City AM

Clubs including Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur have been criticised for doing deals with unlicensed gambling firms as the government continues a consultation on banning such organisations from sponsoring sport.

Chelsea and Spurs are two of 11 Premier League clubs which hold agreements with betting companies not licensed in the UK. Others include Aston Villa and Newcastle United.

The consultation is gauging the possibility of banning any unlicensed firm from sponsoring a sports team, and established betting group Entain – which runs the likes of Ladbrokes, Coral and BetMGM – has called for an immediate ban.

“Premier League clubs that have struck new deals with unlicensed gambling operators knew the risks,” the firm’s chief executive Stella David said.

“The Government made clear in February that it would bring in a ban and it should do so immediately: even if that means clubs ordering new kit mid-season. Inconvenience is not an excuse for inaction.”

Unlicensed gambling dominating

It comes in the first season since Premier League clubs adopted a voluntary ban on any gambling brands – licensed or unlicensed – being their main, front-of-shirt sponsor.

Around £17bn was wagered on unlicensed gambling platforms in the UK last year, with that figure expected to grow to beyond £30bn by 2028, according to some studies.

Chelsea are one of five Premier League clubs to have agreed a sponsorship deal with 8XBet, alongside Ipswich Town, Coventry City, Aston Villa and Newcastle United.

Everton’s deal with Stake has already come under fire by campaigners, while Spurs have a partnership with VSBet, Nottingham Forest with FUN88 and Crystal Palace with Chexx.bet.

Last week Sunderland announced a deal with Curacao-based Shuffle, and Fulham have an agreement with SBOTOP.

Entain argues that the agreements between Premier League clubs and unlicensed gambling firms has unmatched reach due to their appearance on live television and highlights shows such as Match of the Day.

“Under current legislation,” the consultation states, “businesses are able to enter into advertising and sponsorship arrangements with gambling operators which are not licensed by the Gambling Commission, so long as those operators’ services cannot be accessed by consumers in Great Britain.

“Unlicensed operators prevent access to their services by geo-blocking their websites. However, this can be circumvented by consumers using a virtual private network.

“We want to change this. The current legislation undermines the gambling licensing and advertising regulatory frameworks, which aim to protect consumers in Great Britain and reduce the risk of money-laundering and crime.”

Tottenham Hotspur have taken their summer spending past the £300m mark by completing the signing of winger Savinho from Manchester City.

The Brazilian is the fourth player to join Spurs for a fee of more than £50m since the end of last season, following Sandro Tonali, Mateus Fernandes and Jan Paul van Hecke.

They have also signed Marcos Senesi, Andy Robertson and Martin Dubravka on free transfers and are expected to land Omar Marmoush, also from City, before next week’s deadline.

Tottenham Hotspur have thrown money at their rebuilding project, having finished just one place above the Premier League’s relegation zone in the past two seasons.

They have also made Roberto de Zerbi one of football’s highest paid managers – a last roll of the dice towards the end of last season that helped them avoid relegation.

Savinho credited De Zerbi with persuading him to move to north London after two mixed seasons at City and fourth with the wider City Football Group network.

“It’s taken a while but I’m very happy to be here,” said the 22-year-old, who now wishes to be known as Savio.

“It’s a wonderful opportunity at a brilliant club with one of the best managers in the world.

“As soon as I spoke to the head coach I knew I had to come. He told me he wants to help me reach the highest level, and I believe we can do that together, as a team.”

Tottenham spending trails Chelsea splurge

The club’s extraordinary spending is reflected in the fact that all three of the most expensive signings – £100m Tonali, £85m Fernandes and Savio – have all arrived this summer.

Only Chelsea, whose £117m deal for Morgan Rogers set a new record for an English player, have spent more in this window, which closes on Tuesday 1 September.

Despite that investment, Spurs began the new Premier League campaign with a disappointing 3-0 defeat at Brentford on Saturday.

“Savio is a player who brings energy, imagination and quality in wide positions,” said De Zerbi. “He has the courage to attack defenders and the ability to change a game with his creativity.

