<ul class="summary-list"><li>Ministers Michael Gove and Greg Hands have accepted hospitality from Roman Abramovich's Chelsea FC.</li><li>Backbench Conservative MP Damian Collins also took freebie tickets and hospitality from the club.</li></ul><p>Two ministers have accepted free tickets with hospitality from Chelsea Football Club in the past eight years, records show, as owner Roman Abramovich's links to the Putin regime come under renewed focus.</p><p>Michael Gove, the levelling up secretary, has declared a total of eight tickets across three matches in August and November 2014 and January 2016, gifted to him by the club at a value of £2,048.</p><p>Greg Hands, a business minister whose constituency is home to Chelsea FC, accepted two tickets with hospitality in the director's box for a match in May 2017, worth £600.</p><p>Conservative MP Damian Collins, a former chairman of the digital, culture, media and sport select committee, accepted three tickets with hospitality, worth a total of £1,774, in October 2016 and March 2018.</p><p><a href="https://hansard.parliament.uk/Commons/2022-02-24/debates/8A524851-047A-443A-95A0-BA58392F2823/BusinessOfTheHouse?highlight=abramovich#contribution-6D62A5C9-2F15-4CC0-9703-923BCBEB550F">In a Commons debate on Thursday</a>, Chris Bryant quoted a leaked Home Office document, which said Abramovich "remains of interest to HMG [Her Majesty's Government] due to his links to the Russian state and his public association with corrupt activity and practices".</p><p>The document added: "An example of this is Abramovich admitting in court proceedings that he paid for political influence. Therefore, HMG is focused on ensuring individuals linked to illicit finance and malign activity are unable to base themselves in the UK and will use the relevant tools at its disposal (including immigration powers) to prevent this."</p><p>Speaking in the Commons on Tuesday, <a href="https://hansard.parliament.uk/Commons/2022-02-22/debates/70AEE44E-B30C-4B89-8074-E08F1BCFF8B2/Sanctions?highlight=abramovich#contribution-C4BEDC82-32DA-4EB3-88A8-2D9FA0DD721D">Layla Moran, the Liberal Democrats' foreign spokesperson</a> quoted a list compiled by Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny, which named Abramovich as one of Putin's "key enablers".</p><p>The oligarch <a href="https://www.chelseafc.com/en/news/2022/02/26/statement-from-club-owner-roman-abramovich">announced in a statement</a> Saturday he was transferring the "stewardship and care" of the club to Chelsea's charitable foundation, but he will remain the club's owner. The trustees of the foundation have not yet accepted taking control of the club, <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/60549390">the BBC reported</a>.</p><p>On Monday <a href="https://www.jewishnews.co.uk/world-exclusive-roman-abramovich-accepts-ukraines-offer-to-help-negotiate-peace/">it was reported</a> that Abramovich is attempting to help Ukraine negotiate a "peaceful resolution".</p><p>Hands said: "I was a guest of the Club five years ago for the Chelsea v Sunderland match, with a wider group of around 60-80 guests, connected with either club or with either city. As the MP for Chelsea &amp; Fulham, Stamford Bridge stadium is in my constituency, which I have represented since 2005.</p><p>"As a Government minister, of course, I entirely agree with the Government's robust stance against Putin and <keyword id="11894337" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="russia" source="Orion">Russia</keyword>, as a result of their abhorrent invasion of Ukraine."</p><p>A spokesperson for Collins pointed Insider to <a href="https://hansard.parliament.uk/Commons/2021-05-27/debates/3D70B218-15CB-4F43-AA2B-7AF6E56B31ED/details#contribution-5DB676F4-70F6-4856-BA14-E536D97F7F63">remarks by Collins about the use of lawsuits</a> to "intimidate legitimate journalism" citing Abramovich's role in a libel case against the journalist Catherine Belton.</p><p>"It is interesting that Mr Abramovich, who is not a resident of the UK, has not visited the country since 2018 and has not been granted a new UK visa, can nevertheless retain the services of the London law firm Harbottle &amp; Lewis and has full access to the English courts", Collins said in the May 2021 debate.</p><p>Gove's office and Chelsea FC did not respond to Insider's request for comment.</p><p>Bryant, a senior Labour MP and the Commons' standards committee chairman, told Insider: "It's time we weaned ourselves off dodgy Russian money. Putin's supporters have infiltrated the British political class for too long. It's time we cleaned up our act."</p><p>Susannah Fitzgerald, Senior Policy Officer at Transparency International UK, told Insider: "MPs should be mindful of how gifts and hospitality they are offered would be viewed by their constituents and the public at large.</p><p>"Although parliamentary rules allow them, provided they are declared, parliamentarians should consider whether accepting treats from private interests shows good judgement. When in doubt, it is better to err on the side of caution."</p>

Two ministers and Tory MP accepted tickets and hospitality from Roman Abramovich's Chelsea FC

<p>After giving up an early goal to Crystal Palace, Fulham quickly responded with one of the more beautiful goals you will ever see.</p>
<p>Streaking towards the right side of the penalty area, Midfielder Pajtim Kasami played a long pass of his chest, never let the ball hit the ground and then struck a no-look goal from a very difficult angle, possibly catching the keeper unprepared to react in time. It was a little lucky, but it was also perfectly executed and still incredible...</p>
<center><img src="http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5508/10408949565_025ac7e3b1_o.gif" border="0" style="width: 618px;" /></center>
<p>Here is another angle...</p>
<center><img src="http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3774/10409121583_d8c6369130_o.gif" border="0" style="width: 618px;" /></center>

