Britain’s richest man Jim Ratcliife, tables $100m+ bid for OGC Nice
April 8 – British billionaire Sir Jim Ratcliffe is in talks to buy French Ligue 1 side via his chemicals company, Ineos. Reports are that he has already bid $100 million.
Full Speakers List: Sports Law at the Crossroads forum, May 10-11, Madrid
April 5 – More than 25 speakers from across the sports law spectrum have been announced for the Sports Law at the Crossroads conference in Madrid, May 10-11.
Player agents cash in on Premier League with £260m in fees, Liverpool pay most
By Andrew Warshaw
April 5 – Amid the constant debate over the role of agents, new figures reveal that Premier League clubs paid out an eye-watering £260 million to them during 2018-19 – an increase of £49 million on the previous 12 months.
Analysis: Spurs show the well-balanced way to record-breaking profit – but mind the debt
By David Owen
The newly-published Spurs accounts make fascinating reading. Given the world record profit for a football club of almost £139 million at the pre-tax level, this scarcely needs to be said. But there is more to it than that. In one word, you could call it balance.
AFC unity sets up Shaikh Salman for second 4-year term as Asia’s president
By Paul Nicholson
April 5 – As AFC delegates navigate their way through the cycling Tour de Langkawi which will pass through Kuala Lumpur city centre closing the roads leading to the Hotel Shangri-La venue for the 29th AFC Congress, they will do so in the near certainty that their own political peloton has ridden their current team leader, Sheikh Salman bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa, to a new four-year term.
Spurs’ Rose says he won’t miss football and its racism once he quits
April 5 – England defender Danny Rose says he “can’t wait to see the back of football” because he so is disgusted at the recent resurgence of racism among fans.
Swedish women players question gender pay gap
April 5 – Sweden’s female players have rekindled the debate over the pay gap between men and women.
Mancini says racist abuse of Kean was ‘unacceptable’
April 5 -Italy coach Roberto Mancini has called for tough measures in Serie A after the “unacceptable” racist abuse of Juventus’s Italian international Moise Kean.
Pele hospitalised in Paris but full recovery expected
April 5 – Brazilian football legend and three-time World Cup winner Pele has been admitted to a Paris hospital with an infection, but is expected to make a full and quick recovery.
Colombian women return to international play with Peru win
April 5 – Colombia women’s team have returned to the international fray with a 2-1 friendly win over Peru. They hadn’t played a competitive game for nine months.
Al Sadd and Xavi romp to Qatar league title
April 5 – Al Sadd and their star midfielder Xavi Hernandez have been crowned champions of Qatar after a mammoth 7-2 win over Al Ahli to take an unassailable lead in the Qatar Stars League.
Hype Capital launches $75m innovation fund with Reebok and VfB Stuffgart old boys
April 5 – Digitally driven sports innovators have another tech fund to tap for development finance. Hype Sports Innovation has unveiled plans for a $75 million capital fund with Uli Becker, ex-president of Reebok and Bernd Wahler, former president of VfB Stuttgart.
Spurs smash Liverpool’s record with £139m profit
By David Owen
April 4 – Tottenham Hotspur, the North London club who played their first match at their gleaming new stadium on Wednesday, have announced a world record annual profit for a football club of £138.9 million for the year to end-June 2018, smashing the £125.1 million figure unveiled by Liverpool in February.
Football must do more to crackdown on discrimination, says #EqualGame panel
April 4 – Prominent figures from across European football have emphasised the crucial importance of diversity in the game.
Brazil’s CBF to downsize state championships by two match days
April 4 – The Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF) is considering a plan to downsize the regional state championships by at least two match days next season in order to avoid future conflicts with Brazilian national team fixtures.