Friday SPORTS Business Roundup

Happy Friday! Below are some of this weeks sports business talking points, hope you enjoy and find this insightful.

Nottingham Forest signed over 20 players this transfer window, but how will this stand with FFP?

Nottingham Forest have gone on a spending spree to a level never seen in the Premier League. This is of course very exciting for Forest supporters to see they’re being backed so heavily by Evangelos Marinakis, who is the club’s owner. However, this has raised a number of questions in terms of financial fair play (FFP) requirements. Clubs have a capped permitted loss of ￡105 million over an accounting period of three-years.?

Kieran Maguire, football finance expert and lecturer at the University of Liverpool, has evaluated the clubs spending spree, and explains why their massive spending may not be as big a concern as many think. He points out that Forest had significant room on the wage bill after a number of players' contracts expired and loan players returned to their parent clubs.

"When the club was promoted they had quite a few players out of contract and they also had quite a few loan players, so they were undercooked. They did not have a big enough squad, so there was room to substantially increase the wage budget.” - Kieran Maguire, the Price of Football podcast. Overall, as of the moment Nottingham Forest are not under a great deal of pressure, thanks to a lot of outgoings and free space on the wage bill.?

Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy’s TMRW Sports announces TGL, is this an attempt to capture a new audience?

Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy’s TMRW Sports announces TGL, a new tech-infused golf league in partnership with the PGA Tour. It will feature six teams of three PGA Tour players beginning in January 2024.

McIlroy described it as a great opportunity for PGA tour players to showcase a different side to themselves, in much different settings to that on the course. He also described it as a good brand exposure opportunity with goals of engaging younger audiences to golf.

The plan is for 18 holes to be played over 2 hours on prime time Monday night TV. In a similar sense to Premier League MNF (Monday night football) you may be looking at Monday night golf as an alternative as of 2024.

Audi join Formula 1 as an engine supply, but are they prepared for the challenge of F1?

Red Bull boss Christian Horner has said Audi faces a stern challenge to get up to standard when they enter F1 as an engine manufacturer for 2026. In the lead-up to last weekend’s Belgian Grand Prix, Audi made the long-awaited announcement that they will join Formula 1 from 2026 – the German manufacturer will become a new engine supplier. The FIA also recently confirmed the plans for the 2026 engine regulations, with these being critical to the Volkswagen Group’s decision to enter the sport.?

Yet to confirm a team with whom they’ll align with, or supply, Audi have begun work on their power unit with a new facility in Neuburg already boasting 120 employees, headed by former Cosworth and BMW engineer Adam Baker.

Christian Horner, who is overseeing the development of Red Bull’s own engine programme as their Powertrains division also looks ahead to 2026, has said F1 won’t be an easy task for Audi – despite their tremendous successes in other motorsports such as the World Endurance Championship and Dakar. “You absolutely shouldn’t underestimate the scale of the challenge,” he told the media during the Belgian Grand Prix weekend. What impact might Audi have on the F1 field? Are Audi undermining the challenge of a seat on the F1 table?