Freed From Desire: Why did 90s hit become England’s World Cup goal music? Music to watch goals by Lashed home by Harry Kane, dinked by Bukayo Saka or headed by Jude Bellingham, each England goal at this World Cup has had one thing in common. All have been celebrated to the sound of 90s dance hit Freed From Desire, the track that the Three Lions nominated to be played every time they rippled [...]
Ronaldo close to £172m-a-year Al-Nassr contract: Here are the most expensive sports deals ever mega deals in sports Cristiano Ronaldo is reportedly close to agreeing to a contract with Saudi Arabian football club, Al-Nassr, in a deal that could see the striker earn £172.9m a year – the most expensive contract ever offered to a sports player. The 37-year-old footballer mutually agreed to terminate his contract with Manchester United this November, after his relationship with [...]
Eddie Jones sacked: England Rugby coach axed after team’s worst year since 2008 He's gone England Rugby have sacked head coach Eddie Jones after seven years in charge following a review of the team’s dismal form. The move comes just nine months before he was due to lead England at another Rugby World Cup, having guided them to the final in 2019. England forwards coach Richard Cockerill is to take [...]
Ed Warner: Is Infantino a moonbeam or a clown? Either way, Fifa boss is here to stay December 1, 2022 Gianni Infantino. Moonbeam or clown? Flibbertigibbet? Certainly. Problem-solver, or problem to be solved? All depends on where you are coming from – quite literally. Just don’t expect Fifa’s demon/angel (delete according to taste) president to be going anywhere soon. Most likely not until 2031. Football’s Swiss-Italian head honcho has been front and centre of the [...]
House prices coming home this World Cup? How Gareth Southgate keeps properties afloat November 30, 2022 Following England’s 3-0 victory against Wales, last night in Qatar, property watchers are getting increasingly excited about the prospect of a good performance by the England squad at the World Cup as a major success could result in a house price boost. That is, if historical market trends are anything to go by. Focussing on [...]
World Cup: England v Wales peaks at 17.6m viewers on BBC November 30, 2022 England v Wales peaked at 17.6m viewers on BBC One last night as the Welsh get knocked out of the tournament. The whopping figure does not include people watching in public spaces or people using a streaming service, according to data from Digital i. The numbers smash viewing figures from the Lions’ first game of [...]
Qatar’s World Cup boss admits ‘400-500 migrant workers have died’ November 29, 2022 Qatar’s World Cup boss has finally admitted that at least “400-500” migrant workers died while building infrastructure for the tournament. Hassan Al-Thawadi made his comments on Piers Morgan’s ‘uncensored’ talk show, as the competition progresses to the end of the group stage. Asked what the “honest realistic total” of the number of migrant workers who [...]
England v USA: How Europe embraced America’s young footballers November 25, 2022 When the USA hosted the World Cup in 1994, their squad was an overwhelmingly domestic selection. Fourteen of their 22-man party were based in the States, with 12 of those on central contracts with the US Soccer Federation. Only two of the players belonged to clubs in Europe’s five biggest leagues, among them Coventry City [...]
Premiership and English rugby bigwigs hounded at DCMS hearing November 24, 2022 Rugby bigwigs were scolded earlier today at the hands of the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport committee at the Palace of Westminster. Premiership Rugby chief Simon Massie-Taylor was lambasted by the committee, led by the chair Julian Knight MP, while Rugby Football Union chief Bill Sweeney, too, was held to the fire over [...]
Ed Warner: Manchester United should have refused to tear up Cristiano Ronaldo contract November 24, 2022 Watching Cristiano Ronaldo’s conversation with Piers Morgan I was instantly reminded of Princess Di’s (in)famous interview with Martin Bashir, so much in the news in recent months. No sense here though that the footballer was duped into his doe-eyed criticisms of Manchester United – certainly not if we accept Morgan’s subsequent justifications for the guest [...]