A Fulham Midfielder Just Scored The Best Goal Of The Premier League Season

<p>A few years back, <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/2008/5/facebook-branding-problems">we wrote about a tool called Brand Tags</a>, which asked people to fill in the first word that came to mind when they saw a given brand's logo. Then, Brand Tags presented the findings to show what people thought of various <keyword id="31174" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="brands">brands</keyword>.</p>
<p>Percolate, the social content company behind Brand Tags, has now launched a project called <a href="http://www.footytags.com/">Footy Tags</a>, which asks <keyword id="3071" type="SPORT" weightage="60" keywordseo="Soccer">soccer</keyword> fans around the world to plug in the first thing that comes to mind when presented with the logo of one of the <keyword id="60388" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="60" keywordseo="English-Premier-League">English Premier League</keyword>'s 20 teams. The resulting word clouds present a humorous and insightful look at how fans feel about the league's brands.</p>
<p>Here are five things we learned from them:</p>
<p><strong>1. <keyword id="6034" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="60" keywordseo="Manchester-United">Manchester United</keyword> is evil, but at least they're good</strong><strong>.</strong></p>
<p>Defending champions <a href="http://www.footytags.com/teams/11">Manchester United</a> were defined by two things: their success and how much people hate them. Though many people tagged the team as "evil," even more labeled them "champions."  Winning five EPL championships in seven years will do that to you.</p>
<p><div class="image-container"><div class="image"><img src="http://static1.businessinsider.com/image/5239ad07ecad04ef403f7033-1002-751/manu-footy-tag-page.png?maxX=700" border="0" alt="ManU Footy Tag Page" width="700" /><p class="source"><a href="http://www.footytags.com/teams/11">Footy Tag</a></p></div></div></p>
<p><strong>2. People still can't get past <keyword id="39498" type="CITY" weightage="60" keywordseo="Manchester-City">Manchester City</keyword> and Chelsea's money.</strong></p>
<p>Fans were less kind to the only other teams to win an EPL title in the past seven years, <a href="http://www.footytags.com/teams/10">Manchester City</a> and <a href="http://www.footytags.com/teams/4">Chelsea</a>. Those teams were defined primarily by their foreign owners, whose cash infusions have propelled them to new heights. Despite winning the Champions League tournament contested between the top teams in Europe just two seasons ago, Chelsea was tagged most for "money" and "Abramovich," the Russian oligarch who purchased the team in 2003. Likewise, Manchester City's 2012 EPL title was overlooked in favor of the "money," "new money," and "oil money" of the Abu Dhabi royal family.</p>
<p><div class="image-container"><div class="image"><img src="http://static1.businessinsider.com/image/5239b0f269bedd8e21f5a1ff-885-664/manchester-city-footy-tag.png" border="0" alt="Manchester City footy tag" width="700" /><p class="source"><a href="http://www.footytags.com/teams/10">Footy Tags</a></p></div></div></p>
<p><strong>3. Americans dig the EPL, but they only care about America.</strong></p>
<p>Pretty much every EPL squad with an American on it was closely identified with that player. This was true for mainstays like <a href="http://www.footytags.com/teams/6">Everton's</a> Tim Howard, newcomers like <a href="http://www.footytags.com/teams/16">Sunderland's</a> Jozy Altidore, and even players who aren't in England anymore. It's been two years since Clint Dempsey played for <a href="http://www.footytags.com/teams/7">Fulham</a>, but he was tagged more often than any other player.</p>
<p><div class="image-container"><div class="image"><img src="http://static5.businessinsider.com/image/5239b32beab8ea250f5ec392-733-549/fulham-footy-tag.png" border="0" alt="Fulham Footy Tag" width="700" /><p class="source"><a href="http://www.footytags.com/teams/7">Footy Tags</a></p></div></div></p>
<p><strong>4. Crystal Palace is in for a rough year.</strong></p>
<p>Fans were perhaps most cruel to newly promoted <a href="http://www.footytags.com/teams/5">Crystal Palace</a>, which was frequently associated with "who?" "nothing," and "relegation." The Eagles are currently in 18th place with one win and three losses.</p>
<p><div class="image-container"><div class="image"><img src="http://static1.businessinsider.com/image/5239b48c6bb3f7964ab9ab08-768-576/crystal-palace-footy-tag.png" border="0" alt="Crystal Palace Footy Tag" width="700" /><p class="source"><a href="http://www.footytags.com/teams/5">Footy Tags</a></p></div></div></p>
<p><strong>5. Liverpool is history.</strong></p>
<p><strong></strong>Once the dominant powerhouse in English soccer, <a href="http://www.footytags.com/teams/9">Liverpool FC</a> hasn't won a league championship since 1990 and failed to crack the league's top four since 2009. As a result, the team's word cloud was filled with words like "history" and "tradition," but the names associated with those famous wins appear to have been lost in the sands of time. We found former LFC heroes Ian Rush and Kenny Dalglish, but their names were <em>tiny</em>.</p>
<p><div class="image-container"><div class="image"><img src="http://static3.businessinsider.com/image/5239b6a26bb3f7f24cb9aafb-655-491/liverpool-footy-tag.png" border="0" alt="Liverpool Footy Tag" width="700" /><p class="source"><a href="http://www.footytags.com/teams/9">Footy Tags</a></p></div></div></p>
<p>Check out all of the word clouds at <a href="http://www.footytags.com/">FootyTags.com</a> to see what else you can find.</p>

