Ollie Phillips: The Boks play simple, boring rugby, but winning is winning November 19, 2021 In tomorrow’s match with South Africa, England have their hardest test. Why? Because they know exactly what they’ll be coming up against. The Springboks don’t often play exciting rugby – it’s simple, boring rugby. They try to bully you, outmuscle you and, when in doubt, send the ball skyward and harass the catcher. It’s not [...]
NBC secures Premier League rights November 18, 2021 The Premier League yesterday signed a new six-year deal with NBC. The rights deal will start during the 2022/23 season and will last until 2028. Premier League chief Richard Masters said: “ We are delighted to announce our new US broadcast deal with NBC Sports, who have been brilliant partners for the Premier League.” The [...]
Premier League on rocky road with plans to regulate sponsorship deals in wake of Newcastle takeover November 18, 2021 The recent takeover of Newcastle United by the Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund created quite a storm – both in the media and, according to reports, the other Premier League clubs. Since the introduction of so-called financial fair play regulations at the start of season 2013-14 – known as the Profitability and Sustainability Rules in [...]
Ed Warner: Sewing ruling bodies together is not always the answer November 18, 2021 I’m a late adopter of LinkedIn, only joining this summer as a means of promoting Sport inc. Compiling my profile, I paused for just a second before deciding not to include my inglorious 52 days as interim chair of the British Basketball Federation back in 2018. On Sunday, as the T20 World Cup neared its [...]
Chelsea Digital Ventures: The tech business spun out of a football club November 17, 2021 Look closely next time Romelu Lukaku or Pernille Harder takes a mid-match drink and you may notice something that marks Chelsea out from other football clubs. Because instead of taking a swig from a bottle of Lucozade, or another well known sports hydration brand, players at the west London club have their own in-house product. [...]
San Marino 0, England 10: Record win secures place at Qatar 2022 World Cup November 15, 2021 England swaggered into the 2022 World Cup finals by hitting 10 against 10-man San Marino in their biggest ever win in a competitive match on a night when it all went right for Gareth Southgate. Harry Kane plundered a morale-boosting four-goal haul and wrote more entries in the England record books, Emile Smith Rowe shone [...]
The Red Roses have shown domestic investment can shift the tectonic plates November 15, 2021 The mighty Black Ferns? Routed twice. The North American might of Canada? Toppled. The Red Roses have had an autumn international window of dreams thus far. A total of 99 points were shipped by New Zealand at the hands of England – that wasn’t supposed to happen – and further 51 points were put on [...]
Premier League on the verge of £1.5bn US TV deal November 15, 2021 The Premier League is closing in on the sale of its US television rights for a record $2bn (£1.5bn).
Steven Gerrard confirmed as Aston Villa manager November 11, 2021 Aston Villa have confirmed the appointment of former England captain Steven Gerrard as their new manager. Gerrard joins from Scottish champions Rangers, where he enjoyed success in his first senior management role, leading them to to the title unbeaten last season. He succeeds Dean Smith, who achieved hero status by taking Villa back into the [...]
Ed Warner: Why sponsors should beat a path to Yorkshire November 11, 2021 Yorkshire County Cricket Club might just be the most exciting sponsorship proposition right now. Mired in a racism crisis of its own making, deserted by its full roster of corporate partners, staring down the barrel of a parliamentary select committee, investigated by the Equality and Human Rights Commission – but with a new chair and [...]