Hundred salaries rise amid rumours of player boycott of cricket competition December 12, 2024 Salaries for players participating in The Hundred have risen by 25 per cent ahead of the 2025 edition amid rumours players are threatening to boycott the league. Around 50 players are said to be considering snubbing the England and Wales Cricket Board’s flagship short-form competition after restrictions were placed upon where in the world they [...]
Papua New Guinea to join NRL in £301m ‘diplomacy deal’ against China funded by taxpayer December 12, 2024 A team from Papua New Guinea will join Australian rugby league competition the NRL in a “diplomacy deal” that will cost the taxpayer £301m. It is understood the deal is part of an Australian push to counteract increasing Chinese influence in the Indo-Pacific and follows Australian support for Pacific island rugby union teams participating in [...]
More tickets sold for women’s football than rugby league in 2024 December 12, 2024 Booming interest in women’s football has seen it overtake rugby league for tickets sold in the UK this year, according to new data from agency Two Circles. More than 2.1m fans attended women’s football matches, a 38 per cent increase year-on-year, the 2024 Attendance Review from the sports and entertainment marketing business reveals. That number [...]
Ed Warner: Sport owners mustn’t forget the loyal and local in rush to go global December 12, 2024 In the frenzied rush to create global franchises and events, the sport business risks forgetting local and loyal fans at their peril, says Ed Warner. Storm Darragh dashed many sporting dreams last weekend, including those of the Australian 15-year-old who spent all his savings on a solo trip from Down Under only for the last [...]
Super League Hull FC get new owners worth reported £500m December 11, 2024 Super League club Hull FC was taken over on Wednesday by two businessmen who are reportedly worth a combined £500m. The club, which lost its IMG Grade A status after the conclusion of the 2024 season, has been taken over by former Leeds Rhinos president Andrew Thirkill and businessman David Hood. The pair entered into [...]
NFL confirms third European city for 2025 international games December 11, 2024 The NFL will expand its international game programme with a match in Berlin in 2025, the sporting league has announced. It comes as the NFL announced a “multi-year commitment” to playing games in the German capital following successful stints in Munich and Frankfurt. Berlin’s Olympic Stadium is not new to NFL, having hosted pre-season matches [...]
Saudi Arabia promises ‘tournament of lifetime’ after getting 2034 World Cup December 11, 2024 Saudi Arabia has vowed to stage “the tournament of a lifetime” after Fifa confirmed the country as hosts for the 2034 World Cup. Its was the only bid and its appointment was a formality confirmed by acclamation at a virtual Fifa congress on Wednesday. As expected, six nations – Spain, Portugal, Morocco, Uruguay, Argentina and [...]
Fresh legal twist in Wimbledon expansion saga December 11, 2024 Wimbledon chiefs have begun a legal process in a bid to see off any lingering threat of a challenge to their £200m expansion plans for the world famous tennis club. Opponents of the scheme want to use an obscure law to quash the planning permission finally granted last month, three years after the plans were [...]
Premier Sports hit Champions Cup targets, says broadcaster chief December 11, 2024 Investec Champions Cup broadcaster Premier Sports insisted they hit viewership targets across the opening weekend of action. The Irish broadcaster has taken over the broadcast rights from TNT Sports for Great Britain as part of a three-year deal with the competition’s governing body EPCR. Despite concerns over the coverage, which featured some technical glitches and [...]
Ahead of the Game: British Horseracing Authority accused of ‘selling out sport’ December 11, 2024 Campaign group Clean Up Gambling has switched horses and is backing racing in the sport’s push to be regulated separately from online casinos and slots. Clean Up Gambling, which is funded by multimillionaire Labour donor Derek Webb and run by former party official Matt Zarb-Cousin, has called for racing to be exempt from affordability checks [...]