Usain and Arsenal trigger a kit battle
USAIN BOLT’S retirement is going to be difficult for his kit sponsors Puma, who are also faced with losing their Arsenal deal. Puma’s five-year contract with the club has two seasons to run but the sports industry believe that adidas will be their next shirt provider.
Adidas are in desperate need of having a top London club on their supply roster having lost Chelsea to Nike, who also have Tottenham wearing the swoosh from this season.
Arsenal will be looking for something like the £60million a year that Chelsea are being paid by Nike. Bolt is being paid around £8m a year by Puma and will continue the association, but the exposure he brings will not be the same now.
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Lancashire cricket members hold their county club to account like no others and there is disquiet among the most vocal critics that board member Paul Allott has been appointed director of cricket without the role being advertised inside or outside Old Trafford. A Lancashire spokesman sidestepped the issue, saying: ‘The club are reviewing how best to support the overall cricket department. Once this review is complete, we will make an announcement.’ LONDON Mayor Sadiq Khan showed up the hapless World Championships opening ceremony cospeaker Prince Andrew — who shamelessly left after six minutes at the London Stadium — by watching the whole programme and then going backstage to congratulate Mo Farah on his 10,000m triumph. Khan (right) also returned for the second day and his enthusiasm, including mentioning the World Para Athletics Championships in his speech, was seen as encouraging for those who want to bring the Para event back to London in 2019 and need Government support to do so.
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by their absence from the opening night were any high-ranking Government MPs, especially as Whitehall had to guarantee the event before the bid. This contrasts with the London Olympics, when Jeremy Hunt and Co were so keen to be seen that their officials came dressed in suits and trainers in order to run from setting up one photo opportunity to the next. It is poor form that PM Theresa May is not scheduled to come to Stratford this week.