Baroness Brady: Football regulator a solution in search of a problem February 19, 2025 West Ham United vice-chair Baroness Brady has said the incoming football regulator is a “solution in search of a problem”, adding that doing anything that changes the value of the Premier League broadcast deal would be “reckless and wrong”. The Football Governance Bill has been reintroduced into the House of Lords by the government having [...]
F175: Formula 1 tour de force launch a lesson to other sports in innovation February 19, 2025 Everything about Formula 1’s 75th anniversary extravaganza at London’s O2 Arena shouldn’t have worked: mass commercialisation of a sport with £9 pints and 10 teams showing off this year’s designs on last year’s cars one after another. What unfolded, however, was a lesson in how sport can continue to innovate, and how it can take [...]
Vinicius joins football’s ownership set by buying Portuguese club February 19, 2025 Real Madrid and Brazil star Vinicius Jr has followed teammate Kylian Mbappe into football club ownership by buying Portuguese second-tier side Alverca. Vinicius is part of a consortium of Spanish and Brazilian investors who have acquired the team from previous owner Ricardo Vicintin in a deal reported to be worth €10m (£8.3m) – approximately equal [...]
Man Utd slump to another loss despite Ratcliffe cost-cutting February 19, 2025 Manchester United have suffered another financial loss after a fall in revenues that reflects the men’s team’s worsening on-field struggles. The club made a loss of £27.7m for the second quarter of their financial year, to 31 December – a 236 per cent swing into the red from the same period in 2023. For the [...]
Arsenal cash in on Champions League return with record revenue February 19, 2025 Arsenal’s return to the Champions League and lucrative new sponsorship deals boosted the club’s revenue by 32 per cent to a record £616.6m last year. The £150m increase came from improved matchday, broadcast and commercial revenues and puts Arsenal behind only Manchester City and Manchester United for income in the Premier League. But £256m of [...]
Ahead of the Game: Tottenham in crosshairs as Ratcliffe eyes more cuts February 19, 2025 Sir Jim Ratcliffe and Ineos are set to continue cutting their investment in sport beyond Manchester United with the company’s commercial deal with Tottenham Hotspur unlikely to be renewed. Spurs signed a five-year contract with Ineos Grenadier as their official 4×4 vehicle partner in 2022, having previously partnered with Ineos Hygienics as official hand sanitiser [...]
Mercedes team reject fears of Ineos Formula 1 exit February 18, 2025 Formula 1 powerhouse Mercedes have been forced to deny that the team’s ownership could shift amid a wave of sporting cuts by co-owners Ineos. The chemicals giant, part-owned by British billionaire Sir Jim Ratcliffe, holds 33 per cent of shares in the Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team, with team principal Toto Wolff and the German [...]
Murray could coach Djokovic at Wimbledon Championships February 18, 2025 Andy Murray could coach Novak Djokovic at Wimbledon this year after the Serbian said his coaching partnership with the Brit was “indefinite”. Having signed a three-month trial contract in January ahead of the Australian Open, three-time grand slam winner Murray is set to continue with 24-time slam winner Djokovic through until the clay court season, [...]
NBA breaks rank with NFL and joins X and Truth Social alternative Bluesky February 18, 2025 The NBA has broken ranks with the NFL and established an official presence on Bluesky, the rival social media platform to X. The world’s biggest basketball league launched its account over the last week, though it did not post during its All-Star Weekend. The NBA and some of its teams join Major League Baseball in [...]
Sinner case ‘million miles from doping’, says Wada official February 18, 2025 The World Anti-Doping Agency (Wada) has defended agreeing to a three-month ban for tennis world No1 Jannik Sinner, saying the case was “a million miles from doping”. The Italian tennis star, who defended his Australian Open title last month, has begun a suspension after testing positive for the banned substance clostebol last year. But the [...]