Jude Bellingham transfer: The rules Manchester United and their competitors will have to negotiate to sign Birmingham’s star midfielder March 18, 2020 Like everything in sport right now, Jude Bellingham’s future is on hold. But the coronavirus pandemic has only delayed what now feels inevitable: that Birmingham City’s most prized asset will be flying the coop. Bellingham is just 16 and only made his professional debut in August, but his performances for Birmingham have set the scouting [...]
Coronavirus and football: What happens if the Premier League is cancelled? March 14, 2020 As Liverpool’s footballers emerged from the dugout at Anfield on Wednesday evening, fans stretched their hands down towards them from the flanking stands in search of a high five. Most players ignored them. Sadio Mane, Liverpool’s second highest goalscorer of the season and African player of the year, reached up to grant one supporter his [...]
Premier League broadcasting: What does Amazon’s initial success with Prime Video mean for the market? March 3, 2020 Amazon broadcast its first live football matches in December, showing 20 Premier League games to subscribers on its Prime Video platform. The decision to make a first foray into the sector was a brave, albeit relatively small, one for the US retail giant. Now that the dust has settled, it looks increasingly like an intelligent [...]
Inter Miami: How David Beckham’s dream of establishing an MLS franchise became a reality in Florida February 27, 2020 It has taken a long time, but this weekend Club Internacional de Futbol Miami will finally play their first competitive match. When they take to the pitch against Los Angeles FC on Sunday, Inter Miami’s players will be fulfilling the ambitions of one of their owners. David Beckham has been attempting to establish a team [...]
The changing face of sports governing bodies: why investment talk misses the real evolution February 9, 2020 Since private equity company CVC paid £200m for 27 per cent of Premiership Rugby just over a year ago, new money entering sport has gathered pace. While talk of this trend has focussed on the size and value of such investments, it has missed the most interesting aspect of what is happening: that the world [...]
Agents row in extra-time: Why Fifa is at loggerheads with football’s leading intermediaries over new rule proposals February 4, 2020 A battle which has been rumbling on behind the scenes in football appears set to explode into full public view over the coming months, with the sport’s governing body going head to head with some of its most powerful figures. The issue at the heart of the matter has nothing to do with what occurs [...]
Tokyo 2020 six months to go: How Japan is looking to Olympic and Paralympic Games as a catalyst for modernisation and regeneration January 22, 2020 The contorted face of the godfather of sumo wrestling, Nomino Sukune, glowers from a mosaic at Tokyo’s New National Stadium. A few metres to the right, a Greek goddess with a laurel wreath is depicted in a similar monochrome mural. Both artworks were salvaged from the previous national stadium, centrepiece of the 1964 Olympics, and [...]
‘Intruder’ Fifa is a threat to European club football, says Spanish league boss Javier Tebas January 20, 2020 Javier Tebas, the man who accused Paris Saint-Germain of “peeing in the pool” and flouting football’s financial rules, is know for shooting from the hip and now it is Fifa in the outspoken Spanish league chief’s crosshairs. Specifically, LaLiga president Tebas is disturbed by his Fifa counterpart Gianni Infantino’s apparent determination to transform the Club [...]
How Tottenham overtook Chelsea and Arsenal to become London’s richest football club January 14, 2020 They may have lost out to Liverpool on the night but Tottenham Hotspur’s run to a first ever Champions League final came with a consolation prize: they are now London’s richest club. Spurs’ best ever European campaign helped grow revenue by 21 per cent to £459.3m (€521.1m), taking them above rivals Chelsea and Arsenal to [...]
Manchester United facing threat to status as England’s richest football club from Manchester City and Liverpool January 14, 2020 Just two years ago they were the world’s richest team, their unrivalled commercial operation allowing them to capitalise on a brand built up during two decades dominating English football. Now, however, Manchester United are increasingly being left behind by Spain’s big two clubs and in danger of being eclipsed financially by Premier League rivals Manchester [...]