Sports Ticker #133: Snoop Dogg snaps up Swansea City stake and the UK goes mad-dle for Padel - a speed read of commercial updates from the sports world

In a fortnight which saw the Lionesses claim a second consecutive victory at the Euros, the Football Governance Act pass into law and establish a new independent regulator for the sport, and the hotly anticipated decision in the Seraing case, we bring you news on Padel’s meteoric rise as the number of dedicated UK courts tops a thousand, a look at Metro Bank’s latest campaign in aid of women’s and girls’ cricket, and a curious peek at Snoop Dogg’s foray into the world of Championship football.

X Gon’ Give It To You: Burnley FC teams up with social media giant

Fresh off promotion to the Premier League, Burnley FC has announced a multi-year partnership with X (formerly Twitter) marking the club’s first ever Strategic Digital Platform Partnership. The deal aims to boost fan engagement, and global reach, with the highlight being the UK's first ever X Originals series: a 20-episode series which will follow Burnley’s first-team players, management and backroom staff as they embark on their 2025/26 campaign. “Community is at the heart of everything that we do”, commented Burnley’s Chairman, Alan Pace, following the announcement, “so partnering with X enables us to expand that community even further and bring our passionate fanbase closer together, while growing our visibility with new digital audiences”. Will the partnership give the club, which already boasts over 800,000 followers on X, the boost it desires? Or should the side lower its X-pectations?

LTA puts Padel to the metal as number of UK courts surpasses 1,000
Padel is officially mainstream. According to the Lawn Tennis Association (LTA) the UK now has over 1,000 dedicated Padel courts, with rackets flying and glass walls gleaming across more than 325 venues around the country. Whilst Padel has some catching up to do when compared to the estimated more than 24,000 tennis courts across the country, it marks a huge leap from the comparatively tiny 68 courts recorded in 2019, much of it driven by over £6 million in funding from the LTA. But the real focus is on access. As noted by Tom Murray, Head of Padel at the LTA, the aim is to grow a diverse coaching base and support British talent: “we now want to focus on the sustained development of the sport, opening it up to more and different people”. Currently, over 75% of venues actively engage in community outreach initiatives, from school partnerships to free coaching, but it’s hoped the figure will grow even larger as the sport becomes more commonplace. With both GB teams reaching the final eight at this year’s FIP Euro Padel Cup, Padel’s future is looking bright; it’s no wonder that courts are filling up fast.

Batter believe it: Metro Bank and ECB launch women's cricket campaign
Metro Bank has teamed up with the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) to launch ‘Seeing is Believing’, a campaign aimed at increasing visibility and participation in women’s and girls’ cricket in the UK. By teaming up with Getty Images, the two have created a professional photo bank of female players, coaches and grassroot cricket which can be accessed for free through Getty’s #ShowUs collection. Local cricket clubs will have access to the photos via the CB Resource Hub, which they can use across their social media channels to promote their clubs and attract new talent. The campaign was developed in response to Metro Bank’s own research which found that a striking 68% of UK females aged 7+ would be inspired to try a new sport if they saw people like themselves represented visually. 41% of the respondents recognised a “lack of high-quality imagery” as a barrier to entry with another 20% of respondents not having seen any images of women or girls playing cricket in the prior 12 months. The campaign builds on the Metro Bank Girls in Cricket Fund, which was launched in May 2024 with an aim to triple the number of domestic girls’ crickets teams by the end of 2026.

Match Point: Top players on the cusp of victory in Grand Slam discussions
In what marks the latest episode in a turbulent year for the sport, organisers of the Grand Slams are understood to be prepared to make concessions to some of the game’s top ranked professionals following discussions which have been ongoing since May. The players, including Wimbledon champion Jannik Sinner and Roland Garros victor Coco Gauff, have made a number of demands of the Grand Slam chiefs, including calling for a greater proportion of their revenues to be shared in prize money, requesting contributions from the organisers to player healthcare, pensions and maternity pay, and asking for a formal say in decisions relating to tournament scheduling. While the extent of the concessions is not clear, it is reported that the All England Club is open to contributing toward player pensions and healthcare for the very first time, with comparable compromises supposedly contemplated by figureheads for the Australian, French and US Opens. It has been a challenging year for tennis organisers, who still face a potential anti-trust action by the Professional Tennis Players Association, a players’ union co-founded by Novak Djokovic in 2020 (see Sports Ticker #124 for more on that).

Government enacts Football Governance Act: How will clubs react?
The Football Governance Act (FGA) has officially passed into law, marking the dawn of a new age in English football governance. The Act, which MPs voted into life by a majority of 415 votes to 98, will see the introduction of an Independent Football Regulator (IFR) to oversee the top five tiers of men’s domestic football later this year. The FGA, which was proposed following a fan-led review of football governance back in 2021, intends to address financial sustainability and resilience in men’s football in England. To address these matters and “safeguard the heritage of English football”, the new IFR will be granted a number of hefty regulatory powers, which include: stronger Owners’ and Directors’ Tests in the men’s game to ensure individuals are suitable for the job and using financial resources appropriately; the right to prohibit men’s clubs from joining breakaway leagues and competitions; developing means for fans to properly engage in club-decision making; and last resort backstop powers to ensure fair financial redistribution takes place between the various men’s leagues. Although clubs will have the opportunity to discuss the newly proposed rules and input their thoughts before the IFR takes full control, it’s clear the Government isn’t playing around with the future of the beautiful game. 

Extra time...

…and finally, in one of the more unlikely team-ups of the year, West Coast hip-hop legend Snoop Dogg has joined Croatian footballing icon Luka Modrić as the newest co-owner of Swansea City A.F.C. In a twelve months which has seen the rapper take on the role of US mascot at the Paris Olympic Games, claim a place on Time Magazine’s list of 100 most influential people and even find time to release his twenty-first studio album, Snoop has now turned his attention to what he hopes will be a successful stint as part owner of a Championship football team. According to the man himself, “My love of football is well known, but it feels special to me that I make my move into club ownership with Swansea City… the story of the club and the area really struck a chord with me. This is a proud, working class city and club. An underdog that bites back, just like me”. Will Snoop’s investment see the Swans take a bite at victory next season, or is the singer barking up the wrong tree? Stay tuned.