What next for LIV Golf and Newcastle United after Saudi PIF strategy shift? April 18, 2026 With Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund updating its strategy, what next for the PIF-owned Newcastle United and LIV Golf? Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund last week published the latest iteration of its Vision strategy, which will cover the remainder of the decade. The strategy’s publication had been expected for some time. When the last planning [...]
Manchester City: Sheikh Mansour faces calls for ban from English football over UAE links to genocide April 17, 2026 Manchester City owner Sheikh Mansour could be barred from the Premier League if the UK government heeds calls to sanction him over alleged links to genocide in Sudan. Human rights group FairSquare has called on the government to investigate the man who has led Manchester City’s transformation into one of the world’s richest and most [...]
London Sports Festival celebrates Commonwealth Games with 3×3 basketball pop-up April 17, 2026 City workers will be able to play 3×3 basketball at a pop-up court in Paternoster Square this summer as part of a Commonwealth Games flavour imbuing the 2026 London Sports Festival. The 3×3 basketball – an addition to the Commonwealth Games programme at Birmingham in 2022 and also set to feature in Glasgow this year [...]
Why Messi taking 100 per cent stake in UE Cornella matters April 17, 2026 Lionel Messi’s purchase of Spanish fifth-tier side UE Cornella represents a broader trend of players seeing football assets as long-term investment opportunities, top football finance experts have said. The Argentinian, who will be heading to the Fifa World Cup this year looking to defend the title he won in Qatar, will own 100 per cent [...]
The Yankee dabble in Prem Rugby is Dandy, but I don’t get it April 17, 2026 It is great to see that an American investor is set to take over Exeter Chiefs; it marks a new point of interest for Prem Rugby after Red Bull and Sir James Dyson from this side of the pond invested in Newcastle and Bath respectively. And we must not underestimate the power of US involvement [...]
Trump-hating Fifa World Cup fans should have costs paid if denied visa April 16, 2026 Any fan who is denied entry to the Fifa World Cup by the US over their social media accounts should have their visa costs covered, UK politicians have said. US entry rules allow authorities to comb through five years of social media posts, denying entry to applicants should they criticise the government and President Donald [...]
Northampton Saints appoint board member after £2.5m fund raise April 16, 2026 Northampton Saints have appointed wealthy rugby fan Steve Zander to their board after he led a £2.5m fund raise earlier this year. Zander was part of a raise worth £2.7m which saw him take the majority of nearly 2m newly issued shares, representing 14.5 per cent of the Prem Rugby club. He will join the [...]
LIV Golf under ‘pressure’ but is ‘the future of the game’, says CEO O’Neil April 16, 2026 LIV Golf CEO Scott O’Neil says the breakaway tour is facing a “moment of pressure” but has dismissed suggestions that it is on the verge of collapse. Reports this week stated that Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund could withdraw its funding of LIV Golf, having spent more than $5bn on bankrolling the signing of stars [...]
Beer fear: CO2 shortage could lead to state-backed beer at World Cup April 16, 2026 Brits face drinking state-backed beer during the Fifa World Cup as CO2 shortage fears leave breweries and boozers reliant on government gas. The war in Iran has caused chaos across Gulf shipping lanes with government analysis suggesting a closure of the Strait of Hormuz for a long period of time could lead to shortages of [...]
Chelsea score £10m commercial boost with major sponsorship renewal April 16, 2026 Chelsea FC have extended their £10m-a-year training kit sponsorship deal with crypto platform BingX into a fourth season. The agreement will see the Singapore-headquartered firm remain on the front of the shirts worn by the men’s team in training and for pre-match warm-ups. An early renewal is a boost to Chelsea’s commercial department, which has [...]