“We’re very pleased to have him with us, and I’m looking forward to working with him, helping him continue to grow and seeing him bring his personality to the team.”

Tottenham Hotspur: Daniel Levy sells majority of shares in Spurs owner ENIC

Daniel Levy has sold the majority of his shares in the parent company of Tottenham Hotspur to Eight Sports Capital.

The British Virgin Islands-registered firm has agreed to buy a 24.99 per cent stake in Spurs’ majority shareholder, ENIC Sports and Developments Holdings Limited, from the trustee of Daniel Levy’s family trust.

It leaves Levy, Spurs chief executive until his sudden ousting at the start of last season, with around four per cent of ENIC.

A spokesperson for Eight Sports Capital Limited said: “We are delighted to have signed this agreement to acquire a significant stake in ENIC.

“We look forward to working with the Club’s shareholders, management, staff, players and fans to support Tottenham Hotspur’s continued growth and success.”

Levy tenure coming to an end?

Levy was an unpopular co-owner of Tottenham Hotspur in his latter years, blamed for dwindling on-field performances in recent years despite the club winning the Europa League.

But he has been credited with turning Tottenham Hotspur into a Big Six behemoth with revenues of over £500m and a stadium with deals with the NFL and Formula 1.

Before the ENIC stake sale to Eight Sports Capital Limited the firm was split 70/30 between the Lewis family trust and Levy’s family share, with ENIC itself owning over 85 per cent of Tottenham Hotspur. The other 13 per cent is controlled by around 30,000 minority investors.

There have been a number of reports in recent months about the sale of the club entirely, but the Lewis family said after the Premier League season that Tottenham Hotspur as a whole was not for sale.

“We are not selling the club,” the family said at the time. “We are all in, we are investing in it. You will see more of this in the coming months.

“We care deeply about Spurs. The rebuild the club needs, and you deserve, has begun. The change required is deep. It will take time and commitment, but change is happening.

“We know that actions will speak louder than words.”

Levy is yet to confirm the deal.

Family-owned Tottenham brewer falls into administration as industry pressures mount

A beloved family-owned Tottenham brewery that was a key player in London’s craft beer renaissance has fallen into administration amidst mounting cost pressures on the industry.

Redemption Brewing Company, which was the first commercial brewery to open in Tottenham in nearly 100 years, is officially listed on the formal register of new insolvency appointments as having appointed administrators.

City AM understands FRP Advisory has been handed the keys to the brewery and is now searching for a suitable buyer. Redemption is continuing to trade throughout the process.

It comes after a winding up petition – a legal manoeuvre to claw back unpaid sums due – was filed against Redemption in January from the HMRC, with a court showdown scheduled for February 2026.

Redemption’s total deficit increased to -£705,111 in 2024 from -£632,151 in 2023, corporate filings show. It recorded a net loss of £72,960 for the latest financial year.

It also noted concern that the industry faces heavy challenges from utility cost inflation, but loan creditors and directors were able to financially prop up the business. Creditors due after more than one year sat at £426,658.

Tottenham staple feels crunch of cost burdens

Redemption Brewing – which was established in 2010 amidst the major revival in the Capital’s craft beer scene – has become a cornerstone of the Tottenham community, sporting a deep connection to the area’s football team.

Products include its flagship and award-winning premium bitter, aptly named Hopspur as a nod to their roots and a new world IPA named big chief.

The brewer supplies around 75 regular pubs in and around London. Its cask ales are also poured at The Antwerp Arms, N17’s oldest working pub and a cornerstone of Tottenham culture. In 2013, local MP David Lammy – now deputy prime minister – even stepped in to help residents rescue the historic venue after corporate developers threatened to bulldoze it for a block of flats.

A statement from FRP said its appointment “follows a sustained period of financial pressure on the business. Rising duty rates in recent years have placed a particular burden on independent brewers, who face a more challenging cost environment than larger national and international competitors.”

