India-Pakistan, England cricket chiefs and sport’s moral compass May 15, 2025 The ECB will be grateful that it has not yet had cause to reach for its moral compass in the India-Pakistan conflict, writes Ed Warner. I was in Paris at the 2022 Wheelchair Rugby Euros when Russia invaded Ukraine. The very next day’s results show Russia beating Poland 1-0. This in a sport in which [...]
Sir Keith Mills backs rival British basketball league GBBL May 14, 2025 The proposed operator of a controversial new British basketball league, GBBL, has announced heavyweight backing from Sir Keith Mills and hopes to establish teams in London, Birmingham, Liverpool and Edinburgh. Mills, a key figure in securing and running the London 2012 Olympics, and US fund WestRiver Group have been named partners of GBBL, which was [...]
Crystal Palace face FA Cup final amid boardroom battles and upheaval May 14, 2025 Crystal Palace’s preparations for Saturday’s FA Cup final have been taking place against a backdrop of more discord in the boardroom. The club’s biggest shareholder John Textor has made renewed attempts to purchase the combined 36 per cent stake of fellow American investors, Josh Harris and David Blitzer, with the timing of his latest approach [...]
Manchester United swap trophy parade for BBQ if they win Europa League May 13, 2025 Manchester United are not planning a trophy parade if they win the Europa League final against Tottenham Hotspur next week. The club, run by British billionaire Sir Jim Ratcliffe, could put some gloss on a difficult season by beating Spurs and claiming a Champions League place on 21 May in Bilbao. But even if they [...]
Nearly $200m spent by online trading brands on sport sponsorship this season May 12, 2025 Online trading brand sponsorship in sport has edged towards $200m, industry research released on Monday morning suggests. A total of $183m was spent across sport during the 2024/25 sporting season, according to SportQuake’s newest Marketplaces report. Robinhood, Swissquote and eToro rank as the largest three sport sponsorship spenders while 20 different sports are represented across [...]
Fifa and football agents brace for ‘hugely significant’ day in war over fees May 11, 2025 The long-running conflict between Fifa and football agents over rules which seek to cap their commission payments will move a step closer to conclusion in the next few days. Football’s world governing body has, perhaps inevitably, received a huge backlash from agents who have sought to challenge their legality – and succeeded in having some [...]
John Textor’s $2bn Eagle Football Holdings IPO filing ‘imminent’ May 9, 2025 Crystal Palace co-owner John Textor is understood to be close to confirming a filing with the SEC for an IPO in his multi-club group, Eagle Football Holdings. Textor has been gearing up for the IPO in Eagle Football as part of a $1.1bn debt and equity recapitalisation, and announced in November that he had raised [...]
Beckham, Neville, PR guru Kelly and Lord Davies take over Salford City May 8, 2025 Former Manchester United stars David Beckham and Gary Neville have joined forces with entrepreneur Declan Kelly and Lord Mervyn Davies to take control of Salford City FC. Beckham and Neville were already shareholders in the League Two football club as part of the Class of ’92 but Ryan Giggs, Paul Scholes, Nicky Butt and Phil [...]
Steve Diamond: Newcastle Falcons can be rugby’s Wrexham AFC May 6, 2025 Newcastle Falcons boss Steve Diamond has insisted his club can be the Wrexham AFC of rugby as the northern outpost of the Premiership continues to look for fresh investment. The Kingston Park club, according to former Worcester and Sale boss Diamond, has “two or three” interested bidders. Current owner Semore Kurdi has said he’d sell [...]
Brighton owner Bloom proposes £10m minority stake in Hearts May 6, 2025 Brighton and Hove owner Tony Bloom has proposed a £10m investment in Scottish Premiership club Heart of Midlothian. The investment needs approval from the club’s majority shareholder, supporters group Foundation of Hearts, and would see Bloom receive a 29 per cent stake in the club who are second in the relegation segment of the Scottish [...]
