Christian Eriksen: How January gamble on Denmark midfielder saved Brentford’s season April 3, 2022 Brentford owner Matthew Benham made his fortune from shrewd gambling but even he couldn’t have foreseen how emphatically the club’s punt on Christian Eriksen would pay off. The Bees took a chance on Eriksen in January, just weeks after his release by Inter Milan and seven months on from his near-fatal on-field cardiac arrest at [...]
Premier League to reintroduce five subs from next season March 31, 2022 The Premier League have voted to reintroduce five substitutions – originally bought in during the Covid-19 pandemic – after reverting back to three for the 2021/22 season. Teams had previously voted against keeping the number of substitutions at five following the behind-closed-doors season but have since changed their minds. In a statement, the Premier League [...]
Manchester United named top of the league for digital value generated by sports teams March 31, 2022 Manchester United generated the most digital value of any sports team in the world last year, according to a new report published today. The Digital Value of Fans 2022 report is based on social media performance and was created by audience platform Horizm, which works with leading teams in several sports. Despite a fourth consecutive [...]
Government recruits Oliver Wyman consultants to craft new football regulator March 29, 2022 The government have drafted in top consultancy Oliver Wyman to help design a new independent body that will be charged with regulating English football. According to reports from Mark Kleinman, the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) has hired the New York-based firm to help build a response to Tracey Crouch’s contentious review of football’s [...]
Everton FC registers £120m loss after pandemic impact and suspension of Usmanov support March 29, 2022 Everton Football Club registered a £120.9m loss in 2021, meaning it’s almost £400m down over the last four years. The beleaguered Merseyside club attributed its loss to the pandemic as it published annual accounts this week, against the backdrop of severed sponsorship with a sanctioned Russian oligarch. It said there were £170m losses despite a [...]
Who replaces Root if he moves on as England Test captain? March 28, 2022 There’s a growing sense of inevitability about England cricket captain Joe Root stepping down from his role. It might not be today or tomorrow, it may not be next week or beyond, but following another Test series defeat in the Caribbean there’s a general consensus that the day is coming. Root has won more matches [...]
Premiership talking points: Top four, cancellations and London’s showpiece March 27, 2022 Round 21 of England’s premiership rugby competition saw the battle for the semi-finals intensify as Leicester secured the first of the four spots, while we saw yet another draw – this time not involving London Irish. Here are the talking points as internationals returned to their clubs from Six Nations duty. One down The league [...]
Ed Warner: Does it really matter if Chelsea buyers are true Blues fans? March 24, 2022 Who are the wannabe owners of Chelsea trying to impress when they flaunt their fandom? Investment bank the Raine Group is only likely to give a jot when someone first stood in the Shed, or how long they’ve sat in the same seat in the Matthew Harding Stand, if this matters to HM Treasury. If [...]
Chelsea handed £30m cash boost and permission to sell tickets as government relaxes licence March 23, 2022 Chelsea have been handed a £30m boost from the government and given permission to sell some tickets again. The strict licence that the Premier League club has been operating under since owner Roman Abramovich was sanctioned was relaxed slightly today. It means Chelsea can receive up to £30m from their parent company “in respect of [...]
First, England. Next, the world? Why those behind The Hundred have big ambitions March 21, 2022 “Every successful brand in the world has to start somewhere, in one geography,” says Nick Sykes, global chief executive of FutureBrand, the company that developed the branding for The Hundred, English cricket’s newest tournament. “But if you look at sporting formats around the world, many of them have travelled geographies and there are large parts [...]