According To Soccer Fans Manchester United Is Evil

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Calogero Scannella, 22, bought the soccer team he'd supported as a boy with six of his friends.</li><li>Walton &amp; Hersham FC traces its roots to 1895 and played at Wembley, but it had fallen on hard times.</li></ul><p><em>This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Calogero Scannella, the managing director and coowner of the Walton &amp; Hersham football club. It has been edited for length and clarity.</em></p><p>My first memory of football was when I was 5 and my dad took me to watch Walton &amp; Hersham FC play AFC Wimbledon. It was expected to be a tough game, but <a href="https://www.getsurrey.co.uk/sport/other-sport/football---swans-knock-dons-4843525">we won 3-0</a>.</p><p>I remember sitting on my dad's shoulders and watching the crowd go crazy.</p><p>One Saturday in 2018, I decided to take a break from my university studies and watch a Walton &amp; Hersham FC match with my dad. Football has become a large part of my life — I'd played for another local team and also coached school teams. But the club I saw that day wasn't the one I remembered.</p><p>It was fighting relegation and there were just 40 fans on the ground. As there were so few people there, I met the owner, who said the team might fold if it was relegated.</p><h2>I couldn't bear the thought of a team with such a storied history disappearing</h2><p>Walton &amp; Hersham FC had the football legend Sir Stanley Matthews as its president and had played in front of 40,000 people at Wembley in 1973. After that game, I set up a WhatsApp group with six of my school friends — Thomas Bradbury, Reme Edetanlen, Stephen Karidis, Ben Madelin, Jack Newton, and Sartej Tucker — and said, why don't we buy the club?</p><p>It took at least a month to persuade my friends I was serious, and then once they were onboard, we took our proposal to the owner.</p><p>The owner wanted to sell it to someone who had the club's best interests at heart. We said our goal was to get the club back to where it belonged and make it sustainable, so it had a future. It also worked in our favor that there were seven of us who would act as a team.</p><p>Between us, we bought 100 shares at £1 each to purchase the club in June 2019. While we bought it for a nominal fee, we were taking on all the liabilities, such as the contract for the lease of the grounds and the payment of players. We then set up a new company, Walton &amp; Hersham 2019 Limited, and each of us invested around £2,000 of our savings to help relaunch the club and pay for its running.</p><p>We sought legal advice in terms of taking over, but we didn't hire anyone to guide us through the finer details on how to run it. We were all just determined to try and learn from every single person we met, whether that was our team manager or visiting owners.</p><h2>At first, the fans thought it was a joke that 7 students were taking over their club</h2><p>But once they saw how serious we were about it, they gave us their support. </p><p>As owners, we're in charge of everything apart from what happens on the pitch. We hired a manager, and we left him to do his job.</p><p>We divided up the roles by playing to our strengths. As I'd been involved in non-league football the most, I became the managing director and club secretary; Jack is an accountant, so he took care of the finances. Any one of us might need to film TikToks, reach out to sponsors, or work in the burger van.</p><div type="image" title="Seven men standing in a line holding a banner declaring their soccer team has been promoted" height="2901" width="4348" msid="95119832" hostid="261" sizebytes="953118"></div><p>As the team had been relegated, all the players left. We held open trials to find new players.</p><p>The first season was a huge learning curve. The fans were rightly upset when we changed the club's logo without consulting them. It also took us a long time to work out how to pay the fines for red and yellow cards, so we incurred more penalties for late payment than we did for the fines themselves.</p><p>In winter 2019, when we were watching the team play, Jack showed me on his phone that we only had £0.13 left in our bank account. We'd paid the players their wages by that point, but it wasn't a nice feeling, thinking we could still fail. We needed to invest the money in the club to help it grow. But the club still did OK, finishing third that season.</p><h2>In 2020, we went into overdrive. As the pandemic had halted the season, my friends and I used this time to plan.</h2><p>We installed a new manager, who used to be the assistant manager at my previous club. We launched a TikTok channel, <a href="https://www.tiktok.com/@waltonhershamfc?lang=en">which now has more than 870,000 followers</a>, and after our first season without any income besides the gate, we started to sign sponsors and advertisers.</p><p>Our first partnership was with Classic Football Shirts, a company we followed on social media. We asked if they'd sell our shirts, and they agreed. They've sold them to fans as far away as the island of Saint Pierre and Miquelon, near Newfoundland.</p><p>We created different advertising packages that we sold to local businesses. Depending on whether they chose bronze, silver, or gold, they could receive ads in the match program or shout-outs on social media. When we took over the club, there wasn't any advertising on the grounds, now there are 40 hoardings around the pitch.</p><p>In 2021, the team was promoted. We were delighted, but as it happened during the pandemic, we were notified by email, so it didn't feel real. But when we were promoted again in 2022 in front of a record crowd, it was a real pinch-me moment. Fans were running onto the pitch.</p><p>This year, more than 1,000 fans walked through the turnstile for an FA Cup match.</p><div type="image" title="Soccer players jump on top of each other in celebration on the field" height="3000" width="4496" msid="95119835" hostid="261" sizebytes="534958"></div><p>The club has continued to grow. <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CiAFBdgKpjk/">Devan Tanton, a defender from Premier League Fulham FC</a>'s under-21 team joined us on loan and we have invested even more money in the ground. Our biggest outlay so far, after the players' wages and rent for the ground, was £20,000 for our new food truck, which is a converted shipping container.</p><p>We also launched a beer stand and installed a tannoy, or public-address system, that we use to play music at halftime. Promotion to a higher league also brings new financial challenges as the players' wages increase, and we also need to factor in a larger travel budget.</p><h2>My friends and I hold boardroom meetings like any other club and try to stick to the agenda. We also have a WhatsApp group.</h2><p>We are all obsessed with football. When we're not at the ground, we will go to the pub together to watch a professional game or go and play five-a-side. We lost Reme as a coowner in October 2021 as he now plans to spend a year abroad, but our friend George Corey joined in his place.</p><p>I've watched every single football documentary. We were filmed by "90 Minutes" for a few days during our first season. It was lots of fun, and we used clips from the show to launch our TikTok. But the first year was such a learning curve for us, I'm pleased the whole season wasn't filmed.</p><p>We're not on the same scale as <a href="https://affiliate.insider.com?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.disneyplus.com%2Fen-gb%2Fseries%2Fwelcome-to-wrexham%2F4NwOxyDF4T3A">"Welcome to Wrexham,"</a> but we recognized the financial anguish that comes with owning a football club.</p><p>As owners, we haven't yet taken a wage, because we have ambitious plans and we need all our finances for that. We all have other jobs. I coach school football teams during the week and referee on weekends.</p><p>Our goal is to build as much as possible in the next few years. We've raised the quality of our social media by hiring a company to film our games.</p><p>We also plan to sell merchandise abroad ourselves, so we are currently working on our plans for an online shop.</p><p>They say if you do a job you love, it doesn't feel like work. I'm not sure that's right — it definitely feels like work.</p><p>But when I'm driving to watch a match with my best friends in the car, there's no better feeling.</p>

I run a soccer club I bought with 6 friends as a teen. Here's how we turned it into a TikTok sensation.

