Football regulator may help deliver long-term sustainability for beautiful game February 22, 2023 This paper of free markets and liberal economics may not, you might think, be in favour of a new regulator. But a new referee for the business side of the beautiful game is not one to be dismissed out of hand. In fact, it has plenty going for it. At first principles, the best results [...]
Worcester and Wasps’ future in doubt as councillors plot to seize Sixways from owners February 22, 2023 The Mayor of Worcester wants the Atlas consortium to be stripped of the Sixways stadium site, plunging the futures of Worcester Warriors and Wasps into fresh uncertainty. Worcester Warriors are set to return to Sixways next year in a controversial deal with Stourbridge RFC, while the club’s new owners say Wasps have agreed to play [...]
Arsenal, Manchester City, Chelsea and Call of Duty: The perfect storm that drove UK broadband traffic to record levels February 22, 2023 The top-of-the-table Premier League match between Arsenal and Manchester City pushed UK broadband traffic to record levels last week, City A.M can reveal. The eagerly anticipated fixture, which was only available to stream, helped traffic on the country’s biggest broadband network to reach a new peak of 29.1 terabits per second (Tb/s). BT and EE [...]
Why teenage figure skater Kamila Valieva could now be facing a four-year ban February 22, 2023 Teenage figure skater Kamila Valieva could face a four-year ban after the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) asked the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) to reconsider her case. A 15-year-old Valieva helped Russia to win team gold at the Winter Olympics in Beijing a year ago, but the medals have still not been awarded as [...]
How has Ukraine’s Premier League held up after a year of war with Russia? February 22, 2023 Friday marks a year since Vladimir Putin’s Russian troops invaded the east of Ukraine, an act that would have ramifications on how so many would live their lives. And while, looking on from afar, the West can appreciate the basics of what is unfolding in the country, few understand the true impact the war has [...]
3pm blackout: Broadcasters open to talks over scrapping UK’s ban on showing live football on Saturday afternoon February 21, 2023 English football’s 3pm blackout could come under further pressure after broadcasters indicated a willingness to discuss scrapping the ban on televising live games on a Saturday afternoon. Executives in charge of TNT Sports, the new joint venture between BT Group and Warner Bros Discovery, say they will consider showing Saturday afternoon fixtures if league chiefs [...]
BT Sport to become TNT Sports: Here’s what it means for price, programming and existing customers February 21, 2023 BT Sport is to be rebranded as TNT Sports in the first major development of the joint venture between BT Group and Warner Bros Discovery. Under the rebrand, which will take place in July, programming will stay largely the same, with TNT Sports remaining centred around live Premier League and Champions League football, domestic and [...]
Wales coach Warren Gatland calls for compromise as strike threatens England Six Nations match February 21, 2023 Wales rugby coach Warren Gatland has called on his players and the country’s union to compromise in a contract stand-off that has cast doubt on Saturday’s Six Nations match with England. Gatland cancelled a training session and delayed naming his team for the weekend fixture as a result of the row, and insists that the [...]
Gareth Southgate: Joseph Fiennes to portray England manager as Three Lions immortalised in National Theatre play February 21, 2023 Actor Joseph Fiennes will portray England manager Gareth Southgate as he’s immortalised on stage with a new play at the National Theatre The Handmaid’s Tale star will feature in Dear England, with tickets going on sale from 9 March in a production by James Graham and directed by Rupert Goold. Following the fortunes of the [...]
LIV Golf adds another former European Ryder Cup star as Thomas Pieters joins Saudi-backed league February 21, 2023 LIV Golf has confirmed the 48 players who will be competing in its first season as a team-based league, with Thomas Pieters among the new signings. After an eight-leg invitational series in its debut season last year, the Saudi-backed big-money circuit returns this week in Mayakoba, Mexico, which will host the first stop on an [...]