Prem to Champ to sevens: Four rugby business stories to follow in 2026 Sport Business How do I feel about rugby in 2026? I am not too sure. We were supposed to have the launch of Ultimate Sevens and R360 but one of those has been mothballed until 2027, we were supposed to have an exciting promotion race in the Champ but ring fencing may stop that, and we’re still […]
Cornish Pirates: We will kick door down to reach franchised Prem Rugby Sport Business The chief executive of Cornish Pirates insists she is ready to “kick the door down” to get her Champ side into Prem Rugby if the top flight becomes a ringfenced franchise league. Prem Rugby and the Rugby Football Union are exploring a franchise model which would see the current 10 teams form a new ring-fenced […]
Murray-backed Hexagon Cup to become global padel series in deal with LIV Golf creator 54 Sport Business
Is the Premier League decoupling from the rest of English football? Sport Business Ed Warner pores over a report on the polarisation of English football and comes up with a solution to the Premier League’s stand-off with the EFL for the new regulator. “I just hope they don’t mess it up.” The Premier League club chairman’s answer to my question about his hopes for the Independent Football Regulator […]
Exclusive: Leicester Tigers and DCMS face scrutiny over £6m Covid loan renegotiation Sport Business Leicester Tigers and DCMS are facing questions after they altered the repayment terms of the club’s £6m Covid-19 loan to interest-only until 2028. The change, which only emerged in the Prem Rugby club’s most recent financial accounts, casts further doubt on DCMS’s chances of recouping its £474m lending to sporting and cultural bodies – raising […]
Why Apple’s Formula 1 deal is setting the trends into 2026 Sport Business In late 2025 streaming player Apple announced it would be ditching its Stateside MLS deal early. The platform confirmed, however, that it would pick up the rights to Formula 1 in the United States. The deal could be worth $140m a year, but what does it mean for sport? On first appraisal, the new agreement […]
The top 20 sporting events by bets placed in 2025, according to Entain Sport Business Betting behemoth Entain has revealed the sporting events punters bet on the most during 2025. The iconic Grand National, run at Aintree, maintained its top spot but the number of footballing events in the top 50 fell slightly, largely down to 2025 being a year without a major men’s tournament. The Grand National was joined […]
Reading owner Rob Couhig considers selling training ground to raise funds Sport Business Reading owner Rob Couhig is considering radical measures including downgrading the club’s Academy or selling the training ground to increase the funding he can make available to the first team. The American, who paid around £25m to buy the League One club from Dai Yongge at the end of last season, has been an outspoken critic of […]
Exclusive: CVC Capital Partners nearing external investment for $14bn Global Sport Group Sport Business