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Gary Neville slammed plans for a <keyword id="381358" type="SPORT" weightage="60" keywordseo="European-super-league">European Super League</keyword>, calling those involved a "disgrace."</li><li>On Sunday, 12 teams announced plans to form a breakaway league worth billions of dollars. </li><li>Neville called for the English teams that have signed up to be relegated and given massive fines. </li></ul><p>Gary Neville, one of football's most respected commentators, had a brutal, blistering takedown of plans to form a European Super League on Sunday, calling the teams involved a "disgrace."</p><p>On Sunday, 12 of Europe's biggest <keyword id="3071" type="SPORT" weightage="60" keywordseo="Soccer">soccer</keyword> clubs announced <a href="https://www.insider.com/european-super-league-backlash-over-wall-street-funded-project-2021-4">plans to join a new breakaway Super League</a> to rival the Champions League.</p><p>Six Premier League clubs - Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United, and Tottenham - have agreed to join, alongside FC Barcelona, Real Madrid, Atletico Madrid, AC Milan, Inter Milan, and Juventus.</p><p>Funded by Wall Street bank JP Morgan, the league would have no promotion or relegation and <a href="https://www.insider.com/european-super-league-backlash-over-wall-street-funded-project-2021-4">would see the clubs involved earn billions.</a></p><p>The plan has already faced huge backlash from the footballing world, including from UEFA, which threatened to <a href="https://www.insider.com/european-super-league-backlash-over-wall-street-funded-project-2021-4">expel the teams involved from their domestic leagues</a> and ban players from competing for their countries.</p><p><a href="https://twitter.com/SkySportsPL/status/1383928074006265861">Speaking on Sky Sports ahead of Manchester United's win over Burnley on Sunday,</a> just before the official announcement, Neville, a former United player, accused those involved of betraying the history of soccer. </p><p>"The reaction to it is that it has been damned and rightly so," he said at the start of a three-minute monologue. "I'm a Manchester United fan and have been for 40 years of my life, but I'm disgusted, absolutely disgusted.</p><p>"I'm disgusted with Manchester United and Liverpool most. Liverpool, they pretend, 'You'll never walk alone,' the people's club, the fans' club.</p><p>"Manchester United, 100 years, born out of workers from around here, and they're breaking away into a league without competition that they can't be relegated from? It's an absolute disgrace."</p><p>"It's pure greed. They're imposters," Neville added.</p><p>"The time has come now to get an independent regulator and stop these clubs having the power base. Enough is enough."</p><blockquote class="twitter-tweet blockquote" data-lang="en" data-cards="" data-conversation="">-Gary Neville  (@GNev2) <a href="https://twitter.com/mims/statuses/1383983343323160581?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 19, 2021</a></blockquote><p>Neville went on to suggest that the English clubs involved in the plans should be handed massive fines and even relegated from the Premier League. </p><p>"They should be punished heavily," he said. "Massive fines, points deductions, take their titles off them, who cares. Give the title to Burnley, Fulham.</p><p>"Let Fulham stay up and relegate United, Liverpool, and Arsenal. Them three clubs to be fair are the history of this country, they should be the ones that suffer most."</p>

One of football's most respected voices had a brutal, blistering 3-minute takedown of plans to form a European Super League

