Prem Rugby should consider radical shake-up of player transfer market November 28, 2025 The best thing about the football off-season is the transfer speculation, deal agreements and player announcements. Watching teams bid £100m for a player is somewhat grotesque but it is also addictive, and transfer deadline day is some of the best live sports news around. Rugby has none of this. That’s mostly because players tend to [...]
Budget crackdown on football image rights ‘incredible’, say tax experts November 27, 2025 Chancellor Rachel Reeves has been accused of disproportionately targeting football for tax rises after the Budget laid out plans for a raid on image rights earnings. Top footballers benefit from setting up image rights companies which are taxed at a lower rate than their salaries, but the government says it will legislate “to ensure that [...]
MMA in the Olympics? New global body targets Games inclusion November 27, 2025 Mixed-martial arts could be added to the Olympic Games under plans announced today by Asian MMA chiefs. The Asian Mixed Martial Arts Association (AMMA) says it wants to unify the sport under a new world governing body called FIMMA, which will meet for the first time next week. They believe that will boost their chances [...]
Stokes, McCullum, ECB: Who’s to blame for England’s latest Ashes failings? November 27, 2025 Assessing true accountability for England’s Ashes collapse requires tracing failure back through the chain, argues Ed Warner. “Still seething!” The WhatsApp from a prominent cricket podcaster arrived a full 48 hours after England’s capitulation in the opening Ashes Test. Did I want to provide him with a sound-bite on what appeared more than just a [...]
Turf good, grassroots bad: Budget spares horse racing but divides sport November 26, 2025 Horse racing chiefs have welcomed the Chancellor’s decision to afford it an exemption from major increases in gambling taxes announced in today’s Budget. While tax on remote gaming will jump to 40 per cent from April and remote sports betting from 15 to 25 per cent in 2027, duty on horse racing wagers has been [...]
‘Next-level unprofessional’ cup draw adds to club concerns over WSL November 26, 2025 Women’s Super League chiefs are facing widespread discontent over their handling of the professional game following a shambolic League Cup draw live-streamed on TikTok. It is understood that at least four clubs were unhappy with the draw, which was performed by influencer GK Barry and described to City AM by one witness as “next-level unprofessional”. [...]
British Lions vows to ban players who defect to R360 rugby breakaway November 26, 2025 British and Irish Lions chiefs have landed another blow on R360’s plans by warning they will not pick any player who signs up for the planned rugby franchise league. It follows England, Ireland, New Zealand and five other leading unions adopting the same stance last month and comes less than a year before R360’s proposed [...]
Channel 4 confirmed as UK home of Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Paralympics November 26, 2025 Channel 4 will show its eighth Paralympic Games in a row next year after being confirmed as the UK broadcaster for Milano Cortina 2026. The Winter Paralympics, set to take place in northern Italy in March, extends Channel 4’s sustained support for parasport which began with London 2012. “We are super excited to bring the [...]
Mercury13: Mata-backed women’s football group lines up Spanish club November 26, 2025 Juan Mata-backed investment group Mercury13 is in advanced negotiations about buying a stake in Spanish top-flight women’s club Levante Badalona. Mercury13, which bought FC Como Women in 2024 before investing in WSL2 club Bristol earlier this year, has pledged $100m to build a global portfolio of clubs, with Badalona earmarked to be its next investment. [...]
Magic Weekend 2026: Ashes sell-out lures Super League to Hill Dickinson Stadium November 25, 2025 Everton’s Hill Dickinson Stadium will stage rugby league’s Magic Weekend for the first time next summer following the success of its hosting of an Ashes clash. The Merseyside venue will be the third different venue for the two-day Super League festival in as many seasons, after St James’ Park in Newcastle this year and Elland [...]