As the group stage of the World Cup draws to a close, while it’s the joy of qualification for some, it’s the crushing disappointment of an early exit for others. And, in the post-mortem which inevitably…
This Russian goalkeeping fail was brought to you by Visa.
EPA
By now, the names Moy Park, Oi and Yingli are deeply embedded in your brain, right? And, you know what they are, where they are from and what they do, agreed? Or are you struggling with them: perhaps these…
On the eve of the World Cup, football seems bigger and more dominant than ever. It’s the world’s richest, most watched and most played sport. The summer Olympics is the only sporting event able to match…
Ever wondered what the World Cup is worth? When Italian sculptor Silvio Gazzaniga designed the current trophy in 1971, it was worth US$50,000. Now the trophy is estimated to be worth US$10m. The World…
England’s Football Association (FA) has revealed plans to accommodate the “B teams” of Premier League clubs further down the league system. FA chairman Greg Dyke emphasised such a move is necessary in…
Bayern keep churning out winning sequels.
John Walton/PA
So Bayern Munich won the German Bundesliga following a win against Hertha Berlin. It is the 23rd time the Bavarian club has claimed the title – and the third time in the past five years. This year is particularly…
This ‘skating palace’ was a snip at $98m.
Atos International
There is a tendency – almost a law of nature – that governs the way the costs of large-scale international events such as the football World Cup and Olympic Games far outstrip the initial forecasts of…
English and French clubs are sprinting away from the rest.
Joe Giddens/PA
The Heineken Cup, European rugby union’s premier competition, faces an uncertain future. English clubs continue to woo teams from France and Wales into a rival competition, with promises of increased revenue…
F1 can’t run smoothly all the time.
David Davies/PA
For those unfamiliar with the workings of Formula 1 motor racing, No Angel, Tom Bower’s biography of the sport’s supremo Bernie Ecclestone, is a fast-paced chronology of F1 during the modern era. It reveals…
Qataris should prepare for an era of sporting success.
Owen Humphreys/PA
Three years on from winning the competition to host the World Cup, and still more than eight years out from actually hosting the tournament, Qatar 2022 is everywhere. By the time it happens it will have…
German sportswear company Puma recently ended its contract with the South African Football Association (SAFA), after football’s world governing body, FIFA, found that there was “compelling evidence” that…
Who was in charge of selling tickets again?
Bescker
With the 2014 Winter Olympic Games fewer than six months away, the last thing Russia needs is another scandal. But that is exactly what the organisers have got. The latest controversy involves migrants…
Some decades ago, there used to be a series of jokes in Britain that began with the line “there was an Englishman, an Irishman, a Scotsman and a Welshman”. Such jokes are generally no longer told: among…
One of the most tedious but enduring stories of a summer packed with sporting incident has finally reached its climax: Gareth Bale has been bought by Real Madrid. This morning he had a medical at the club…
Rooney: rumoured to have once been bald.
Martin Rickett/PA
Summer’s football transfer rumour season is in full swing; an annual activity as predictable as strawberries and cream at Wimbledon or suntans and sports cars at the Monaco F1 Grand Prix. World Cup years…
Since the financial disaster of the Montreal 1976 Olympics, “economic impact assessment” has become an increasingly popular tool for host governments and organisers to justify the vast expense of major…
Chinese youngsters are keen to associate themselves with global football brands.
ivanwalsh
The football clubs of Western Europe are off to Asia this summer in the hope of engaging fans and building relationships with some of their target customers. For example, China plays host to the Barclays…
Perhaps it is a matter of culture, possibly it is something to do with indifference, but sporting mega-events appear to be considerably less popular in Brazil than in the UK. Whereas a majority of the…
Manchester City: soon to be celebrating global domination?
Dave Thompson/PA
Walk down the high streets of Britain, through the shopping malls of the United States or around the retail complexes of East Asia, and you will inevitably be confronted with a McDonald’s food outlet…