<ul class="summary-list"><li>The NFL London Games are fun, but there is plenty of room for improvement. </li><li>According to fans, it's too expensive, there's not enough to do outside the grounds, and Tottenham Hotspur Stadium is inaccessible. </li></ul><p>The NFL has now been coming to London for 15 years, first arriving at Wembley Stadium in 2007. </p><p>This year's edition featured three games, two of which were marked big milestones for the now annual visit. The second game saw the Green Pay Backers make its first ever trip to London, meaning all 32 of the NFL's teams have now played in the English capital. And the final game saw a record 86,215 fans — the biggest ever for an NFL game in London — cram into Wembley to watch the Jacksonville Jaguars lose to the Denver Broncos. </p><p>On paper, such milestones suggest that not only are the NFL London Games a wildly successful annual event, but also that they are helping popularize the sport in the UK.</p><p>However, in reality, there is still a long way to go.</p><h2>The Jags</h2><p>The Jacksonville Jaguars profess itself to be the most well-supported NFL team in England.</p><p>Owned by Sha hid Khan – who also owns the English Premier League team Fulham FC – the Jags have played in London a record nine times and have a UK fan group called the "Union Jax," which boasts an impressive 80,000 members.</p><p>The team has also made substantial efforts to bring American football to the UK at grassroots level, running initiatives all over the nation, such as "JagTag" – its own take on touch rugby.</p><p>But on Sunday at Wembley, despite there being a record crowd in attendance, Jags fans were not the majority. Instead, there were just as many neutrals wearing the shirts of various other NFL teams.</p><p>It resulted in a flat atmosphere, which admittedly wasn't helped by the low quality of play on the field.</p><div type="image" title="Fans in the stands during the NFL International match at Wembley Stadium, London." height="1333" width="2000" msid="95239356" hostid="261" sizebytes="166910"></div><p>Mike Flynn, a Jags fan at the game, said that unless London gets its own franchise, such atmospheres will continue to persist when the NFL visits the UK.</p><p>"There are lots of true fans in the UK, but they support 32 different teams, and there aren't enough of them, hardcore fans, to fill a stadium of the teams that are playing," he said.</p><p>"I think we have to accept that unless we get a European division then there will always be neutral fans in the stadium for any UK game."</p><p>Nick Twine and Tom Austin, two other fans at the game, concurred.</p><p>"In my opinion, the only way to create a true fan base is to have a London franchise," said Twine. "Until you get a team, which the fans actually care if they win or lose, you will not get the passion."</p><p>Said Austin: "Until there's one dominant franchise here, the international games will always attract a broad spectrum of fans."</p><h2>The London franchise </h2><p>So, how likely is it that London will one day have its own franchise? According to NFL commissioner Roger Goodell, very.</p><p>"There's no question that London could support not just one franchise, I think two franchises," Goodell said, speaking ahead of the London Games last month, <a href="https://www.espn.co.uk/nfl/story/_/id/34890520/the-key-questions-shaping-future-nfl-europe">according to ESPN.</a> "I really believe that. That's from a fan perspective, from a commercial standpoint and from a media standpoint. I think you [London] have all proven that." </p><p>In 2015, however, the NFL said the same thing. In fact, it said it hoped London would have its own franchise by 2022.</p><p>"It's a realistic time frame," NFL Executive Vice President for International Mark Waller <a href="https://affiliate.insider.com?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nfl.com%2Fnews%2Flondon-team-by-2022-nfl-continues-to-forge-forward-in-u-k-0ap3000000547487">said at the time.</a> "But there are still things we need to test for, so we have to be able to build a lot of things into the next few years. We don't need to prove as much on the fan-demand side. We feel comfortable that, in a few years, we'll be where we need to be there."</p><p>Of course, that hasn't materialized, nor have Waller's comments about fan-demand proven to be exactly true.</p><p>None of this year's three London games sold out, <a href="https://www.broadcastnow.co.uk/broadcasting/bbc-beats-2021-peak-with-super-bowl-coverage/5167688.article">while according to Broadcast Now,</a> 1.3 million people tuned in to watch the BBC's coverage of Super Bowl LVI in February. That may sound like a lot, but by comparison, it's a relative drop in the bucket. The UEFA Euro 2020 Final between England and Italy, for example, had 29.85 million viewers, while well over 100 million watched parts of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.</p><p>Participation numbers for American football in the UK are also on the decline. <a href="https://oursportinglife.co.uk/american-football-statistics-uk/">According to Our Sporting Life,</a> there are around 28,600 people who participate in American football in the UK. <a href="https://www.statista.com/statistics/490381/american-football-participation-uk/">Statista says</a> that figure was 45,000 in 2017.</p><p>"If the NFL wants to one day have its own franchise in the UK, it needs to start promoting American football better for young people," said Chris, a Jags and Manchester United fan.</p><p>"I don't know of any local clubs around me, nor of any schools that play the sport. Whether that's partly because the gear is too expensive, or it's too dangerous, I don't know, but generally, kids here just play football and rugby."</p><h2>A better London Games</h2><p>One of the ways upon which the NFL can improve its popularity in the UK — and hence its chance of ever having a London franchise — is to improve the quality of the product already on offer.</p><p>At least, that's according to fans, many of whom told Insider that they were disappointed with their experiences at the London Games this year.</p><p>Among the most common complaints were the inaccessibility of Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, which held the first two games; the cost of food, drinks, and merchandise; and the lack of activities outside the grounds.</p><p>"This is for Tottenham and Transport For London (TFL) really, but a massive investment in public transport is needed [at Tottenham]," said Twine. "Getting away from that ground with 60,000 others is hellish."</p><p>Nick Williams, another fan, said: "I was under the impression that Olympic Way [the entrance to Wembley Stadium] would be rammed with merchandise and food stalls. Instead we got massive queues at the limited food stalls and a couple of dodgy stalls selling shockingly overpriced unofficial hats and scarves."</p><div type="image" title="Fans walk down Wembley way ahead of the NFL International match at Wembley Stadium." height="1333" width="2000" msid="95239357" hostid="261" sizebytes="358806"></div><p>Louise Stanley said the NFL should take a lead out of cricket's book, more specifically The Hundred – a professional UK cricket tournament that was founded in 2021.</p><p>"The Hundred have got it right," she said. "Activities, games, kids areas, giveaways, outside the stadium and plenty of food and drink options.</p><p>"Make it an event village around the stadium instead of just your standard match day hotdog and a pint. Official <a></a>tailgates would be ace."</p><p>To go full circle: The NFL London Games will continue to be a flat experience for fans until London has its own franchise, but if the NFL wants that to happen, it will need to do more than throw annual games and cross its fingers. </p>

The NFL continues to market London Games as a spectacle event for fans in the UK, but the novelty is beginning to wear off

<p></p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/5d5d276acd97841d5e1d2f32-2000/christian%20pulisic%20skills%20and%20playing%20style.jpg" border="0" alt="Christian Pulisic skills and playing style" data-mce-source="Photo by Photo by Darren Walsh/Chelsea FC via Getty Images" data-link="https://www.gettyimages.co.uk/detail/news-photo/christian-pulisic-of-chelsea-runs-with-the-ball-during-the-news-photo/1167405589?adppopup=true" /></div></div></div><ul class="summary-list"><li>There are two skills that will separate Christian Pulisic from other Americans who have played, and failed, in England.</li><li>The Chelsea FC forward moved to the Premier League this summer, having signed for the club earlier in the year.</li><li>Pulisic's speed and soccer brain will separate him from many of the 36 other outfield Americans who have been unable to take the English league by storm.</li><li>That is the opinion of Doug Harris, the player's boyhood chairman at the Philadelphia Classics, who expects big things from the 20-year-old this season.</li><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/?hprecirc-bullet" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories</a>.</li></ul><p>Christian Pulisic's speed and soccer brain separate him from other outfield Americans who have played in England and failed.</p><p>That is the opinion of Chelsea FC forward's boyhood chairman, Doug Harris, who told Business Insider that the fearlessness he shows in his attacks, together with the way his brain works at pace, will see him succeed in the frenetic Premier League.</p><p>Pulisic joined Chelsea this summer after agreeing a $73 million transfer from Borussia Dortmund in January, in turn becoming the 37th outfield player from the US to have graced the Premier League, following in the footstephs of Clint Dempsey, Jozy Altidore, and Landon Donovan.</p><p>With the exception of Dempsey, many Americans have struggled to make their mark on English pitches, but Harris believes Pulisic has the right abilities to avoid the failures of his predecessors, abilities he has witnessed first hand having watched him as a youngster with the Philadelphia Classics.</p><p><em><strong>Read more</strong>: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/christian-pulisic-can-be-the-tiger-woods-of-american-soccer-2019-8?r=US&amp;IR=T" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Have you ever heard of Tiger Woods? Pulisic can be to American soccer what Tiger was to golf</a></em></p><p>"He has the speed, the quickness, the technical ability, but also in his mind he is fearless," Harris told Business Insider.</p><p>"You could see that [against Liverpool], the way he set up that goal. It was brilliant - he had three or four defenders right, and he is just running right at 'em. He draws them and slips it in [to the goalscorer Olivier Giroud]. His soccer IQ is really really good."</p><p><strong>Watch the move below:</strong></p><p>"He is one of the very few American players that likes to run right at people, you know? He just likes to zero right in on that back line, and run straight at ya. I love that attacking mentality.</p><p>"The US has not had many players like that - you know we've had Landon Donovan who likes to run at players - but the fact is he didn't have the technical ability like Christian."</p><p><strong><em>Read more: </em></strong><em><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/christian-pulisic-touted-for-big-things-at-chelsea-2019-8?r=US&amp;IR=T">More to come from Hazard-esque American sensation Christian Pulisic after one blistering European performance</a></em></p><p>The track record of American forwards playing in the Premier League leaves a lot to be admired.</p><p>Landon Donovan, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/football/ng-interactive/2015/jul/24/top-us-soccer-players-usmnt" target="_blank" rel="noopener">considered the greatest US soccer player of all time</a>, scored just two goals during two spells with Everton between 2008-2010, while Jozy Altidore managed a meager six goals in 82 games during his stay with Hull City and Sunderland.</p><p>Eddie Johnson, who played for Fulham between 2007-2011, failed to even score once.</p><p>Others fared better: Brian McBride scored a respectable 45 times for Everton and Fulham, while Clint Dempsey is the highest scoring American in Premier League history having netted 57 times for Fulham and Tottenham Hotspur.</p><p>Pulisic who hails from Hershey, Pennsylvania, scored twice in pre-season for Chelsea and was outstanding in the UEFA Super Cup defeat to Liverpool, and though he is yet to score his first Premier League goal, it is likely he will soon be up and running.</p><p>And one man who won't be surprised is Harris.</p><div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p>Pulisic and Giroud cut Liverpool open ✨ <a href="https://t.co/HsqnsBjHDw">pic.twitter.com/HsqnsBjHDw</a></p>- B/R Football  (@brfootball) <a href="https://twitter.com/mims/statuses/1161726975842639875?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 14, 2019</a></blockquote><script async="" src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>

