McLaren, a $100m-per-year deal and Formula 1’s sponsor boom August 31, 2025 Formula 1 is becoming a hotbed for advanced sponsorship, and McLaren’s announcement has completed a special title set. BWT, Aramco, HP, MoneyGram, Petronas, Visa Cash App, Oracle, Stake and Atlassian; these aren’t simply some of the world’s most recognisable and developing brands but title sponsors for teams in Formula 1. And as of next year, [...]
Why Chelsea have hardest and Arsenal easiest Champions League trips August 30, 2025 The exotic away trips offered by the Champions League are part of its appeal for supporters but they can come at a price for players, and in that respect Arsenal and Chelsea have been dealt wildly differing hands by this year’s competition. Thursday’s draw for the league phase gave Arsenal trips to Inter Milan (for [...]
Sky Sports expands NFL coverage with new three-year deal August 29, 2025 Sky Sports has agreed an expanded three-year deal with the NFL that will see the broadcaster show up to five live games per weekend in the UK. Sky will have first pick of games at both 6pm and 9pm on Sunday, as well as showing up to three more games from those timeslots concurrently. In [...]
Free-to-air TV should be crucial pillar for rugby union August 29, 2025 Whether it be the Women’s Rugby World Cup pulling in millions of viewers on the BBC or the Six Nations being a staple of Saturday afternoon TV guide planning, free-to-air is crucial for a sport like rugby union. It is a sport that needs eye balls and a sport that thrives off being given prime [...]
Man United shareholder, Ratcliffe’s Ineos, buys into Castore with Belstaff deal August 28, 2025 Manchester United minority owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s Ineos has announced a “significant strategic investment” into premium sports apparel brand Castore. The petrochemicals company will invest in the British clothing brand as part of a deal which will see Castore acquire 100 per cent of Ineos-owned Belstaff on a “debt-free, cash-free” basis. Castore enjoys sporting sponsorship [...]
Manchester United upset a triumph of culture over cash, says Grimsby chief August 28, 2025 Grimsby Town’s co-owner Jason Stockwood says their shock Carabao Cup defeat of Manchester United was a triumph of “great culture” over “buying success”. The League Two side stunned their Premier League opponents in a penalty shoot-out, having earlier taken a two-goal lead before being pegged back to 2-2 after 90 minutes. Grimsby’s squad has an [...]
Aston Villa Women hire former Lewes FC CEO Maggie Murphy August 28, 2025 Aston Villa Women have hired Maggie Murphy, the former chief executive of pioneering Lewes FC, to be their new managing director. Murphy was the driving force behind Lewes’s radical policy of allocating equal financial resources to their men’s and women’s teams. Her appointment follows Aston Villa owner V Sports making the women’s team a separate [...]
Free-to-air broadcaster 5 to show NFL and Super Bowl August 28, 2025 Free-to-air broadcaster 5 has secured the rights to Sunday evening NFL matches, and will show the next Super Bowl. The new multi-year deal continues the long running theme of having elements of the NFL on free-to-air television in the United Kingdom, with the American football league also broadcasting a match on Channel 5 on the [...]
Are franchise IPOs the end game for The Hundred’s £1bn investors? August 28, 2025 Have The Hundred’s investors figured out yet how they will make a return? Look out for minority stake sales and maybe even listings in India, says Ed Warner. Never make an investment without having a plan on how to sell it. Illiquidity can scupper the most enticing of propositions. The very best portfolio managers, especially [...]
Hard-up Irish FA savaged after announcing plans to slash workforce August 27, 2025 The debt-ridden Football Association of Ireland has been accused of showing its staff “utter contempt” after it announced it would be making compulsory redundancies. The FAI, which has around 230 employees, said jobs would have to go as part of “a significant transformation programme to modernise how football is developed and delivered in Ireland”. It [...]