London Irish must pay players TODAY or be kicked out of Premiership Rugby Clock ticking Top-flight rugby club London Irish have been ordered to pay their players today or face expulsion from the Premiership. The Exiles were granted a 24-hour extension to settle May salaries by the Rugby Football Union amid delays to a possible takeover. The RFU is expected to announce this evening at around 7pm whether London Irish [...]
What is the cost of relegation from the Premier League? Final day drama The cost of relegation from the Premier League has been called “the biggest financial jeopardy in world football” and this weekend Everton, Leicester City and Leeds United will be locked in a battle to avoid it. Two of those three teams will drop out of the richest domestic competition in the sport and into the [...]
Parachute payments uncertainty clouds the future of football’s richest game Wembley windfall When Luton Town and Coventry City collide in Saturday’s Championship Play-Off Final there will be more than just glory at stake; both teams stand to make a minimum of £170m if they achieve promotion to the Premier League. It is a prize that has earned the traditional end-of-season fixture the tag of football’s richest game. [...]
Who has Premier League’s biggest and smallest wage bill? (Look away Chelsea fans) May 23, 2023 Chelsea’s lavish spending since their takeover by Todd Boehly’s consortium has seen them amass the biggest wage bill in the Premier League, according to new research. The Blues’ estimated payroll for this season totalled £216m, an increase of 18.3 per cent or more than £33m on the previous campaign. That saw their salary costs overtake [...]
Chelsea co-owner makes ‘game changing’ investment in pro squash circuit May 23, 2023 Chelsea co-owner and LA Dodgers chairman Mark Walter has announced a major investment in professional squash that the sport’s bosses have hailed as “a game changer”. The businessman has acquired a stake in Squash Media & Marketing with the intention to promote the sport to a global market. This comes months after City A.M. revealed [...]
Man Capital buys new Major League Soccer franchise in San Diego for record £400m May 18, 2023 London-based Man Capital has been confirmed as the owner of a new San Diego franchise in Major League Soccer after agreeing a record deal with US football chiefs. The family office of Egyptian billionaire Mohamed Mansour, the Conservative Party senior treasurer, is understood to have paid around $500m (£402m) for the team, who will begin [...]
Fresh twist in Manchester United takeover saga as Sheikh Jassim submits fourth bid May 16, 2023 Qatari bidder Sheikh Jassim Bin Hamad Al Thani has made an increased offer for Manchester United in a dramatic attempt to win the takeover battle with Sir Jim Ratcliffe. Sheikh Jassim, the chairman of Qatar Islamic Bank, is understood to have submitted a new bid which values United at a similar price to Ratcliffe but [...]
Taking flight: Inside the rise and rise of darts – and where the sport is heading next May 15, 2023 “More people in this country know who Michael van Gerwen is – a darts player from the Netherlands – than who the fastest British man and woman are,” declares Matt Porter, chief executive of the Professional Darts Corporation. Porter might have a dog in that particular fight but he is on the money about the [...]
LIV Golf Tulsa: Dustin Johnson rediscovers winning touch ahead of US PGA May 15, 2023 Former world No1 Dustin Johnson toasted a timely return to form after warming up for this week’s US PGA Championship by winning the LIV Golf League event in Tulsa on Sunday. Johnson beat Open champion Cameron Smith and South Africa’s Branden Grace in a three-man play-off in Oklahoma to claim the $4m (£3.2m) first prize. [...]
London brawling: Why the city has become a combat sports capital again May 15, 2023 Wrestling and MMA have followed boxing in staging huge shows in London this summer, cementing the city’s reputation as a leading destination for combat sports’ biggest events. An earthquake hit the world of professional wrestling earlier this month and its epicentre was London. All Elite Wrestling, formed to compete with the all-conquering World Wrestling Entertainment, [...]