There are 2 skills that will separate Christian Pulisic from other Americans who have played, and failed, in England

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Trent Alexander-Arnold has hailed the impact of Diogo Jota at <keyword id="6355589" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="60" keywordseo="liverpool">Liverpool</keyword> this season, and has backed 19-year-old Curtis Jones to become an Anfield superstar.</li><li>"Diogo's goals in particular have been very important to the team," the 22-year-old told Insider, adding that the Portuguese winger's contribution has been "invaluable."</li><li>"Curtis has been class and really stepped up. He is going to be a top player for sure," Alexander-Arnold told Insider in an exclusive interview.</li></ul><p>Speaking exclusively to Insider, Trent Alexander-Arnold has hailed the impact of Diogo Jota at Liverpool <a href="https://www.insider.com/premier-league-team-of-the-season-so-far-grealish-mendy-2020-11">this season</a>, and has backed one of the club's most promising young stars to become an Anfield superstar.</p><p>Liverpool spent $54 million to bring Jota to Merseyside from Wolverhampton Wanderers this summer and the Portugal international has since been a revelation, scoring nine goals in 17 games, including a sublime Champions League hat-trick against Atalanta in November.</p><p>The 24-year-old, however, suffered a knee injury in Liverpool's most recent Champions League fixture against FC Midtjylland and will now be sidelined for six to eight weeks - further deepening the Red's injury crisis.</p><p><a href="https://www.insider.com/virgil-van-dijk-injury-blows-premier-league-title-race-open-2020-10">Star defender Virgil van Dijk was ruled out for the season in October</a> after finding himself on the end of a calamitous tackle from Everton goalkeeper Jordan Pickford, while Joe Gomez is also expected to miss a large chunk of the campaign after suffering a knee injury while on international duty with England. </p><p>Xherdan Shaqiri, Joel Matip, and James Milner are also currently out, as is summer signing Thiago Alcantara, who despite only playing just twice this season, has also been lauded by Alexander-Arnold.</p><p dir="ltr">"All clubs get injuries, it's part and parcel of professional sport. This season has been challenging with no real pre-season due to COVID and as a result, maybe more players have picked up injuries," the 22-year-old defender told Insider. </p><p dir="ltr">"[Jota and Thiago] faced their own fitness issues, but when fully fit, have been invaluable additions to the squad. Diogo's goals in particular have been very important to the team. </p><p dir="ltr">"The lads will be integral as the season progresses and most importantly both have fit right in."</p><p dir="ltr">Alexander-Arnold - who features in Insider upcoming ranking of the world's top 50 footballers - has had his own injury problems this term too, missing seven games over the past two months due to a calf knock sustained against Manchester City in early November. </p><p dir="ltr">The England star returned to action in the 4-0 victory over Wolves on December 6 and played his first 90 minutes against Midtjylland three days later.</p><p dir="ltr">Despite being delighted to return, he told Insider that is vital not to "rush coming back."</p><p dir="ltr">Alexander-Arnold is expected to start for Liverpool on Wednesday night in the team's top-of-the-table clash with Tottenham Hotspur, arguably the biggest game of the English <keyword id="52458" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="60" keywordseo="Premier-League">Premier League</keyword> season so far.</p><h2 dir="ltr">Curtis Jones is Liverpool's next star, Alexander-Arnold says</h2><div type="image" title="Curtis Jones" height="2250" width="3000" msid="79764339" hostid="261"></div><p>Speaking about his Liverpool teammates, Alexander-Arnold said that he believes, Curtis Jones, a 19-year-old midfielder will "100%" became a Liverpool regular in the near future.</p><p dir="ltr">Jones, who was born and raised in the city, has made 14 appearances in all competitions for Jurgen Klopp's side this term and scored three goals, with the German coach describing his most recent performance against Fulham on Sunday as "sensational."</p><p dir="ltr">"Curtis has been class and really stepped up," Alexander-Arnold told Insider.</p><p dir="ltr">"He is going to be a top player for sure. It's not just him though, all our young players have been really impressive, with the likes of Rhys Williams and Caoimhin Kelleher also stepping up."</p><p>Liverpool take on Tottenham at home on Wednesday evening, where a win will see it jump ahead of Jose Mourinho's side to the top of the English Premier League table.</p><p><em>Alexander-Arnold spoke to Insider as part of his partnership with Therabody.</em></p><p><strong>Read more:</strong></p><p><a href="https://www.insider.com/jesse-lingard-interview-paul-scholes-ibrahimovic-and-lockdown-life-2020-8">Jesse Lingard, Manchester United's forgotten star, discusses using lockdown to reinvigorate his career, and why Paul Scholes is the greatest ever</a></p><p><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/how-chris-smalling-has-built-a-new-life-at-roma-2019-10?r=US&amp;IR=TIR=T">Befriending old enemies, training with Italy's next superstar, and being vegan in the land of pasta: How Chris Smalling built a new life in Rome away from Manchester United</a></p><p><a href="https://www.insider.com/hashtag-united-semi-pro-youtube-football-team-with-500000-fans-2020-11">Meet Hashtag United, the English semi-pro soccer team supported by 500,000 people on YouTube and part-owned by a Chelsea FC star</a></p>

