Sports Ticker #136 - WRU scrum for survival and Women's Cricket World Cup prize boost - a speed read of commercial updates from the sports world

In a fortnight which saw Jamaica sprinting legend Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce run her final ever individual race at the 2025 World Athletics Championships in Tokyo, England Men beating South Africa by the largest margin in ODI cricket history and the sad passing of former boxing world champion Ricky Hatton, we bring you news of the $800 million antitrust lawsuit filed by the Enhanced Games, a significant increase in prize money for the Women's Cricket World Cup, and potential changes to the Welsh Rugby Union that could see two regions axed.

Boundary Breakers: Women's Cricket World Cup sees a boost in prize pot
The ICC Women's Cricket World Cup has seen a huge rise in prize funding, with the winners of the 2025 edition taking home over £300,000 more than the previous winners of the 2023 Men's World Cup. The prize for the champions of the competition now stands at £3.3 million, a 297% rise from the £980,000 that the current Women's champions Australia won in 2022. The tournament co-hosted by India and Sri Lanka will kick-off on 30 September, with the co-hosts going head-to-head in the first match. Eight teams will compete for a share of the new bumper prize pot. The 2025 edition will offer a £10.26 million prize fund overall, a raise that ICC Chairman Jay Shah described as a reflection of the Council's “clear commitment to its long-term growth”. 

Enhanced Games enters legal arena with $800 million antitrust lawsuit
The Enhanced Games, a sporting event allowing athletes to use performance enhancing substances, has filed an $800 million lawsuit against World Aquatics, The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), and USA Swimming. The Games accused the bodies of attempting to discourage participation in the 2026 event in Las Vegas. World Aquatics President Husain al-Musallam stated in June that athletes participating in the Enhanced Games, “are not welcome at World Aquatics” events. A ban on competing in both events may limit the number of stars willing to participate. The Enhanced Games will offer $1 million bonuses for breaking world records in certain events. At the 2024 World Aquatics Championships, the highest prize was $30,000. The Enhanced Games' president, Aron D’Souza, believes anti-doping rules are “outdated” and stressed the appeal of “natural” and “enhanced” athletes competing against each other. The WADA criticised “promoting the abuse of powerful substances,” which could harm athletes' health.

Netflix nets tennis royalty with exclusive rights to Six Kings Slam
Netflix has confirmed exclusive broadcast rights for the 2025 Six Kings Slam, taking place between 15 - 18 October in Saudi Arabia. The exhibition involves six of the biggest stars in men's tennis competing for a reported $6 million prize for the winner, and $1.5 million for each participant. During last year's inaugural edition, a live stream of the Nadal-Alcaraz match on the official Riyadh Season X account attracted as many as 428,000 views. Reigning champion Jannik Sinner could face fellow US Open finalist Carlos Alcaraz, after their dramatic match earlier this month. Other stars include 24-time Grand Slam champion Novak Djokovic, and former world Number 3 Stefanos Tsitsipas - replacing injured British Number 1 Jack Draper. The tournament is a significant addition to Netflix's growing live sports offering, after the streaming giant recently broadcast the Canelo vs. Crawford boxing contest to a total of 41.4 million viewers, at no extra cost to subscribers. 

Try or Die: Welsh Rugby Union continues consultation on team cut plans
The Welsh Rugby Union (WRU) gave all four Welsh professional rugby union clubs the chance to participate in the consultation period on its plans to cut two regional teams to help secure the future of the game in Wales. Cardiff, Dragons, Ospreys and Scarlets individually met with the WRU at the beginning of September to give their opinions on why two teams should not be cut from Welsh Rugby. Chief Executive Abi Tierney said in August that the Union must do “something radically different” to save the game. If cuts happen, there are likely to be job losses for players, coaches, and staff. The Union has stated that they are considering other options, and nothing has been finalised, with a report to be sent to the WRU board in October. Potential options include forming two new entities from the existing four clubs or keeping all four clubs but two becoming development sides. 

More NFL games to touch down on Sky Sports
Sky Sports has agreed a new three-year deal for NFL coverage, enhancing its broadcasting of the sport in the UK. The agreement consists of exclusive live coverage of the NFL's regular season, games held in Europe and some playoff matches. The remaining games, including the Super Bowl and games in London and Dublin will also be shown for free on Channel 5. The new deal will allow the broadcaster to increase the number of American Football games it broadcasts by almost 50%. Sky Sports will also continue to broadcast NFL RedZone in the UK, a special live NFL programme airing on Sundays which focuses on the most exciting moments of multiple simultaneous games as they happen. Head of NFL International Gerrit Meier said, “Sky Sports has been a significant part of the NFL’s growth story in the UK over the years…and we are delighted to see our expanded partnership continue.” 

Extra time...

…and finally, the 2025 Toe Wrestling Championships. Tracing back to the Neolithic period, toe wrestling has evolved from a pub activity to a competitive sport, holding World Championship competitions for both men and women. The sport boasts several stars, with Alan ‘Nasty’ Nash winning a Guinness World Record for “Most Toe Wrestling World Championships won” by a man in 2019. The rules are simple; players place their feet on a low platform (the ‘toedium’), lock big toes and attempt to pin down the opponent's foot. Matches last three to four minutes, and scoring uses a best two out of three system. The sport seems low risk, but battles have been known to result in broken toes, cracked ankles, or even a broken kneecap. Prospective toe wrestlers require skill and a high pain tolerance! As women's champion Lisa ‘Twinkletoes’ Shenton said, “your feet can take you wherever you want to go.”