Redemption’s woes come as the independent beer market across the UK has entered what the Society of Independent Brewers and Associates (SIBA) branded a “survival crisis,” driven by the closure of around three brewers a week.

UK brewers face a litany of tax pressures through alcohol duty (charged on alcohol strength), VAT on sales, national insurance on payroll, business rates on their physical warehouse space, and corporation tax on profit.

Hospitality sector feels pinch

Mounting cost pressures have also come from soaring prices of manufacturing and heavy tax hikes on pubs that have left them either closing down or opting for cheaper products from global giants as opposed to local independents.

Late last year, pubs rebelled against business rate changes which sent bills soaring for thousands of landlords.

While Rachel Reeves offered a £300m concession to pubs, hospitality firms have warned they are still under pressure from rising employment costs and energy price hikes caused by the Iran war.

Two thirds of hospitality firms are set to cut jobs as a result of April tax hikes, while one in seven will cease trading altogether.

A number of firms which supply pubs have said these pressures are hitting their own margins.

The brewer of Magners and Bulmers cider said earlier this month that the pressures facing bars and pubs are hitting its own sale volumes.

Roger White, C&C Group’s chief executive, said that cost inflation, a weakening employment market and falling demand meant that their sales to hospitality firms took a dip.

In April, English sparkling wine producer Chapel Down told City AM that the “tax burden” imposed at the Chancellor’s last budget has hit the bars and restaurants that it supplies.

City AM visited the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium during Tyson Fury’s fight with Arslanbek Makhmudov.

Trends change, and keeping up with them can be difficult. Haute Couture fashion houses pump out two collections each year; whether you’re an Xbox or PlayStation user can alter depending on technological advancements in model generations; across sport, meanwhile, the “in” style of tactics shifts as and when teams enter and exit periods of dominance.

The same goes for hospitality. There is a growing trend of enhanced premiumisation across the sector within sport, whether it is clubs stripping out and upgrading their existing offerings or giving greater consideration when new grandstands and stadiums are being built.

The final furlong across the world of horse racing is dominated by hospitality, as are the upper floors of many cricket pavilions. So in a sector that is ever-changing, can anybody keep it fresh?

Last week the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium celebrated its seventh birthday. A behemoth of the venue world, the 62,850-arena is widely seen as one of the best in football, if not sport.

Dominated by a single-tier stand, the north London stadium was built from the ground up with premium offerings in mind. It’s why, after all, the NFL and a plethora of touring artists use the stadium when they are in the capital.

Being in their second floor private suite offering for Tyson Fury’s victory over Arslanbek Makhmudov – and more so the farcical attempts to set up a Battle of Britain fight with the onlooking Anthony Joshua – it is clearly a stark upgrade on similar products across the Premier League.

Tottenham Hotspur Stadium design

“When we designed Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, the idea was to reimagine [hospitality] completely,” Liam Doyle, the Interiors Lead for Tottenham Hotspur Stadium at Jump Studios, the interior design arm of the arena’s architects, Populous, tells City AM.

“We introduced a much broader range of options that enhance the fan experience at every level and give fans the chance to upgrade in smaller, more accessible steps, rather than forcing a big jump in price like the old model did.”

Sure, the stadium is still in its infancy, relatively speaking, but the offering still looks brand new and fresh. It’s been upgraded in its seven years of existence already.

There is a slickness to the design, operation and presentation. Formal seating and informal sofas open up the space, and allow for a view of the stadium bowl beyond the glass.

The 18 outdoor seats are firm but friendly, with heaters to help combat the chilly weather that should quite frankly be banned in April.

Changing the game

“Hospitality and premium experiences are a hugely important part of matchday revenue for clubs,” adds Doyle.

“But from a fan perspective, what’s really changed is that it no longer feels like ‘hospitality’ in the way it did five or 10 years ago. Back then, a hospitality box was literally just a box and it was almost entirely aimed at corporate guests.

“The spaces themselves are on a completely different level – from GA+ [general admission plus] to the top tier. That approach is now being picked up by clubs elsewhere.