Liverpool's Trent Alexander-Arnold backed a 19-year-old youngster to be the club's next star, and hailed the impact of $54 million summer signing Diogo Jota

<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/5bab34ef4e353e536a8b4567-1777/wembley stadium.jpg" border="0" alt="Wembley Stadium" data-mce-source="Getty Images" /><p class="source"><span>Getty Images</span></p></div><p></p></div></div></p><ul class="summary-list"><li><strong>The board of the FA will vote on plans to sell Wembley to US billionaire Shahid Khan on Thursday, the FT reports.</strong></li><li><strong>If approved, Khan will pay £600 million ($790.4 million) for the stadium.</strong></li><li><strong>Khan has been in talks to acquire the stadium from the FA since April.</strong></li></ul><p>England's Football Association will hold a board vote on Thursday to decide whether to sell London's iconic Wembley Stadium to US billionaire Shahid Khan, <a href="https://www.ft.com/content/bc6cd0e8-c0d6-11e8-8d55-54197280d3f7">the Financial Times reported</a>.</p><p>If the sale goes through, the home of English soccer, will be sold to Khan, also known as Shad Khan, for <span>£</span>600 million ($790.4 million), according to the newspaper. <span>Khan, a Pakistani-American <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shahid_Khan">billionaire and philanthropist</a>, is the owner of the Jacksonville Jaguars of the National Football League and Fulham F.C. of the English Premier League.</span></p><p><span>Khan has been in talks to acquire the stadium from the FA since April. The terms of the deal must be approved by the FA's 10-member board at a meeting on Thursday, and a minority are yet to indicate their support, the FT said, citing people close to the talks. </span></p>    <div class="margin-top">        <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/big-mistake-investors-make-late-cycle-inflection-point-economy-versus-stocks-liz-ann-sonders-2018-8">Beware one huge mistake investors often make when the economy is at a crossroads, says Charles Schwab's investment chief</a></h3>        <div>            <iframe class="bijwplayerclass" data-player="jwplayer" src="https://content.jwplatform.com/players/udhN6ybJ-xjRU7l6Z.html" width="100%" height="100%" frameborder="0" scrolling="auto" style="margin:0px;" allowfullscreen=""></iframe><script>function receiveMessage(event){ console.log(event.data.fullscreen); Android.fullscreen(event.data.fullscreen); }window.addEventListener("message", receiveMessage, false);</script>        </div>    </div>

England's Wembley stadium is close to being sold to a US billionaire for &#163;600 million

<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/5ae88f6b19ee8645008b4714-1374/shad-khan-2.jpg" border="0" alt="Shad Khan" data-mce-source="Rob Carr/Getty Images" /><p class="source"><span>Rob Carr/Getty Images</span></p><p class="caption">Jacksonville Jaguars owner Shad Khan wants to bring the Super Bowl to London, but some obvious barriers stand in the way before the biggest American sporting event of the year crosses the Atlantic.</p></div><p></p></div></div></p><ul><li><strong>Jacksonville Jaguars owner Shad Khan reportedly wants to bring the Super Bowl to London.</strong></li><li><strong>Khan also owns Fulham F.C. and has recently made a bid to purchase Wembley Stadium from the FA, which would serve as a potential venue should the NFL ever decide to relocate the Super Bowl.</strong></li><li><strong>Still, between the issues with time differences and the advertising dollars at stake, a London Super Bowl feels unlikely to happen any time soon.</strong></li></ul><hr /><p><br />Jacksonville Jaguars owner Shad Khan reportedly wants to bring the Super Bowl to London.</p><p>Khan, who <a href="https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/43906272" target="_blank" rel="noopener">has reportedly made an offer of close to $1 billion to buy Wembley Stadium</a> in London, believes that the city would be an excellent choice to host the biggest event in American sports.</p><p><span>"Our role would be to provide a world-class venue," Khan <a href="https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/43957009" target="_blank" rel="noopener">told BBC Sport</a>. "Wembley is a great stadium, and you want to get it configured to hold Super Bowl and World Cup finals."</span></p><p>Khan, who also owns Fulham F.C. and whose Jaguars have made regular appearances in England as a part of the NFL International Series, is uniquely suited to help bring the Super Bowl to London. Should his purchase of Wembley go through, there's no doubt that hosting a Super Bowl would be high on his priority list.</p><p>But there's a simple reason such a move is unlikely to occur, and it comes down to time and money.</p><p>Time zones put local London time five hours ahead of New York, making scheduling the game a challenge on both sides of the equation. If you want to keep the game in primetime in the States - it is hard to imagine American networks agreeing to anything differently at the prices they are paying - kickoff would have to take place at close to 11 p.m. in London. Conversely, starting the game at a reasonable hour in London would mean the game's start would likely be pushed closer to noon on the American east coast, and into the morning in the west.</p><p>While football fans would surely tune in for the game regardless of what time kickoff was, the move would mean significant changes for advertisers and the network producing the broadcast. With networks charging as much as $5 million for a 30-second advertisement during the Super Bowl, moving the game to London and thus taking it off of primetime in the United States seems like an unlikely outcome.</p><p>The NFL has made no effort to hide their ambitions of becoming a global brand, and Khan's Jaguars have often been mentioned as a team that could relocate to London, and hosting a Super Bowl across the Atlantic would undoubtedly mean big things for the game's worldwide reach. But between the logistics of timing and the money at stake, it still seems like a long-shot that we'll see such a change anytime soon.</p>    <div class="margin-top">        <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/sidekick-tool-machine-professional-athletic-fields-sports-2018-4">This tool creates a perfect athletic field</a></h3>        <div>            <iframe class="bijwplayerclass" data-player="jwplayer" src="https://content.jwplatform.com/players/3DNhANMJ-CEZHWCBG.html" width="100%" height="100%" frameborder="0" scrolling="auto" style="margin:0px;" allowfullscreen=""></iframe><script>function receiveMessage(event){ console.log(event.data.fullscreen); Android.fullscreen(event.data.fullscreen); }window.addEventListener("message", receiveMessage, false);</script>        </div>    </div>

