraordinary general meeting will be held next month to vote on plans which would see an unnamed US backer make a multimillion pound investment in the Devonshire club. [...]
DHL chief on English rugby ‘concern’, Formula 1 and Manchester United

April 15, 2026

“I’d say it’s a concern,” Elliott Santon, the head of global sponsorships at DHL Express, says on the state of rugby in England. The global logistic giant is the front-of-shirt sponsor of Prem Rugby club Harlequins and has its distinctive yellow and red logo plastered on the quartered strip of the London team. DHL is [...]
Trump-linked crypto firm Nexo in Fifa World Cup deal with Messi’s Argentina

April 14, 2026

Donald Trump-linked crypto firm Nexo has announced a sponsorship deal with Lionel Messi’s Argentina ahead of this summer’s Fifa World Cup. The digital wealth platform will be the Argentine Football Association’s official digital asset partner when they attempt to defend their title at the tournament in the United States, Canada and Mexico. The deal bolsters [...]

‘Bond market tantrum risks’: Gilt traders brace for Labour leftward pivot as Starmer future uncertain

Manchester City: Sheikh Mansour faces calls for ban from English football over UAE links to genocide

The watch podcast disrupting the ‘pale, male and stale’ image

By: Matt Hardy

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