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Wrexham AFC in the 21st Century and the Path to Its Acquisition by Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney: Part 1
This article is Part 1 of a series about Wrexham Association Football Club; you can read the second part of this series here. Wrexham Association Football Club was formed in October 1864. This makes the football club the oldest in Wales; and the third oldest professional club in the World (after Notts County and…
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How Brexit Will Change Business in the English Football League
Last Saturday, Emiliano Buendía scored a delightful goal to put Norwich City 1-0 up against Barnsley, the Argentine made a smart run to get on the end of a pin-point pass, and his deft touch helped guide the ball into the net. Teemu Pukki also starred in that hard-earned victory; the Finnish forward has been…
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Oscar: The Brazilian Superstar Who Swapped Chelsea for China
“He isn’t here to just stroll around; he wants to win and I think the fans see that he’s not here just for the money but to make a positive impact,” explains a member of the coaching staff at Shanghai SIPG. For many, when Oscar suddenly swapped the Premier League for the Chinese Super…
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Ligue 1 and the Landscape of Its Broadcasting Income in the Wake of COVID-19
With news of Téléfoot’s imminent shutdown owing to the dispute between parent company Mediapro and the Ligue du Football Professionnel (LFP), this article gives an overview into the intricacies of broadcasting rights in Ligue 1, how these rights ended up in the hands of Mediapro and what comes next following their default in broadcasting fee…
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Ronaldo and Real Valladolid: Understanding O Fenômeno’s Purchase of a Modest La Liga Club
Back in September 2018, modest Real Valladolid, recently promoted from Spain’s second division, sparked a surprise with an announcement. Ronaldo, the Brazil legend who had previously played in Spain with Barcelona and Real Madrid, purchased 51 percent of the club and by the end of the month, became the club’s president, taking over from Carlos…
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Qatar’s Sports Diplomacy Project
Since the start of the century, and in particular within the last decade, Qatar has taken steps to establish itself as a sporting nation as part of a wider drive to improve its international profile. A huge part of this drive has been its focus on the footballing sphere. The Qatari approach to ‘football diplomacy’…
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The False Dawn of West Ham United
“I’m forever blowing bubbles, Pretty bubbles in the air, They fly so high, Nearly reach the sky, And like my dreams, they fade and die, Fortune’s always hiding, I’ve looked everywhere…” West Ham’s long-cherished matchday chant is a bittersweet ode to the highs and lows of relentless, undying hope. In recent years, the song…
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Football in Conflict Zones
It is just past 6 am in Ukraine on the morning of August 23. The Donbass Arena, home to Ukrainian football champions Shakhtar Donetsk, was just bombed twice as the conflict between national forces and pro-Russian separatists hit a peak. As it is not a match day, the 52,000-capacity stadium was empty and…
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Turki Al-Sheikh’s Ill-fated Involvement in Egyptian Football
Turki Al-Sheikh’s footballing ventures have been nothing if not eventful. After being named head of the Saudi General Sports Authority in August 2017, the Mohammed Bin Salman confidant strode into Egyptian football in December of the same year, becoming honorary president of Al-Ahly SC. Al-Ahly, the most historically successful club in Africa, were looking…
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Charlton Athletic: Fraud, Funerals and the Football League
From Gary Neville to N’Golo Kanté, it appears just about everyone in England has voiced their opinion on ‘Project Restart’ – feasible, irresponsible, or a self-interested money grab. The stakes are, in one way or another, life and death: players risking their lives to play football in a nation that has amassed nearly 40,000 COVID-19…