The strange case of The Hundred: a North-South divide? January 1, 2022 Recently this country has been roughly split down the middle on, well, virtually everything. Opinions are polarised and if there’s a fence in the middle, we’re damn well not sitting on it. Summer 2021 saw a new concept dividing the nation. Sports fans, I give you the strange case of The Hundred. Unlike most cricket [...]
Best of 2021: Lewes FC, the football club of the future? December 25, 2021 In this article from March 2021, Frank Dalleres speaks to Maggie Murphy, general manager and now CEO of Lewes FC about the club’s pioneering stance on equal pay, how a purpose-led approach can attract commercial partners, and bold plans for the future. They take pride in doing things differently at Lewes FC, the small football [...]
Fifa biennial World Cup claims questioned by sport industry experts December 21, 2021 Leading figures in sports marketing have questioned Fifa’s claim that switching to biennial men’s World Cups would drive a huge revenue increase. Football’s world governing body revived the argument to stage its showpiece more regularly on Monday by presenting research that estimated the change would boost income by 60 per cent over the first four [...]
Record £3.2bn in private equity deals for sports teams as funds target football, rugby and F1 November 22, 2021 The last twelve months saw a record £3.2bn of sports team acquisitions by private equity funds, almost treble last year’s total, as they targeted football, rugby and Formula 1 teams, according to new data shared with Morning Wire this afternoon. Last year saw an all-time high of 11 PE purchases of stakes in sports teams [...]
Premier League on rocky road with plans to regulate sponsorship deals in wake of Newcastle takeover November 18, 2021 The recent takeover of Newcastle United by the Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund created quite a storm – both in the media and, according to reports, the other Premier League clubs. Since the introduction of so-called financial fair play regulations at the start of season 2013-14 – known as the Profitability and Sustainability Rules in [...]
Chelsea Digital Ventures: The tech business spun out of a football club November 17, 2021 Look closely next time Romelu Lukaku or Pernille Harder takes a mid-match drink and you may notice something that marks Chelsea out from other football clubs. Because instead of taking a swig from a bottle of Lucozade, or another well known sports hydration brand, players at the west London club have their own in-house product. [...]
Squash Classic in full flow as director Garner aims for lasting legacy November 15, 2021 Penned into a glass box, four see-through walls surrounding you and a live audience on three sides. To many people, that would be the stuff of nightmares. But for the world’s best squash players, it’s one of the crown jewels of the year. Now into its 18th edition, the Canary Wharf Classic has grown from [...]
Ed Warner: Why sponsors should beat a path to Yorkshire November 11, 2021 Yorkshire County Cricket Club might just be the most exciting sponsorship proposition right now. Mired in a racism crisis of its own making, deserted by its full roster of corporate partners, staring down the barrel of a parliamentary select committee, investigated by the Equality and Human Rights Commission – but with a new chair and [...]
European Tour to rebrand as DP World Tour November 9, 2021 The European Tour has announced that it will rebrand as the DP World Tour from next season. The move will see the tour’s total prize money top $200m for the first time and comes amid renewed efforts from Saudi Arabia to lure the world’s top players to a new breakaway circuit. “This is hugely significant [...]
The light fantastic: How Okkulo is looking to ‘re-code’ athletes’ vision November 9, 2021 Filmmaker Mel O’Connor has had quite the story arc. He quit his job on Emmerdale and turned down work on an Idris Elba movie to follow his dream of developing an altogether different kind of visual experience. The result is a product, Okkulo, that he believes can not only revolutionise sport science but may also [...]