UK Sport’s new funding strategy: is the era of the medal-hoovering “no compromise” policy over? February 12, 2019 One phrase has come to define Britain’s transformation from international underachievers to major force at Olympic and Paralympic Games over the last 15 years: “no compromise”. The slogan was coined to distil a narrowing of UK Sport’s funding focus; from 2004, only governing bodies and athletes likely to win gold, silver or bronze in the [...]
The world’s richest football clubs 2019: Real Madrid replace Manchester United at top of Deloitte Football Money League January 23, 2019 Manchester United have lost their status as the world’s richest club after Real Madrid replaced them at the top of Deloitte’s Football Money League. The Spanish giants ended United’s two-year domination of the annual list by generating revenue of €751m (£665m) last season – an all-time record for any football club. Read more: Spurs vs [...]
Tottenham overtake Juventus and close in on Arsenal in Deloitte Football Money League January 23, 2019 Tottenham’s emergence as one of Europe’s growing powers is paying dividends off the field, with the club now placed among the top 10 richest football clubs in the world. Spurs overtook Italian giants Juventus to take 10th place in Deloitte’s Football Money League 2019, as revenue leapt to €428.3m (£379.4m) last season from €359.5m in [...]
Why have Premier League clubs made so few signings in the January 2019 transfer window? January 21, 2019 On the field, the action continues to come thick and fast in the Premier League. Liverpool and Manchester City remain locked in a title race of the highest quality, there are compelling battles both to finish in the top four and to avoid relegation, and the most recent round of fixtures saw not one but [...]
Big brands doing big deals show the UK sports sponsorship industry remains in rude health January 14, 2019 January is typically the time to look forward, to forecast and predict what will happen in the coming year. To understand the state of the UK sponsorship industry, however, it’s more worthwhile to look at what happened in the months leading up to Christmas. Rewind to the week after Black Friday in December and big [...]
Sport and betting: Why Brexit could pave the way for a wider levy, the role of live data rights, and how the $5bn US market can change the game January 7, 2019 The UK betting industry’s voluntary “whistle-to-whistle” advertising ban during live sports coverage has been widely welcomed but broadcasters – and, by extension, the media rights fees they pay to sport – will take a hit and some sports, such as horse racing, are deemed to be so reliant on gambling that they are exempt from [...]
Did Football Leaks kill financial fair play? Where breakaway threats and claims of systematic cheating have left Uefa’s rules December 6, 2018 Credibility has always been hard to come by for Uefa’s financial fair play rules, but a series of recent claims involving some of the sport’s richest and most powerful clubs has made the European governing body’s attempts at regulation look weak at best and, at worst, doomed. Central to the current crisis surrounding FFP is [...]
Davis Cup reboots, Wembley sale talk and Premiership Rugby takeover bids: how private investment is shaking up a sports industry at a crossroads November 22, 2018 From plans for a breakaway Super League in European football to takeover bids for Premiership Rugby, the collapsed sale of Wembley Stadium and the $3bn revamp of the Davis Cup, there is a common thread running through some of the biggest sports stories of recent months. Change is sweeping through the industry at breakneck pace [...]
Chris Kermode interview: ATP Tour chief on the men’s tennis circuit’s rebranding, efforts to attract new audiences and the future of London’s ATP Finals host status November 13, 2018 The iceberg looming for men’s tennis is the shelf life of the superstar players who have virtually monopolised the game’s top prizes for the last decade – according to conventional wisdom, at least. Chris Kermode, president and executive chairman of the ATP Tour, has bigger worries, however. For Kermode, the greatest challenge facing the elite [...]
Overseas matches, disruptive broadcast deals and a global network of delegates: how La Liga is trying to close the gap to the Premier League October 25, 2018 You may have noticed Spanish football in the headlines lately – and not only because this weekend sees the latest instalment of its biggest game, El Clasico, between Barcelona and Real Madrid. La Liga, the organisation that represents Barca, Madrid and the other 40 clubs that make up Spain’s top two divisions, and their straight-talking [...]