High risk club owners facing triple ultimatum from football regulator Sport Business English club owners will be required to inject funds, reduce debt or slash outgoings if they are deemed to be “high-risk” by the Independent Football Regulator. Under new licensing proposals published today, clubs will have to demonstrate that they have the financial resources to withstand major shocks such as relegation or withdrawal of owner funding [...]
Sheffield Wednesday: Football regulator already in talks over new club owners Sport Business The Independent Football Regulator has already begun holding talks over specific prospective buyers of English clubs, including Sheffield Wednesday. The IFR will assume responsibility from the English Football League (EFL) for vetting club owners and directors from May so have asked for any takeovers and board appointments currently under discussion to be flagged by the [...]
Sheffield Wednesday: New preferred bidder’s quick deal incentive revealed Sport Business Sheffield Wednesday’s new preferred bidder, US group Arise Capital Partners, hopes to complete a cut-price takeover of the fallen English giants before the end of the season. The group, made up of investors David Storch, Michael Storch and Tom Costin, has emerged as the club’s latest would-be saviour with an offer reported to be in [...]
Sheffield Wednesday: New buyers sought after £40m takeover collapses February 25, 2026 Sheffield Wednesday fans have called for a new buyer to be found urgently after the consortium behind a proposed £40m takeover of the fallen English football giants pulled out. A group led by James Bord, a co-owner of Scottish club Dunfermline, was named preferred bidder in December but announced today that they were withdrawing their [...]
Tottenham chiefs lobby Uefa to increase Champions League squad size January 28, 2026 Tottenham Hotspur are lobbying Uefa to increase Champions League squad sizes after Thomas Frank was forced to drop Mathys Tel for the second time this season. Tel, who joined the club in a £30m deal last summer, was cut from Tottenham’s squad before last week’s 2-0 win over Borussia Dortmund to enable Dominic Solanke’s return [...]
Sheffield United cut ties with data firm over takeover bid for rivals Wednesday January 14, 2026 Sheffield United have terminated their consultancy contract with Short Circuit Science after the data company was named the preferred bidder of rivals Sheffield Wednesday last month. The business founded by former professional poker player James Bord had been advising Sheffield United on new signings and recommended the recruitment of Ruben Selles as manager last summer, [...]
Exclusive: Brits don’t trust football and rugby team owners to run clubs properly January 13, 2026 Less than a third of British adults trust football and rugby team owners to “run their clubs in a financially sustainable manner” amid intensifying scrutiny on those who buy sporting institutions. Exclusive Ipsos polling for Morning Wire shows that just 32 per cent of adults trust the owner of their football or rugby club. It [...]
Financial stability before glory: Why professional sport must grow up December 24, 2025 Professional sport has never looked richer or felt more fragile. Revenues are growing, valuations are rising, and private capital is circling like never before. Yet beneath the surface, financial fragility remains endemic. Too many clubs – across football, rugby, cricket and beyond – are one bad season, one failed owner, or one missed broadcast deal [...]
English football clubs facing financial distress drops by 50 per cent December 10, 2025 The financial health of English football appears to be improving, with the number of clubs in the EFL deemed to be facing distress halving since last year. Only three of the 72 teams in the English Football League, which comprises the three professional divisions below the Premier League, meet that bar, according to an annual [...]
Sheffield Wednesday: Joint bid could win £30m fight for crisis-hit club December 3, 2025 A number of the six bidders for Sheffield Wednesday are considering joining forces as competition to buy the Championship club hots up. Administrator Begbies Traynor has set an initial deadline of this Friday to begin exclusive negotiations with a preferred bidder, but with a number of credible offers on the table that timeline is likely [...]