Week in Sportbiz: Mexican stand-off over Club Necaxa NFT; press conferences overshadow French Open; English football in distress June 3, 2021 From NBA Top Shot to Christian Fuchs, the march of the NFT in sport has looked unstoppable. Until now, that is. Mexican football chiefs this week put the brakes on the plans of Club Necaxa to become the world’s first sports team to sell an ownership stake using blockchain technology. Club Necaxa, whose shareholders include [...]
Matchroom leaves Sky Sports for DAZN in five-year, £100m deal – but Anthony Joshua fights aren’t included June 3, 2021 Boxing promoter Matchroom has signed a deal with DAZN to show its fights exclusively on the sports streaming platform in the UK and Ireland. The five-year agreement, reported to be worth more than £100m, begins in July when Matchroom’s contract with Sky Sports ends. The deal also cements the relationship between Matchroom and DAZN, which [...]
Exclusive: Vegan footballer Chris Smalling invests six-figure sum in plant-based meat company Heura June 3, 2021 Former Manchester United footballer Chris Smalling has become an investor in plant-based meat company Heura. Smalling, who switched to a vegan diet five years ago, is understood to have invested a six-figure sum in the Spanish brand. “Backing from a top athlete like Chris further bolsters Heura’s nutritional credentials, which are second to none,” said [...]
Sponsors and sports must do more to protect the mental health of athletes like Naomi Osaka June 2, 2021 Naomi Osaka’s withdrawal from the French Open on mental health grounds should come as a surprise to no one, given the conversation around the wellbeing of elite athletes. The four-times grand slam winner may be one of the more reserved tennis players on the women’s circuit, so to speak openly about her depression and anxiety [...]
Ladies European Tour CEO Alexandra Armas on new $4m Aramco Team Series, raising the profile of women’s golf and working with Saudi Arabia June 2, 2021 The Ladies European Tour (LET) has announced a stellar line-up for the London leg of the inaugural, big-money Aramco Team Series. Major winners Georgia Hall, Lexi Thompson, Anna Nordqvist and order of merit champion Emily Kristine Pedersen have all signed up to play at Centurion Club in St Albans from 8 July. Each of the [...]
French Open chiefs ‘sorry and sad’ at ‘unfortunate’ withdrawal of Naomi Osaka following row over media duties June 1, 2021 French Open organisers say they are “sorry and sad” after women’s world No2 Naomi Osaka pulled out of the tennis grand slam. Osaka withdrew on Monday following a row over her refusal to take part in post-match press conferences. She revealed in her statement that she had suffered long bouts of depression, and said it [...]
Championship Play-Off Final: £170m prize at stake for Brentford and Swansea in football’s most lucrative match May 29, 2021 Saturday’s Championship Play-Off Final is worth £170m to the winning team, making it football’s most lucrative match, according to Deloitte. The Wembley fixture, to decide which team gets the remaining place in next season’s Premier League, is this year between Brentford and Swansea City. “Promotion to the Premier League remains the most valuable prize in [...]
Leicester City title hero Christian Fuchs explains why he is auctioning his viral video of the team’s Premier League celebrations as an NFT May 28, 2021 Former Leicester City player Christian Fuchs is auctioning his viral video clip of the team celebrating the Premier League title as part of an NFT (non-fungible token). Fuchs shot the clip of the moment Leicester became champions on his mobile phone and shared it on Twitter, where it has received 12m views. The defender is [...]
Week in Sportbiz: Castore eyes Chinese market with Wolves kit deal; Rosberg signs up IG Prime to Extreme E team; Koepka does rival DeChambeau a favour May 27, 2021 Change is in the air at Wolves, and not only because manager Nuno Espirito Santo departed this week. The Black Country’s finest have also signed a new kit deal with fast-growing premium British sportswear brand Castore. Castore has been canny in its choice of sportspeople and teams to get behind, from Andy Murray to Owen [...]