“You can see it at places like Craven Cottage, where Populous designed Fulham’s new Riverside Stand, which has a really strong mix of bars and restaurants that wouldn’t feel at all out of place on the high street.

“It’s all about creating more opportunities – more opportunities for fan experiences and more meaningful opportunities for brand engagement, which ultimately leads to increased revenue for clubs.”

Getting hospitality right is difficult: it needs to feel inclusive of the event but not removed from the atmosphere and noise a stadium is designed to provide.

One always wonders if it is possible to replicate the feeling of being in a terrace without standing in one, but Spurs get this pretty spot on. And the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium is setting the trend for others to follow, even into its eighth year.

Tottenham Hotspur have announced a pre-tax loss of £121m for last season despite revenue increasing by seven per cent as they won the Europa League.

Spurs, who are set to name Roberto de Zerbi as their new manager in a bid to stave off the threat of relegation, suffered a drop in media revenues as they finished 17th in the Premier League and saw operating expenses increase due to a higher wage bill and hosting more games.

Those factors more than offset increases in matchday takings, commercial income and prize money from their Europa League success as Tottenham made a pre-tax loss of £120.6m and net loss of £94.7m on revenues of £565.3m.

Net debt increased to £831.2m as of 30 June 2025, up nearly £60m on the previous year, although more than 90 per cent of financial borrowings are at fixed rates averaging just above three per cent.

Spurs directors prepare for ‘downside scenario’

The results come during a turbulent season for the north London club, who sacked manager Ange Postecoglou last summer and dispensed with his successor Thomas Frank in February. His interim replacement Igor Tudor left Spurs this week, having failed to arrest their slide.

“The Board of Directors continually monitors the Group’s exposure to a range of risks and uncertainties, including the success of the First Team and our level of spending thereon, the current economic landscape and the funding requirements for capital projects,” the report says.

“The Directors have identified a number of actions they could take in order to mitigate any potential cash flow or financing shortfalls, which could potentially arise in a downside scenario.

“These mitigating actions could include, but are not limited to, advancement of future cash inflows and/or deferring future cash outflows, sale of assets and additional financing arrangements.”

Tottenham Hotspur relegation: A black swan event the Premier League needs?

The Premier League trades on its unpredictability so the relegation of Spurs, one of its ever-present clubs, could offer a Leicester-like lift in a dull season, says Ed Warner.

Barnsley, Oldham Athletic, Bradford City, Swindon Town, Portsmouth. Just a few members of the not-so-exclusive club of 16 teams that Tottenham Hotspur fans will be desperate for their side to be barred from.

Each has been relegated from the Premier League exactly once in a competition that is now in its 34th season. Only two, Aston Villa and Bournemouth, have managed to regain top-flight status.

Thirty-three completed Premier League seasons equates to 99 relegations, shared between 43 different clubs – almost half of the total in the top four divisions. Just six teams have been ever-present since the league’s launch in 1992-93. Spurs are one; Arsenal, Chelsea, Everton, Liverpool and Manchester United make up the set.

Now, Tottenham enter the international break in a deep funk, just a point above the relegation zone. The club have spent the past few months as if they had the Marx Brothers at the helm. Harpo and Groucho in the boardroom and Zeppo paired with Chico on the touchline perhaps?

At the time of writing, the bookies’ odds equate to a 37 per cent chance of a Spurs relegation, compared to 43 per cent for West Ham – the side currently occupying 18th place in the table.

What price Premier League bosses, especially those charged with raising broadcast and sponsorship dollars, secretly hoping that their exclusive club of six ever-presents is reduced by one over the remaining eight rounds of matches – especially with the quality of football in the league going through a trough at present?

It is often said that the so-called Big Six clubs (the ever-presents plus Manchester City and minus Everton) quietly resent Leicester City’s Premier League title win. That underdog triumph is now 10 years in the past, but is still cited as evidence that any team’s ability to win the league is not simply theoretical.

