List of All Articles with Tag 'sport'

A new women’s pro hockey league will begin competing in North America as early as January

The rapidly expanding landscape of nonprofit collectives paying college athletes to promote charities has been hit with a potentially seismic disruption

Football must be held accountable for how it tackles discrimination by the new independent regulator, a key parliamentary committee has said. In the week where an independent report found evidence of “deep-rooted” discrimination in cricket, the Culture Media and Sport (CMS) committee insists football cannot be relied on to get its own house in order on equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI). It called for EDI measures to be included in a new code for football governance, and for the regulator to have powers to mandate and assess EDI action plans put together by clubs. The Government is committed to legislating for an independent regulator for English football (IREF), with Sports Minister Stuart Andrew telling supporters in Manchester last weekend that it would be one of the first bills to progress after the King’s Speech in the autumn. However, the Government said in its white paper on football governance published in February that it did not believe EDI matters should fall within the immediate scope of the regulator, something which frustrated anti-discrimination charity Kick It Out, particularly given the fan-led review had recommended EDI be in the regulator’s remit. The CMS committee says it is “sceptical” football will come up with suitable collective standards by itself, given the “limited progress” it has observed. A report from the committee, which recommended the Government set up the regulator in shadow form by the end of the year, stated: “We are concerned that the Government has ignored recommendations to include EDI Action Plans for clubs and oversight of these plans within IREF’s remit. “We believe that IREF would be well placed to receive and publish standardised data on compliance with EDI requirements in football, as well as monitoring and enforcing compliance with equality standards through EDI Action Plans. “We recommend that the Government should give IREF the authority to mandate EDI Action Plans as part of its threshold licence conditions for clubs. Clubs’ performances against these Action Plans should be assessed regularly by IREF as part of its routine licence reviews.” Kick It Out chief executive Tony Burnett welcomed the committee’s recommendation and added: “Football has dragged its heels for too long when making the change needed to make it a more welcoming sport. “There is still a lack of diversity in boardrooms, coaching and refereeing, while players and fans suffer from discrimination from the professional game down to grassroots. There has been progress, but a lack of collaboration and few solid outcomes over the past decade mean it’s time for the process to be accelerated. “That is why we endorse the recommendations, already made in the fan-led review, that EDI measures are included in the new Code for Football Governance, and that action plans are part of a club’s licensing conditions. “Placing equality, diversity and inclusion at the heart of football’s governance will help the game grow, therefore safeguarding it for future generations.” The Government will hold roundtable meetings over the coming months to drive forward EDI initiatives across the football pyramid as it continues to engage with the FA, leagues, fan representatives and civil society organisations. The regulator should also set “substantially higher” fan engagement standards rather than accepting existing Premier League standards as the baseline, the committee said. Football’s authorities were also warned to “get their act together” on a new financial agreement between the Premier League, the EFL and the FA, with the new regulator set to be given backstop powers to impose a solution via arbitration if one cannot be reached amongst themselves. However, the PA news agency understands talks over the ‘New Deal For Football’ are progressing well, with regular talks taking place between the three bodies. Read More Football rumours: West Ham delay Declan Rice deal as Pau Torres set for Villa I’d give my other ACL for England to win the World Cup – Leah Williamson Liverpool share first view from very top of new Anfield Road stand Football rumours: West Ham delay Declan Rice deal as Pau Torres set for Villa I’d give my other ACL for England to win the World Cup – Leah Williamson Liverpool share first view from very top of new Anfield Road stand

The NFL has suspended three players indefinitely for violating the league’s gambling policy and a fourth was sidelined for six games

A co-owner of the Los Angeles Dodgers has acquired what was described as “certain assets” of the Premier Hockey Federation

Dalian Wanda Group Co., one of China’s largest private conglomerates, is set to face its biggest bond-repayment test

The NFL suspended three players indefinitely Thursday for violating the league’s gambling policy and a fourth was sidelined for six games

French authorities were bracing for another night of protests Thursday over the police killing of a teenager earlier

Tony Estanguet won gold medals for canoeing in the 2000, 2004 and 2012 Olympic Games

