Red Bull spent £1.3bn on athletes like Stokes, Verstappen and Neymar in 2025 Sport Business Red Bull spent £1.3bn on athletes like Ben Stokes marketing its energy drinks last year as the firm reported a jump in sponsorship costs. Red Bull GmbH, the Austrian conglomerate behind the wing-giving libation, saw its net income rise by 12 per cent in 2025 to over £1.6bn, according to an annual report filed with [...]
China’s EV brands are all over sport in the west. Why? Sport Business Electric vehicle brands from China are snapping up sport sponsorship opportunities across the west. Matt Hardy asks why. The automotive sector has long had an association with sports sponsorships: think the century-old deal between Ford and AFL side the Geelong Cats, or Volkswagen’s enduring patronage of Bundesliga side Wolfsburg, originally a works team from its [...]
London’s Square Mile needs its own major sports venue to keep up with rivals Sport Business As sport ramps up after a summer break, Simon Hunt argues that the Square Mile needs its own major sports venue – for the sake of the City of London’s future. Picture the scene: it’s just hit 5:30pm on a sunny Thursday evening in the office. You and your colleagues look around for something to [...]
What Burnham’s Sporting Events Bill means for brands and media owners August 16, 2026 As Andy Burnham’s government presses on with the Sporting Events Bill, what does it mean for brands and media owners? The World Cup may have wrapped up, but the sporting calendar is relentless, and brands and media owners will already be preparing for the next big event. Indeed, the domestic football season has already kicked [...]
Commonwealth Games: How ‘Commy G Lite’ is opportunity for smaller brands July 25, 2026 Is the smaller scale Commonwealth Games a chance for smaller brands to step up and take a bite out of the multi-sport flagship event action, asks sponsorship expert Sarah Niblock. A reduced price tag might look like they can, but more importantly, it’s essential that they consider if they actually should. The 23rd Commonwealth Games [...]
Sumo’s London return shows the capital really is a global sport leader July 2, 2026 An astonishing thing is happening in Greenwich’s historic Borough Hall. The somewhat garish landmark of SE10, until next Wednesday, is at the epicentre of London’s love affair with Sumo. Having returned to the capital in 2025 for the first time since the early 1990s, City AM revealed last month that the highest level of the [...]
Could Burnham be the answer to free-to-air sport for all? June 25, 2026 With Andy Burnham set to be the next Prime Minister, Alan Sendorek assesses how his approach to broadcasting sport may differ from Sir Keir Starmer’s. Sir Keir Starmer – the country’s most powerful Arsenal fan – last month joined the Football Supporters Association in calling on TNT Sports to make the Champions League final available [...]
Exclusive: London in talks to host return of sumo at Royal Albert Hall June 18, 2026 Sumo wrestling could return to the Royal Albert Hall by the end of the decade as talks between London and Tokyo edge towards a deal, City AM can reveal. London Mayor Sadiq Khan met the Japan Sumo Association in Tokyo this week following on from last year’s give-day Basho at the iconic Kensington arena. It [...]
I’m a Manchester United fan and marketing expert but Arsenal are cool May 25, 2026 Arsenal’s long-awaited success on and off the field has been earned with smart, patient planning, says Pitch founder (and Man Utd supporter) Henry Chappell. As a Manchester United fan since before the Fergie years, Arsenal’s march to Premier League glory and a Champions League final is a tough watch. And it’s just as hard to [...]
Formula 1’s reaction to season disruption a lesson for Fifa World Cup May 10, 2026 Formula 1 is firmly back on track but the consecutive Bahrain and Saudi Arabian race cancellations, the result of events in the Middle East, have highlighted how quickly established sporting fixtures can face significant disruption. The cost of the decision to cancel both races, given the potential risk to safety of staff working in the [...]