Prem to Champ to sevens: Four rugby business stories to follow in 2026 January 2, 2026 How do I feel about rugby in 2026? I am not too sure. We were supposed to have the launch of Ultimate Sevens and R360 but one of those has been mothballed until 2027, we were supposed to have an exciting promotion race in the Champ but ring fencing may stop that, and we’re still [...]
Why Mexico, Dubai and Italy are the countries to watch in sport in 2026 January 1, 2026 This time last year, City AM asked me to identify three countries for which 2025 would be an important year in sport. My three choices were Saudi Arabia, Morocco and the United States. Judging by recent standards, Saudi Arabia’s year was relatively quiet albeit interspersed with some rowdy moments, notably the Public Investment Fund’s acquisition [...]
Why 2026 is the year sport needs to confront the man vs machine question January 1, 2026 Man vs machine is the future of sport, whether we like it or not, but what do we want it to look like? If you want to understand where sport is heading, don’t look at the Olympic programme or the Premier League fixture list. Look instead at the strange, noisy, algorithm‑friendly world growing just outside [...]
IMG’s three sports sponsorship trends to watch in 2026 December 31, 2025 Look out for higher demands on AI, more prediction markets and greater sophistication in women’s sport sponsorships next year, says IMG partnerships expert Sam Galet. As we close out 2025 and look ahead to 2026, the sports business landscape is once again at an inflection point. Rightsholders, brands and agencies are all asking the same [...]
The top 20 sporting events by bets placed in 2025, according to Entain December 31, 2025 Betting behemoth Entain has revealed the sporting events punters bet on the most during 2025. The iconic Grand National, run at Aintree, maintained its top spot but the number of footballing events in the top 50 fell slightly, largely down to 2025 being a year without a major men’s tournament. The Grand National was joined [...]
Reading owner Rob Couhig considers selling training ground to raise funds December 31, 2025 Reading owner Rob Couhig is considering radical measures including downgrading the club’s Academy or selling the training ground to increase the funding he can make available to the first team. The American, who paid around £25m to buy the League One club from Dai Yongge at the end of last season, has been an outspoken critic of [...]
Fury promoters Queensberry see profits rise after Dubois vs Joshua bout December 30, 2025 Tyson Fury promoters Queensberry turned a profit of over £11m in their latest accounts after the Frank Warren-founded firm saw over 90,000 pack Wembley Stadium for the fight between Daniel Dubois and Anthony Joshua. Accounts for the year ending 31 March 2025, filed on Companies House, show profits at Queensberry Promotions Limited rose from just [...]
Why 2025 in sport marketing was the year that changed everything December 30, 2025 For much of the last decade, sports marketing followed a familiar script: globalisation, digital scale and steadily inflating rights fees. In 2025, that script broke. This year forced brands, rights-holders and investors to confront harder truths about attention, technology and value, and in doing so, it reset how sport is bought, sold and measured. From [...]
Exclusive: CVC Capital Partners nearing external investment for $14bn Global Sport Group December 30, 2025 Six Nations investors CVC Capital Partners is close to securing external investment in its $14bn Global Sport Group, which is expected to trigger a wave of new sporting acquisitions at the start of next year. GSG, which is chaired by former EE chief executive Marc Allera, was formed earlier this year to run CVC’s existing [...]
Exclusive: O2 Arena open to hosting NBA Europe after record-breaking year December 30, 2025 The owners of London’s O2 Arena have insisted they have enough days in their calendar to host a NBA Europe franchise in the capital should the league launch in 2027. The US basketball league is exploring the possibility of setting up a European equivalent, tapping into major football club brands this side of the pond. [...]