Atlantic City’s casinos are trying to understand why New Jersey lawmakers plan to drastically shorten the length of time that internet gambling can be conducted in the state

Chelsea and other European clubs will no longer be able to spread a transfer fee across more than five years of a player’s initial contract after UEFA closed a loophole in its regulations. The Blues have signed a number of players on lengthy deals over the last two transfer windows, including handing eight-and-a-half-year contracts to Enzo Fernandez and Mykhailo Mudryk in January. The transfer fees are then spread evenly over the course of that contract, meaning the longer it is, the smaller the annual payments recorded on the club’s accounts. For instance, a £100million fee would be amortised at £20million a year with a five-year contract, but at only £12.5m a year if a deal was eight years. There is still nothing in the rules – which come into force from July 1 – preventing a club from spreading the cost by extending a contract, but for amortisation purposes that extension itself could not be for more than five years either. Clubs can still sign players to longer contracts if their national associations allow it, but the cost of the transfer fee must be amortised over the first five years unless the contract is extended. UEFA said the new regulations would not apply to deals already done, but would “ensure equal treatment of all clubs and improve financial sustainability”. European football’s governing body has also moved to prevent clubs colluding to inflate the value of players for accounting purposes. This follows the capital gains scandal involving clubs in Italy, which led to the entire Juventus board resigning in November last year. Clubs must assess whether a transaction counts as a straight swap, in which case it must be accounted for in line with international standards. International Accounting Standard (IAS) 38 states that if it is not possible to calculate the fair value of a player, profit on a sale cannot be recognised. UEFA confirmed Lisbon’s Jose Alvalade Stadium would host the 2025 Women’s Champions League final, and announced plans for a minimum standards framework for women’s national teams to ensure equality of player welfare standards and travel and training conditions. UEFA said the detail would be announced in due course. The 2024 and 2025 Europa Conference League finals are set to be staged in Athens and Wroclaw in Poland respectively. The Athens venue is a new arena, so will be assessed during AEK Athens’ European competition matches and Greece’s Euro qualifiers before being confirmed officially in December. Europe’s third-tier men’s club competition will be rebranded as the UEFA Conference League from 2024-25, dropping the word ‘Europa’ from its title following research among fans and commercial partners to further distinguish it from the Europa League. Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Jonny Bairstow steals the show at Lord’s – Wednesday’s sporting social Everton to consult with fans about potential midseason stadium switch in 2024-25 Josh Tongue enjoys taste of Ashes but Australia in control at Lord’s

Manchester United have projected record annual revenue of up to £640million in the current financial year as the takeover saga surrounding the club rumbles on. United’s owners, the Glazer family, are weighing up offers for the club from Qatari banker Sheikh Jassim and Sir Jim Ratcliffe, the founder of chemicals firm Ineos. The Glazers first indicated they could sell by initiating a strategic review last November but the bidding process has dragged on. Reports have suggested Sheikh Jassim’s bid – which is for 100 per cent of the club – is now the most likely to be accepted. Sources close to the Qatari bid have indicated their eagerness to close the deal, with the summer transfer window now open. Supporters staged fresh protests against the Glazers at Old Trafford on Tuesday as the club launched the kit for next season. Revenue guidance for the current financial year was raised to a record £630m to £640m in the third quarter financial results for the period ending March 31, 2023, which were released on Tuesday. This is driven by record match attendance and matchday revenues. Ticket sales for the 2022-23 season surpassed the previous record set in 2016-17, with 2.4m sold. Global memberships also hit 360,000, which United said was the largest paid membership programme in world sport. Revenue for the third quarter was up 11 per cent on the same period last year. Broadcasting revenue was slightly down on the corresponding period due to the club being in the Europa League rather than the Champions League, but was partially offset by the club’s performance in domestic cup competitions. Cash and cash equivalents are at £73.7m, down from £95.8m in the same period last year, reflecting the investment that has been made in the team. However, the figure is £31m higher than in the second quarter, boosted by money coming in from sponsorship and ticket sales. Summer recruitment will not be affected by the results, according to sources close to the club, with enough cash available to enable United boss Erik ten Hag to invest in the team. The limiting factor is understood to be the requirement to stay within financial sustainability rules.