All my Boxing Day experiences are about the outdoors. As a young adult in my native Brighton, my brother Daniel and I, along with some friends, had a routine.
In the morning it would be a visit to the dog track in Hove to freshen up during the annual holiday gathering.
Then back to my parents’ house for chicken soup and cold turkey before heading to the old Goldstone Ground to watch Brighton & Hove Albion, then usually in the old Second Division.
Later in married life, when holidays were spent with my wife’s family in Cardiff, the routine was different. We would make the short journey to nearby Caerphilly to watch the hunt begin, all bright red coats, ruddy faces and beautifully trimmed horses, and a pack of hounds. Then we went out for a walk through the hills.
Sports on the day after Christmas are now dominated by Premier League matches, much as the National Football League (NFL) occupies the Thanksgiving holiday in the US.
The Americanization of Premier League football continues apace, with eleven clubs now American-owned and Everton now fully controlled by Houston-based The Friedkin Group. We have already seen at Chelsea, under Todd Boehly, how American ownership brings a new perspective to management.
Game Changing: Chelsea, led by Todd Boehly, shows American ownership in action
The free and easy transfer system in Europe means that short-term thinking prevails at most clubs.
Managers come and go, and players’ contracts have been short, requiring constant renewal.
Fenway Sports Group is learning this this season at Liverpool’s expense. Success on the playing field is offset by aging assets such as defender Virgil van Dijk.
Longevity is cherished in America – and precious. The owner of the New York Mets baseball franchise, hedge fund billionaire Steve Cohen, just spent $756 million luring Juan Soto – the current Lionel Messi of the major leagues – to the Yankees’ other city on a contract from 15 years. .
The last major deal in baseball occurred when Todd Boehly, the same person, lured Japanese superstar all-arounder Shohei Ohtani to the Los Angeles Dodgers for $700 million over ten years. It seems to be paying off. The Dodgers comfortably won the World Series in 2024.
Boehly and colleagues received a lot of criticism when they arrived at Chelsea FC. A decision to sign expensive signings such as Ecuadorian midfielder Moisés Caicedo and bright young star Cole Palmer on contracts of seven years or more was seen as bizarre.
However, it brought two advantages. The cost of the asset, the player, can be amortized over several years, thus circumventing the Premier League’s Fair Play rules. It also brought winning stability to the playing staff.
The race for money: Private equity giant CVC is running Formula 1 and changing racing
All sports have something to learn from the American approach.
The masters of the financialization of sport are in the London offices of private equity barons CVC.
Techniques developed in Formula 1 are being adapted to a range of sports around the world.
These include sports such as women’s tennis, volleyball, Six Nations Rugby and many more. The opportunities to monetize sports through social media platforms, TV streaming, and commercial and franchise rights have multiplied.
Greyhound racing may have been sidelined by animal rights activists, but there is no shortage of other athletics companies ready for a financial makeover.