This apparent competitiveness forms a key part of the league’s marketing narrative. That doesn’t mean it’s welcomed by the wealthiest clubs, however. For them, competitive appeal need go no further than competing for titles and Champions League qualifying places among themselves.

It may be that the single black swan event of Leicester’s 2015-16 season is all that the Premier League needs to sustain its marketing pitch. However, six titles for Manchester City, two for Liverpool and one for Chelsea in the nine completed seasons since does not speak to competitive breadth.

Indeed, in the last 22 seasons the Big Six have filled all of the top three places in the league – apart from Leicester’s interloper act.

Spurs have taken a top-three spot three times in the past 10 seasons, albeit those finishes will be fast fading in fans’ memories, the last being a third place way back in 2017-18.

How piquant then that the cockerels could prove to be the black swans that provide an injection of global interest to boost the Premier League’s brand.

Tottenham Hotspur’s wealthy counterparts might snicker. More likely they will shiver; “there but the grace of God” thoughts running through their heads in the still of the night.

Parachute payments distort competition in the Championship in favour of the relegated, but would hardly compensate for the loss of revenue for any club whose ambitions are built on continuous European competition and dreams of silverware (however often these are dashed).

Spurs certainly aren’t structured like the traditional yo-yo clubs, those who have experienced the most Premier League drops. Ponder for a moment the financial complexities of re-engineering a squad whose player contracts may not all have built-in relegation clauses – although Spurs’ commercial deals may not either.

Any club’s “bigness” might be a general perception, or perhaps (depending on the club) self-deception, on the part of those happy to bask in the assumed status. It does though tend to have a tangible foundation in the form of stadium capacity and hence revenue-generating potential.

Of course, you can’t just build a state-of-the-art facility and assume loyal fans/customers (take your pick as to how you view them, according to your leadership culture) will fill it repeatedly. Stadia are expanded to reflect actual demand and belief in its future growth.

The Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, seven years old now, is the second biggest in the Premier League and unarguably remains the finest overall. (Relegation rivals West Ham have the third largest, albeit with lesser operating costs but also far lower revenue-generating potential, given the limited facilities and the club’s tenant status).

If there was a simple, direct correlation between stadium size and sporting success then football wouldn’t be worth following. As it is, the grandeur of Tottenham’s stadium only adds to the apparent delight of broadcast editors who have cut repeatedly to shots of anguished Spurs supporters during recent matches, as well as drone footage of those departing early to trudge for the tube or seek a traffic-free drive home.

These fans will each have their own analysis of where it has all gone wrong over the past couple of years (remember, there was some writing on the wall with a 17th place finish last season and a managerial sacking in spite of Spurs’ Europa League triumph).

Does the blame lie with long-standing executive chairman Daniel Levy or those who ousted him in the autumn? With an executive team headed by a new chief executive previously at arch rivals Arsenal?

How should it be shared between the past three managers and their coaching staff? What blame should be laid at the door of the playing squad, and/or those who recruited them? Could the new stadium itself be a curse, an even greater burden of cost and expectation than the Emirates has proved for Arsenal?

And what of those fans who choose to boo or leave early, as if they’d bought a ticket for a pantomime rather than a sporting contest in which the extent of their loyalty forms a part of the narrative?

For the rest of us, the apportionment of blame simply doesn’t matter – unless we are seeking lessons for our own teams. What matters, in a very positive way, is that such close flirtation with relegation can happen at any club, even one which arrogantly chose to be part of the attempted European Super League.

The annual Premier League thriller must always have an uncertain ending. In the current season of dispiritingly clunky football, the value of that uncertainty and Spurs’s part in it is greater than ever.

Old dogs, new tricks?

Ben Stokes called for “some dog” from his team during their woeful Ashes tour over the winter. Now the England Test captain has welcomed the ECB’s [bold/foolhardy – delete to taste] decision to leave its top dogs in place through to Australia’s defence of the urn over here next summer.

