Chelsea fans’ group hail supporter power after Stake.com sponsorship deal axed July 6, 2023 The Chelsea Supporters’ Trust has welcomed suggestions that the Premier League football club has shelved a possible sponsorship deal with crypto betting platform Stake.com. Chelsea had been in talks to make Stake.com their new front-of-shirt sponsor for next season, replacing mobile network Three, which chose not to renew its £40m-a-year contract. The news provoked a [...]
Enhanced Games president likens doping to ‘being gay 50 years ago’ July 3, 2023 Ever thought about watching a 100m race where you knew everyone was using substances to artificially enhance themselves, rather than finding out a couple of years later when a ban is issued? Well the Enhanced Games may be for you. The idea pits competitive sport alongside the world of performance enhancing drugs in an Olympics-style [...]
Sally Bolton interview: Wimbledon CEO on taking the Championships to the US July 2, 2023 Wimbledon CEO Sally Bolton on growing the Championships’ presence in the US, how it chooses its partners and its unique business. In SW19, there is no mistaking when the Wimbledon Championships are in full swing. Thousands of tennis fans descend on the All England Club; the air is thick with the scent of grass, Pimm’s [...]
Bayern Munich end £17m-a-year Qatari sponsor deal following fan protests June 28, 2023 Bayern Munich have ended a long-standing sponsorship relationship with Qatar following sustained protests from some supporters. Germany’s most successful football club have sported Qatar Airways’ logo on their shirt sleeves since 2018 in a deal reported to be worth around €20m (£17m) a year. That replaced a similar sponsorship agreement with Doha Airport, while the [...]
Stormzy and Wilfried Zaha team up to buy hometown football club Croydon Athletic June 27, 2023 Rapper Stormzy and Crystal Palace star Wilfried Zaha have agreed to buy their hometown football club, AFC Croydon Athletic. Stormzy and Zaha are part of a three-man consortium, which also includes former Palace kit man Danny Young, that has exchanged contracts for a takeover with the current ownership. No financial details have been disclosed and [...]
Ryan Reynolds joins Wrexham co-owner and RedBird in buying stake in F1 team Alpine June 26, 2023 Hollywood star Ryan Reynolds and RedBird Capital Partners, which has a stake in Liverpool’s owners, have invested in Formula 1 team Alpine. Otro Capital, Reynolds’ Wrexham AFC co-owner Rob McElhenney and their fellow actor Michael B Jordan, who owns a stake in AFC Bournemouth have also invested. The €200m (£171m) cash injection is for 24 [...]
Inside the PTO Tour: Triathletes plotting their own path, backed by a billionaire June 26, 2023 Ibiza usually moves to the beat of its clubbing crowd but for one weekend last month it was a different Lycra-clad set working up a sweat: top triathletes, including Alistair Brownlee, Lucy Charles-Barclay and Kristian Blummenfelt. In the shadow of world-famous nightclubs like Pacha, some of the sport’s biggest names took on a 100km swim-bike-run [...]
Boost for the Hundred as England cricket chiefs close in on new headline sponsor June 25, 2023 The Hundred is set for a major boost, with the England and Wales Cricket Board understood to be close to announcing a new headline sponsor for the competition. A multi-year deal with a brand that has not previously been involved in cricket is being finalised and there is optimism that it will be signed this [...]
Women’s Super League revenues grow by 60 per cent as teams head for sustainability June 12, 2023 Women’s Super League clubs are on a path to sustainability after growing revenues by 60 per cent in a year. WSL teams’ collective income swelled from £20m to £32m in 2021-22, according to analysis by Deloitte published today. And it is expected to have enjoyed another substantial uplift this season as WSL attendances grew by [...]
Lionel Messi tipped to make Inter Miami worth $1bn and be MLS ‘game-changer’ June 8, 2023 Lionel Messi’s impending transfer to Inter Miami has been hailed as “a game-changer for Major League Soccer” that will make the US franchise worth more than $1bn. Messi announced on Wednesday night that he has chosen to join Miami over offers from Saudi Arabia and former club Barcelona after leaving Paris Saint-Germain. His superstar power [...]