Juan Mata-backed investment group Mercury13 is in advanced negotiations about buying a stake in Spanish top-flight women’s club Levante Badalona.
Mercury13, which bought FC Como Women in 2024 before investing in WSL2 club Bristol earlier this year, has pledged $100m to build a global portfolio of clubs, with Badalona earmarked to be its next investment.
The group was founded by American-Argentine businesswoman Victoire Cogevina Reynal with a mission to increase female ownership of sports franchises, but has also attracted investment from leading figures in the men’s game, including Mata and former Italy defender Giorgio Chiellini.
After acquiring women’s clubs in Italy and England, Mercury13 has also held talks with Espanyol in Spain, but Levante Badalona is understood to have emerged as its preferred option. Mercury13 declined to comment.
Boehly-linked Vivid Seats escapes touting ban
Chelsea owner Todd Boehly’s involvement in Vivid Seats, the US-based online ticket marketplace, will be unaffected by the government’s planned clampdown on ticket touting as the company does not operate in the UK.
While Vivid Seats conducts the unauthorised resale of tickets to sporting events in this country, including Chelsea matches, the proposed ban on resales above face value to be introduced in next year’s Kings Speech will only apply to transactions taking place in the UK.
The Premier League wrote to Chelsea earlier this year seeking clarification on Boehly’s role at Vivid Seats, which permits overseas users to tout tickets for up to tens of thousands of pounds, on which it charges a service fee of between 20 to 40 per cent, but is not believed to have taken any action.
Red Bulls pledges £30m to Newcastle
Red Bull has committed to investing at least £30m over five years at its Prem Rugby outfit Newcastle, according to sources with knowledge of last summer’s takeover.
Other than removing director of rugby Steve Diamond, Red Bull has made a slow start in the north east, with Alan Dickens’ side losing all five of their league matches.
But after picking up the club cheaply the energy drink brand has pledged to make significant long-term improvements to the stadium, training ground, playing squad and academy.
The sale of Newcastle to Red Bull involved previous owner Semore Kurdi cutting his losses, which amounted to tens of millions of pounds.
TV ratings boost for rebranded Prem
The rebranded Gallagher Prem is achieving impressive growth in TV audiences this season, with viewing figures on TNT Sports over the opening five rounds up by an average of 35 per cent on 12 months ago, and growth in every slot.
Leicester v Bath last month attracted TNT’s biggest ever audience for Premiership Rugby at around 250,000. Viewing figures for the Saturday 3pm kick-off were particularly high at 51 per cent up on last season, justifying the broadcaster’s decision to axe its football live scores show, The Score.
TNT’s audiences last season were up 11 per cent up on the previous campaign so the growing interest in the English top flight appears well established.
Sky to show over 1,600 games next season
Sky Sports’ successful bid for Europa League and Conference League TV rights will increase the broadcaster’s football offering to 1,616 matches from 2025 – an average of four and a half games for each day of the year.
Sky increased its Premier League coverage by 70 per cent to 215 live matches this season, is halfway through a five-year deal with the EFL to screen 1,059 games each term until 2029, and has now picked up 342 European fixtures for four seasons beginning in 2027-28.
In addition, Sky is also the main rights partner for the Women’s Super League, with 118 games shown live each season, so its main challenge will be how to accommodate so many fixtures in their schedule.
Ashes a walkover… for broadcaster
Cricket fans cursing TNT Sports’ Ashes coverage would do well to remember that Sky Sports, who are rightly viewed as setting the gold standard for live sports coverage, declined multiple invitations to bid for Cricket Australia’s rights package.
Sky’s priority during the winter is football, while at the time of the Cricket Australia tender 12 months ago the broadcaster was also focused on renewing its rights to PDC darts, which it subsequently did by signing a five-year deal through to 2030.
As a result, TNT picked up the Ashes for England’s third tour in succession with little competition, extending a portfolio that includes rights to home Test matches played by India, New Zealand, West Indies and Pakistan.
Serie A apes Premier League’s Genius move
The Premier League’s data and technology partner, Genius Sports, has landed the contract to implement semi-automated offside technology (SAOT) in Brazil for the first time.
SAOT will be used in Brazil’s Serie A and domestic cup from next season, using tracking data and mesh-based technology powered by a system called Genius IQ.
Genius began a four-year contract as the Premier League’s official data supplier in 2024, but SAOT was only introduced towards the end of last season due to delays in the testing process. An announcement is expected later this week.