The announcement this week from CEO Richard Gould majored on his “not football” observations about loyalty to leadership which Stokes reinforced on social media. Perhaps Gould had in mind Tottenham’s six permanent and three caretaker managers over the past five years.

“My old man was a football manager. Sacking was part of the job and it wasn’t necessarily the right thing.”

Richard Gould

I guess we’ll know whether Rob Key and Brendon McCullum really warrant the ECB board’s backing within the next three months, the Test series against New Zealand being finished by the end of June.

The ICC’s World Test Championship produces an idiosyncratic ranking. For what it’s worth, New Zealand are currently second in the world, England seventh. Time for those dogs to bark.

Ed Warner is chair of GB Wheelchair Rugby and writes his sport column at sportinc.substack.com

You could be forgiven for thinking that it’s all doom and gloom at Tottenham Hotspur, but there is a good news story unfolding in N17.

While the men’s team toil to stay in the Premier League as their mortal enemies from down the road close in on the title, Spurs Women are on a gloriously different trajectory.

Just goal difference outside the top four in the Women’s Super League and in the quarter-finals of the Women’s FA Cup, this could yet be a historic season for a team buoyed by in-form pair Olivia Holdt and Cathinka Tandberg.

Women’s managing director Andy Rogers credits the summer arrival of head coach Martin Ho, allied to a rapid professionalisation behind the scenes and the support of club CEO Vinai Venkatesham, with pushing Spurs Women to new heights.

“Martin’s made a massive impact, but there’s been huge amounts of work that have landed us in this place,” he tells City AM.

“Now the challenge is, how do we sustain it and how do we elevate it? There isn’t an egg timer in that we have to be in the Champions League at this point. However, our ambition is to be that.

“We want to be challenging within that top three and consistently. We want to be in there. We want to be winning trophies. We want to be challenging for the WSL.”

Part of the masterplan for elevating Spurs is major investment in a new training ground and academy to be built at Whitewebbs Park in Enfield.

Rogers wants it to become women’s football’s answer to La Masia, Barcelona’s legendary youth set-up, and says Ho is integral to the project.

“Our vision for the women’s team is to develop players but equally when we do buy, they have to be in an environment that is better than anywhere else,” he adds, citing the capture of starlets Toko Koga and Signe Gaupset.

“We believe Martin is exactly the person we need. I won’t swap him for anyone – you can throw any name at me – and I’ll live and die by that because he’s so instrumental to the project.”

Spurs Women’s evolution is also evident in their growing presence at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, including this Sunday’s Mother’s Day match with Everton.

“It’s not just about mum and daughter – you can bring the full family,” he says. “We’re also aware the players are so close to their mums. It’s a good moment to bring their families to a game as well.”

The ambition is to move the majority of home games from Brisbane Road, which they borrow from Leyton Orient, to the club’s 63,000-seater ground “within the next couple of seasons”.

“We can’t just rely on the Arsenal games, the Chelsea games,” he says. “We have to get to a place where the habits of supporters are to come regardless of the opposition.”

Spurs Women insulated from men’s team woes

Rogers repeats the mantra that Tottenham operate with a “one club, two teams” mentality, emphasising that the women’s set-up is run independently and autonomously.

That will not mean going as far as some of their WSL rivals, such as Everton, Chelsea and Aston Villa, and carving the women’s team out into a separate legal entity, however.

“I can understand it, but I would also know being amongst it, you can see the challenges of it quite clearly in terms of what that separation actually looks like. It’s not anything we’re looking at doing now or have any desire to do,” he says.

“Removing the grey and being really clear with what we’re trying to achieve and how we’re going to do it has been a massive help. And I think, broadly, the biggest challenge going any other route is the gray that exists within it.”

Rogers is already deep into planning Spurs’ summer transfer business as the club look to challenge the grip of Manchester City, Chelsea, Arsenal and Manchester United on the top four.

He is confident that his budget will not be affected if the unthinkable should happen to the men’s team and they lost their top-flight status for the first time in almost half a century.

