We’re back once again with the Sports Business Weekly Wrap-up as this week we take a look at some of what’s been going on in the world of sports business. It’s been a mixed week, both in the world of sports and with the weather as Storm Arwen has battered the country. As I write this, it’s currently snowing so it certainly feels like Christmas is on the way.
Here’s the sports business news stories you may have missed this week…
Tuesday
We’re starting this week on Tuesday which saw Tottenham Hotspur announce a pre-tax loss of £80.2m for the financial year ending June 2021. Their total debts have increased from £605m to £706m.
Unsurprisingly, the pandemic has played a big role in this announcement with match receipts down to £1.9m from £94.5m in 2020 with most of the games played without crowds for that year.
Daniel Levy, chairman of Spurs said “The financial results published for our year ended 30 June 2021 reflect the challenging period of the pandemic and the incredibly damaging timing of Covid-19 coinciding, as it did, with the opening of our stadium in April 2019.”
It wouldn’t have taken an expert to work out that club revenues at all levels will have taken a hit during the coronavirus pandemic but what I will be interested in seeing is the revenue announcements that will come out next year to see how these clubs have recovered since fans have returned to stadiums and a bit of somewhat “normality” has returned.
Wednesday
On Wednesday, there was a first in the sport of Rugby League as Super League announced that it will be shown on free-to-air television for the first time in its 26-year history.
A two-year deal has been struck with Channel 4 which will see the broadcaster show 10 live games each season. The first of these will air in February 2022 when Leeds Rhinos host Warrington Wolves. The remanning 9 games includes two end-of-season play-off games.
Sky Sports have held the television rights to Super League since the beginning of the competition and will continue to show the remaining 66 games in the season including the Magic Weekend and the Grand Final.
Super League chairman Ken Davy said “The opportunity to offer live Super League action to fans on a free-to-air platform across the whole season is fantastic and one that we hope will continue to serve our current fans, as well as attract many new fans to the sport.”
Thursday
Brentford announced on Thursday that they have made the decision to extend the life of their 2021/22 home kit for an extra season. Their first ever Premier League home kit will also be the first choice kit for the 2022/23 season.
This brilliant initiative means that football will be more affordable for their fans, instead of having to pay for another shirt next season and also raises the issue of sustainability in football.
Jon Varney, Brentford FC Chief Executive, said “Respectful, Progressive and Togetherness are our three core values at Brentford FC, as many of our fans know. We also believe in football being affordable for our fans and are aware of the need for the game to become more focussed on sustainability. As such, when we discussed the idea, everyone at the Club was fully behind it.”
Friday
Carlos Nuzman, former head of the Brazilian Olympian Committee was sentenced to 30 years and 11 months in jail on Friday for buying votes for Rio de Janeiro to host the 2016 Olympics.
Found guilty of corruption, criminal organisation, money laundering and tax evasion, he was jailed alongside former Rio Gov. Sergio Cabral, businessman Arthur Soares and Leonardo Gryner, who was the Rio committee director general of operations. Investigators say all three and Nuzman coordinated to bribe the former president of the International Association of Athletics Federations, Lamine Diack, and his son Papa Massata Diack for votes.
$2 million was paid in exhange for up to six votes in the IOC meeting the awarded the games to Rio. There was also a further payment of $500,000.
Content you need to watch
I haven’t watched all that much this week when it comes to sports content but here are a couple of recommendations.
Behind the Scenes at Paddy ‘The Baddy’ Pimblett’s UFC Debut
Paddy Pimblett is an exciting mixed martial arts fighter from Liverpool who made his long-awaited debut for the biggest MMA promotion a few months ago and the UFC cameras were there to document it and take fans behind the scenes.
All or Nothing: Juventus
It goes without saying now because most people know how good the All or Nothing series has been so far. The newest one has just dropped with Juventus.
Thanks for reading this edition of the Sports Business Weekly Wrap-up. If there are any sports business news stories we may have missed this week then make sure you hit us up on Twitter @BehindSport! If you want to read previous editions you can click here.
