Extraordinary athletes, ordinary content: why even Nike should make more of its talent August 30, 2026 Nike’s former global editor, Dan Rookwood, argues that brands are leaving value on the table by wasting their allocated time with star athletes. Since landing my first job on the sports desk of The Guardian’s website in 2000, I’ve spent a good chunk of my career interviewing athletes. Sometimes it has been a joy – [...]
Fifa crisis shows that fans must get a say in who succeeds Infantino as president August 29, 2026 Gianni Infantino has inadvertently shown fans that the Fifa president matters, so maybe we should rethink how we elect one, argues Matt Readman. A year ago, I wrote an article arguing that the role of a sports leader was to be a caretaker, not a king. The warning was simple: make the story about yourself and [...]
Xenom: Hyrox and CrossFit mash-up backed by tech moguls set for London bow August 28, 2026 Fresh from providing the backdrop to elite padel’s London debut, Kensington Olympia is playing host this weekend to another sport with a rising participation base: Xenom. Xenom has been dubbed “Hyrox for CrossFitters” – like Hyrox, it has a set format designed to test many of the attributes honed in CrossFit and other functional fitness [...]
Big-spending Chelsea sign up crypto firm Circle as shirt sponsor August 28, 2026 Chelsea have tapped the crypto industry in their search for a new main sponsor by agreeing a one-year front-of-shirt deal with Circle Internet Group. The New York-listed company is best known as the issuer of stablecoin USDC, which is pegged 1:1 to the US dollar and will also appear on the shirts of Chelsea’s men’s, [...]
Jamie Vardy bags Bundesliga rights as he steps up streaming war with Neville and Lineker August 28, 2026 Former England striker Jamie Vardy is stepping up his efforts to build a media empire to rival Gary Neville and Gary Lineker by acquiring the rights to show live Bundesliga games on his YouTube channel. Jamie Vardy’s Having A Party will stream seven Friday night games from the German top division, beginning tonight when Harry [...]
Euro 2028 hospitality: Money-back tickets if England flop and no dynamic pricing August 28, 2026 Jaime Byrom of Beyond Hospitality on what football fans can expect from its premium offerings at Euro 2028 in the UK and Ireland, which go on sale next week. The US might be seen as sport’s most mature commercial market but, when it comes to hospitality offerings, it still trails the UK, according to one [...]
Uefa threatens Infantino with criminal complaint as Fifa row takes explosive twist August 27, 2026 Uefa has dramatically escalated its attempts to oust Gianni Infantino by taking the first legal steps towards making a criminal complaint against the Fifa president. Lawyers for European football’s governing body have lodged a request with a US court for a raft of documents and correspondence regarding the now-abandoned World Cup sell-off that could be [...]
Saudi Arabia backs Gianni Infantino ‘at this time’ in major boost to Fifa president August 27, 2026 Embattled Fifa president Gianni Infantino has received a major boost after Saudi Arabia, the host of the 2034 World Cup and a long-standing ally, backed his bid to stay in power. The Saudi Arabian Football Federation had stayed conspicuously silent since Infantino’s position was plunged into crisis by revelations that he was planning to partly [...]
Jamie Carragher: HMRC petitions for Sky Sports star to be declared bankrupt August 27, 2026 HMRC has filed a petition seeking to have Sky Sports pundit and former England footballer Jamie Carragher declared bankrupt over an unpaid tax bill. The case was filed against James Lee Duncan Carragher by solicitors representing HMRC at the High Court in London yesterday, filings show. The 48-year-old is one of the faces of Sky [...]
What I’ve learned about English cricket finances in seven weeks chairing Sussex August 27, 2026 Seven weeks as chair of Sussex Cricket and no major jolts to the view of the sport that I held while my nose was pressed to the window looking in, but lots of new detail to fill out my understanding of its challenges. Some of these challenges are unique to cricket, others common to many [...]