By: Sam Cunningham

Sam Cunningham is a freelance sports journalist who writes the weekly Between The Lines column for City AM. Sam has previously been published in The Times, Guardian, Observer, Daily Mail and i Paper.

All 17 Articles

Chelsea fans stunned as ticket sharing equated with sexual misconduct

Sport Business

Chelsea have stunned supporters by equating unauthorised ticket sharing with sexual misconduct in their sanctioning guidelines for the new season. Premier League clubs are cracking down on ticket misuse but long-standing season ticket holders, who have long shared log-ins and built networks to help each other buy tickets, feel unfairly targeted. Bots and touts remain [...]
Gary Lineker forks out £10k to save England World Cup dream

Sport Business

Gary Lineker and a group of private backers have come to the rescue of the England men’s amputee team while the Football Association refuses to fund them. The governing body stopped its financial support in 2006 and, despite now backing seven para teams, still excludes the amputee side. The England team, Nations League winners in [...]
Manchester United accused of banning loyal fans to make space for big-spending tourists

Sport Business

Manchester United supporters have accused the club of attempting to force out season ticket holders in order to generate more revenue from tourists and corporates. Season ticket holders of several decades started receiving emails – seen by City AM – informing them their accounts had been restricted after the club identified activity “that may indicate” [...]

Infantino facing IOC probe after complaint lodged over Trump’s Balogun intervention

July 14, 2026

Fifa boss Gianni Infantino is facing an International Olympic Committee investigation after an official complaint was filed following US President Donald Trump’s intervention to block Folarin Balogun’s ban. The decision to suspend Balogun’s ban – enabling the USA’s best player to continue playing in the World Cup after he was sent off against Bosnia and [...]
Frying squad: England’s World Cup bid fuelled by cooking oil and leftover food

July 8, 2026

England’s World Cup campaign in the USA, Mexico and Canada is being powered by used cooking oil, leftover food and algae. The decision to maintain a World Cup training base in Kansas City has meant England are racking up the air miles for matches. A 2,800-mile round trip to Mexico City for Sunday night’s last-16 [...]
Hated World Cup hydration breaks here to stay for even hotter 2030 and 2034

July 1, 2026

Hydration breaks are expected to remain a feature of future World Cups despite attracting widespread criticism, City AM understands. The divisive three-minute pauses, taken midway through each half, have become one of the tournament’s hottest talking points. They have effectively turned football into a game of four quarters and head coaches have said they are [...]
Manchester United debt pile may force owners to fund new stadium

June 24, 2026

Doubts have emerged over Manchester United’s capacity to fund their £2bn-plus new stadium unless the owners inject cash. The club announced on Monday that they had secured the land required to build the 100,000-seater venue – dubbed a “Wembley of the North” – from Indurent, which lets industrial units. The 25-acre site is only 350m [...]
England’s secret weapon against World Cup heat? British company’s £26 product

June 17, 2026

England have turned to a British hot water bottle maker for help coping with the extreme World Cup heat ahead of their tournament opener against Croatia in Dallas tonight. High temperatures are expected to be a defining feature of this tournament – with dangerous conditions possible in 14 of the 16 host cities – and, [...]
Everton chief calls for full review of England academy talent funding

June 10, 2026

Everton technical director Nick Cox, one of the most respected figures in the academy world, has questioned the Premier League’s model for investing in youth development. Cox, who worked at Manchester United’s academy for nine years – six as its director – before joining Everton last year, believes big clubs receive too big a slice [...]
Chelsea to hand Joao Pedro wage boost as club prepare for tough summer

June 3, 2026

Chelsea face a difficult summer ahead following their failure to qualify for Europe, but Joao Pedro is set for a base-salary increase that may help them keep hold of one of their star players. The Brazilian forward – a £60m signing from Brighton last summer – was a rare bright spark in an otherwise gloomy [...]

London IPO candidate Utmost sees inflows slide

Aston Villa commercial status a tonic for Premier League in big-spending era

Everyone’s welcome: The UK holiday cottages that are truly inclusive

By: Sam Cunningham

All 17 Articles

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