NFL owner Shad Khan wants the Super Bowl to be held in London, but there is a simple reason why it will likely never happen

<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/5ceec99d11e20524767c9f12-2000/y2j0484.jpg" border="0" alt="Jon Moxley All Elite Wrestling" data-mce-source="James Musselwhite / All Elite Wrestling" /><p class="source"><span>James Musselwhite / All Elite Wrestling</span></p><p class="caption">WWE has had a stranglehold on the wrestling world since WCW ended, but the new All Elite Wrestling is ready to take aim at Vince McMahon's company.</p></div><p></p></div></div></p><ul class="summary-list"><li><strong>All Elite Wrestling, a new wrestling promotion led by ex-WWE wrestler Cody Rhodes, put on its first official show, entitled "Double or Nothing," over Memorial Day weekend.</strong></li><li><strong>The show was enthralling, and received rave reviews from both fans in attendance and those watching at home, and gave clear examples of the differences between the new company and WWE.</strong></li><li><strong>Between the wide range of wrestling skills on display, the access given by the performers, and the return of a bit of blood, there's plenty of reasons for wrestling fans to be excited about the future of AEW.</strong></li><li><strong><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/?hprecirc-bullet">Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.</a></strong></li></ul><p>On Saturday of Memorial Day weekend, a new chapter in the world of professional wrestling began.</p><p>All Elite Wrestling's debut pay-per-view "Double or Nothing" aired live from Las Vegas, earning rave reviews from both fans in attendance and those watching at home.</p><p>All Elite Wrestling, or AEW, presents the first true stateside alternative to WWE in two decades. The brand is helmed by ex-WWE performer Cody Rhodes, who along with indie superstar tag-team The Young Bucks, and New Japan legend Kenny Omega, will serve as both performers and executives for the new promotion.</p><p>Funding the project is Shad Khan, the billionaire owner of the Jacksonville Jaguars and Fulham F.C., with his son Tony, a lifelong wrestling fan, serving <span>as president and CEO of the company.</span></p><p><span>Between its ever-growing roster of talent and announced television deal with TNT, AEW was already positioned as a new draw for wrestling fans before any action took place in the ring, but on Saturday, the promotion took things to another level with "Double or Nothing."</span></p><p><span>The show was enthralling and proved that not only can AEW draw a crowd and put on some classic matches, but that the differences between the upstart company and Vince McMahon's Goliath may play to their advantage.</span></p><p><span>Between the show itself, and the interviews given to reporters after the final bell, it's easy to see just how new a product AEW is setting out to be compared to WWE.</span></p>

You Searched For "Fulham FC" and got 11 results

Two ministers and Tory MP accepted tickets and hospitality from Roman Abramovich's Chelsea FC

Henry Dyer

A Fulham Midfielder Just Scored The Best Goal Of The Premier League Season

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According To Soccer Fans Manchester United Is Evil

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I run a soccer club I bought with 6 friends as a teen. Here's how we turned it into a TikTok sensation.

Claire Turrell

One of football's most respected voices had a brutal, blistering 3-minute takedown of plans to form a European Super League

Barnaby Lane

The NFL continues to market London Games as a spectacle event for fans in the UK, but the novelty is beginning to wear off

Barnaby Lane

There are 2 skills that will separate Christian Pulisic from other Americans who have played, and failed, in England

Barnaby Lane

Liverpool's Trent Alexander-Arnold backed a 19-year-old youngster to be the club's next star, and hailed the impact of $54 million summer signing Diogo Jota

Barnaby Lane

England's Wembley stadium is close to being sold to a US billionaire for £600 million

Trista Kelley

NFL owner Shad Khan wants the Super Bowl to be held in London, but there is a simple reason why it will likely never happen

Tyler Lauletta

All Elite Wrestling made a clear statement with its first official event - and it should put WWE on notice

Tyler Lauletta

You Searched For "Fulham FC" and got 11 results

Two ministers and Tory MP accepted tickets and hospitality from Roman Abramovich's Chelsea FC

Henry Dyer

A Fulham Midfielder Just Scored The Best Goal Of The Premier League Season

Cork Gaines

According To Soccer Fans Manchester United Is Evil

Aaron Taube

I run a soccer club I bought with 6 friends as a teen. Here's how we turned it into a TikTok sensation.

Claire Turrell

One of football's most respected voices had a brutal, blistering 3-minute takedown of plans to form a European Super League

Barnaby Lane

The NFL continues to market London Games as a spectacle event for fans in the UK, but the novelty is beginning to wear off

Barnaby Lane

There are 2 skills that will separate Christian Pulisic from other Americans who have played, and failed, in England

Barnaby Lane

Liverpool's Trent Alexander-Arnold backed a 19-year-old youngster to be the club's next star, and hailed the impact of $54 million summer signing Diogo Jota

Barnaby Lane

England's Wembley stadium is close to being sold to a US billionaire for &#163;600 million

Trista Kelley

NFL owner Shad Khan wants the Super Bowl to be held in London, but there is a simple reason why it will likely never happen

Tyler Lauletta

All Elite Wrestling made a clear statement with its first official event - and it should put WWE on notice

Tyler Lauletta

England's Wembley stadium is close to being sold to a US billionaire for £600 million