Week in Sportbiz: Formula 1 takes the pain; Budweiser buys NBA rights; watch every PGA Tour shot; World Rugby’s bad timing; squash, the great survivor March 4, 2021 “Our goal was to try and take the pain in 2020,” Greg Maffei, president of Formula 1 owners Liberty Media, told investors this week. Maffei can consider that mission accomplished after Liberty laid bare the devastating effect of the pandemic on F1’s finances last year. F1 slipped from a $17m profit in 2019 to a [...]
Ollie Phillips: I still think they’re poor, but belligerent Wales can beat fragile England – even without a Principality Stadium crowd February 26, 2021 Don’t underestimate the magnitude of Wales v England in the Six Nations in Cardiff on Saturday. With France’s position uncertain due to a Covid-19 outbreak, this is a big match in the context of the title and, for Wales, possibly a Grand Slam. And anyway, this is Wales v England: a great clash full of [...]
How do sports teams and competition organisers defend against the threat of Covid-19 outbreaks? February 25, 2021 The Six Nations this weekend has been thrown into disarray with the postponement of France’s fixture with Scotland on Sunday after another French player has tested positive for Covid-19. At present a total of 11 players and three staff members in the squad have now tested positive and, due to the close contact proximity of [...]
Week in Sportbiz: The end of the Tiger Effect? Plus Olympic bid shake-up, drinks all round, Lord Coe’s scare and Eddie Jones’s debt to Van Gaal February 25, 2021 Tiger Woods survived a serious car crash this week, to the immense relief of the sporting world. But it might not be such good news for the fabled Tiger Effect, to the consternation of golf’s broadcasters and advertisers. While Woods may yet defy the odds once more and return to the sport he has redefined, [...]
France v Scotland Six Nations match postponed after further Covid-19 cases in Les Bleus squad February 25, 2021 This weekend’s scheduled France v Scotland Six Nations fixtures has been postponed, organisers have confirmed. Further Covid-19 cases in Les Bleus squad emerged this morning, causing the entire squad to be put into isolation. That move gave Six Nations little choice but to call off the match, which was due to be played on Sunday [...]
Why science, engineering and business must unite to protect our athletes and the sports we love February 24, 2021 The stadiums were echoing, the stands empty, but when normal life ground to a halt, many professional sportsmen and women played on. The spectacle gave the rest of us a dose of much-needed escapism. Watching from our locked-down homes, it was easy to imagine the athletes on-screen didn’t have a care in the world beyond [...]
The changing face of match-fixing and why integrity mustn’t be allowed to suffer as Covid-19 squeezes budgets February 19, 2021 As sports events continue to take place in unfamiliar surroundings, the integrity of competitions has been thrust into the spotlight as match-fixing grows and evolves. The global pandemic has created many new challenges to the sporting world, none more significant than the way in which criminals have been able to intensify their operations and become [...]
France suffer Six Nations title setback as third member of coaching staff tests positive for Covid-19 February 17, 2021 Six Nations favourites France’s Covid-19 crisis has deepened after a third member of the coaching staff tested positive. Assistant coach William Servat’s diagnosis followed that of head coach Fabien Galthie and another unnamed non-playing staff member on Tuesday. All three have been ordered to self-isolate for seven days, while Les Bleus’ playing squad have been [...]
RFU: No relegation from Premiership or Championship this season February 12, 2021 The Rugby Football Union has confirmed that there will be no relegation from either the Premiership or Championship at the end of the current season. One team will be promoted from the Championship, meaning next year’s Premiership will consist of 13 teams, and the Championship 11. That team is widely expected to be Saracens, who [...]
Ollie Phillips’ Six Nations predictions: England to bully poor Italy; impressive Ireland won’t be pushovers for France; Scotland too good for Wales February 12, 2021 It’s not as if we didn’t see the problems coming with England before their defeat to Scotland in last week’s Six Nations opener. Physicality is the minimum requirement at international rugby but you need more than that. England had lacked ingenuity. And, sure enough, Scotland totally outfoxed the holders at in every area of the [...]