“What I’ve had loud and clear in conversations with Vinai is that while we’ve got this mantra of being one club and two teams, the two teams piece is really evident in that we can’t run the women’s team based off what the men do,” he says.

“We can’t be derailing things, because we’re making such significant progress.”

Tottenham Hotspur co-owner Daniel Levy has received a gong from the King in the 2026 New Year Honours list.

Levy, whose near 25-year tenure as chairman of the north London club came to an end in September, has been given a CBE by Charles III.

The club said Levy, who still has a stake in the Premier League club, stepped down as part of “succession planning”. He remains a co-owner of the club through shares held in Tottenham’s parent company ENIC Group.

Levy’s CBE has been awarded for “services to charity and the community in Tottenham”.

Former Premier League chairman Gary Hoffman was also awarded a CBE, alongside Lionesses captain Leah Williamson.

Hoffman is also the chair of Monzo, with reports this month suggesting shareholders were plotting a coup against the man who left the Premier League after Saudi Arabia’s purchase of Newcastle United through its Public Investment Fund vehicle.

Former Marylebone Cricket Club chief executive Derek Brewer, once chief of Scottish football club Hearts, Ann Budge, and former ECB chair Barry O’Brien were given OBEs alongside Silverstone chief executive Stuart Pringle.

Levy given gong

“This year’s Honours list celebrates the very best of Britain – people who put the common good ahead of themselves to strengthen communities and change lives,” Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said.

Elsewhere ice skating stars Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean have been honoured with dame and knighthoods, while Williamson’s teammates Alex Greenwood, Georgia Stanway, Keira Walsh and Ella Toone picked up MBEs.

Red Roses Marlie Packer and Zoe Stratford got OBEs after England’s victory at the Rugby World Cup this autumn; Meg Jones, Sadia Kabeya and Ellie Kildunne got MBEs; and Rugby World Cup tournament figures Gillian Whitehead (OBE) and Sarah Massey (MBE) were honoured. England head coach John Mitchell got an OBE.

Broadcaster Gabby Logan, commentator Clive Tyldesley and Paula Radcliffe got OBEs, while Olympians Rhys McClenaghan and Toby Roberts have been made MBEs.

Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy said: “It has been an historic year for women’s sport and I could not be more pleased to congratulate our Red Roses and Lionesses on their New Year’s Honours.

“To have two England teams – in two of our most loved sports – win major tournaments in the space of a few months was just extraordinary. You’ve united the country, inspired girls and boys everywhere to get into sport and well and truly changed the game.”

Tottenham Hotspur is ending its front-of-shirt sponsorship deal with insurance giant AIA Group Limited at the end of next season.

The Hong Kong–based multinational firm has featured on the front of the north London club’s home shirts for a decade and will continue to do so until the conclusion of the 2026-2027 season.

But then the Hang Seng Index stalwart will transition to a “global training partner” and “its brand will be featured on the training wear for all teams and coaches’ apparel”.

Tottenham Hotspur’s chief revenue officer, Ryan Norys, said “both brands have experienced significant growth”, adding that the deal is a “partnership that will see our two globally recognised brands remain synonymous with each other for many years to come”.

The finding of a new front-of-shirt partner comes as the club looks to follow the wider stadium strategy used in New Jersey’s MetLife Stadium, where each of the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium’s stands will be activated by a separate brand. SI Tickets took up the first of these earlier this season.

New deal for Spurs?

“We’re identifying how we authentically integrate brands into these spaces without taking away from the design, the architecture… You don’t want it to become a billboard,” Norys said on the matter.

The club is also seeking a full naming rights sponsorship deal for their 62,850-capacity north London stadium.

The AIA training kit deal will extend their partnership with Tottenham Hotspur through until 2032.

“Asia is the region with the Premier League’s largest fanbase and as we enter the next chapter of our collaboration,” Stuart Spencer of AIA said.

Tottenham are sixth in the Premier League table, having won five of their 10 matches, and take on Copenhagen in the Champions League this evening.

The team won the Europa League last season before long-standing chief executive Daniel Levy left the club this season.