List of All Articles with Tag 'ba'

Brentford are the only Premier League team to have made the top 10 in a report assessing the country’s most sustainably-run clubs in the top four professional divisions. The Bees are the sole top-flight representatives among the best performers in the Fair Game Index published on Monday. This Index looks at all 92 clubs who were in the Premier League and the EFL last season, rating the performance of each on a weighted scoring system based on financial sustainability, governance, fan engagement and equality standards. Fair Game, a group of clubs and industry experts which campaigns for football reform, believes clubs’ performance against sustainability criteria should be used to determine how the bulk of the centrally-distributed broadcast revenue is allocated. League Two club AFC Wimbledon finished top in the Index. The Dons scored well across the board, underpinned by a firm commitment to never put the club’s financial status at risk. The club aim to always stay well below UEFA’s recommended wage-to-turnover ratio of 70 per cent, nurture homegrown talent and engage with the local community. Newly promoted League One team Carlisle are second, with Cambridge in third. No club who featured in the Championship last season made the top 10, with fourth-placed Plymouth promoted into the second tier at the end of last season. Brentford finished in 10th overall. Cambridge came top on governance in the Index, Lincoln led the way on equality standards and Exeter were first on fan engagement. Three of the six lowest-ranked clubs in the Index are Championship sides – Cardiff, Middlesbrough and League One play-off winners Sheffield Wednesday, while Premier League side Nottingham Forest had the lowest rating of all. Despite Forest being bottom, Premier League clubs had the highest average Index score – 50.0 – driven primarily by revenue being such a big factor in the financial sustainability, but were the worst performing on average for fan engagement. Championship clubs had the lowest average Index score – 38.1 – with clubs often spending beyond their means to either chase the Premier League dream or avoid the drop-off in income that follows relegation to League One. Fair Game has lobbied the football authorities to make clubs’ sustainability central to how much funding they receive, as the Premier League, EFL and the Football Association continue their talks on a ‘New Deal For Football’. Should they be unable to reach an agreement, the Government has said the new independent regulator for English football (IREF) should have backstop powers to impose a settlement via arbitration. Fair Game, which has consistently called for independent regulation, is also lobbying to ensure any backstop settlement includes consideration of how sustainable clubs are. Currently Fair Game says 12 per cent of the Premier League’s annual television income is distributed to the EFL and the wider pyramid. It says this should increase to 25 per cent, and also favours the introduction of a 10 per cent transfer levy on deals involving top-flight clubs, and deals between top-flight clubs and overseas teams. The fan-led review, published in 2021, called for a levy to be brought in but the proposal was not included in the Government’s white paper on football governance published earlier this year. Fair Game has also launched a tool allowing users to calculate how much clubs would earn based on their Fair Game Index score with the distribution percentages as they are now, and how that would change if the percentage increased and a transfer levy was introduced. Fair Game found 92 per cent of clubs outside the Premier League would be better off under its distribution model than the one currently in operation. Fair Game’s chief executive Niall Couper added: “The Fair Game Index paints a realistic picture of what our game could look like, a future where football chooses to reward well-run clubs. “Fair Game are working hard with communities, experts, football interest groups, fans, clubs and politicians to transform this picture into reality. “For the first time, the building blocks are in place.”

UK property sellers cut their asking prices for the first time this year, an indication that a sharp

Asian shares face headwinds Monday after the rally in US bonds and stocks hit a wall Friday amid

The unnamed firefighter died from injuries sustained working in the Northwest Territories on Saturday.

Giants running back Saquon Barkley has been trying to secure his bag all offseason, and there's one detail that may be his biggest roadblock in ongoing negotiations.The New York Giants are running out of time to extend star running back Saquon Barkley this offseason.The two sides have u...

By Jamie McGeever A look at the day ahead in Asian markets from Jamie McGeever, financial markets columnist.

Cirrus Aircraft Ltd. is proud of its history in the US heartland: the private plane maker’s website includes

Inter Miami have signed midfielder Sergio Busquets following his departure from Barcelona. Busquets, 35, who had spent his entire playing career at the Nou Camp, left Barca at the end of the season and will be reunited with former team-mate Lionel Messi, whose move to Miami was confirmed 24 hours earlier. Miami said in a statement: “Inter Miami CF announced (on Sunday) that it has signed legendary Spanish midfielder Sergio Busquets to a contract running through the 2025 Major League Soccer (MLS) season. “The one-time World Cup champion, nine-time LaLiga winner and former FC Barcelona captain, considered to be one of the greatest midfielders of all time, will occupy a Designated Player slot and is expected to join the team in the coming days.” Busquets was a member of Spain’s team which won the World Cup in 2010 and the European Championships in 2012 and over 15 seasons with Barca made 721 appearances in all competitions, placing him third on the club’s all-time list. He said: “This is a special and exciting opportunity that I’m very excited to take. I’m looking forward to this next step in my career with Inter Miami. “I was impressed by the club when I came with Barcelona last year and now I’m happy and ready to represent the club myself. I can’t wait to help bring the success that this ambitious club strives for.” Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live

NBA Rumors: Dion Waiters has epiphany of ‘immature’ behavior with Miami HeatFormer Miami Heat guard Dion Waiters recently opened up on his exit from the league in the 2019-2020 season. Battling depression and anxiety at the time, Waiters began his freefall three years ago, when he was ...

Baltimore Orioles closer Felix Bautista has the most badass entrance to close out games ever!Don't act like you're not impressed!I don't care if you happen to root for any other AL East team, Felix Bautista of the Baltimore Orioles has the most epic entrance music to close out...

Shohei Ohtani is the hottest player on the market right now and a surprise contender has entered the chat and says they won't rule out a trade for him.Ohtani is expected to enter free agency this offseason. If he makes it there. As of a couple of days ago, the Los Angeles Angels were in &qu...

Inter Miami have confirmed the signing of free agent Sergio Busquets following the expiration of his contract at Barcelona.