Pitch orientation
Why old grounds face the way they do
Walk into any of Britain's Victorian or Edwardian football stadiums on a late afternoon in winter and the first thing that hits you is the light. At grounds like Everton's Goodison Park or…
Manchester sport: fixtures, grounds, numbers and the money round them
Updated
Access
Reading a venue’s travel plan before you go
Tottenham Hotspur Stadium imposes a one-hour exit hold on every car that enters its matchday parking. The rule is buried in the venue's travel plan…
Safe standing
How standing came back to English grounds without the terraces coming back
English football's licensed standing is not terracing by another name. Since 1 January 2022, clubs subject to the all-seater policy have been permitted to operate designated standing areas…
Capacity
What the capacity figure on a stadium page actually counts
The London Stadium lists a capacity of 66,513. West Ham United played there under a safety certificate for 62,500. In August 2016, the working capacity was…
Licensing
Which sports events need a safety certificate, and which do not
The safe capacity figure quoted in match-day reports and the conditions governing crowd movement at British sports stadiums both originate from a single local-authority document…
The wire
Newsroom feed, newest first
TYPES OF SPORTS BETTING EVOLVING
Newsroom
The Saturday blackout, as the broadcast rule sets it
14:45window opens
17:15window closes
150minutes no live UK broadcast
Source: Article 48 broadcast restriction, as cited in our fixtures piece
Sports business and betting markets, as they move
How Home-Field Advantage Influences Betting Markets
1 August 2026
Newsroom
The NCAA has reshaped both transfer timing and eligibility for Division I football
Compressing the transfer window to a fixed two-week December range while shifting to an eligibility framework that grants five years of access. 17 September 2026 The twin moves upend…
Newsroom
BetMGM and FanDuel Lead September’s Best Sports Betting Apps Rankings
For the third consecutive month, the September 2023 sports betting app rankings spotlight two titans: BetMGM and FanDuel. Across a mix of popular outlets…
Newsroom
Best Sportsbooks UK - Fast Payouts
FanDuel and DraftKings Dominate U.S. Sportsbook Market in 2024 Despite Bet365's Growing Engagement While sporting fans placed a record-breaking $12.6 billion on U.S. sportsbooks in Q1 2024…
Match officials
Reading a match official’s report
The referee's match report is where a flashpoint on the pitch becomes a case file. Long before supporters see a club statement or a disciplinary announcement…
Added time
How added time is worked out
That number glowing beside the pitch is not a countdown timer. The IFAB Laws of the Game make this explicit…
Analysis
Pace of Play: Why Tempo Matters in Totals Markets
The ball came in with 0:38 on the clock. One dribble handoff. Then a reset. Then a switch, a stall, and a late heave. No shot made. No big block. Just time. The under moved a step closer…
Heat maps
What a player heat map can and cannot tell you
A football heat map is usually a picture of ball-contact locations, not a full picture of a player's movement…
How a city bids for a major sporting event
Event bidding
Why stadium names keep changing hands
Naming rights
The 2008 programme, as the closing release reported it
£23mgenerated for the city economy
2009year the figure was published
6press releases kept in the archive
Source: Press release, 28 May 2009
Kept as published. Event programme, venue records and press releases from the season the site was built for.
Event programme
28 pages
Manchester Rugby 7s Festival
Calendar
Northwest Gymfest
Calendar
European Badminton Championships
Calendar
BT Paralympic World Cup
Calendar
Getting home
How a city’s night network changes on a big match night
The final whistle is a fiction when you are calculating a last train. In Manchester, getting home after an evening football match manchester depends on something far more chaotic than the…
Turnstiles
What a ground’s bag policy means in practice
A 20cm by 15cm by 5cm bag clears the published limit at Old Trafford yet still fails at the search team's template. Manchester United's safety policy states bags larger than 8 inches by 6…
Away ends
Where away supporters are put, and who decides
UEFA requires visiting clubs to receive at least 5 percent of stadium capacity in a dedicated sector, but the regulation that shapes where those supporters actually sit appears two articles…
Licensing
What a pub’s licence actually allows it to show
A pub can hold a valid premises licence to sell alcohol and still be breaking the law when it switches on the television for a 3pm kick-off. The gap between what landlords assume their…
This archive in numbers
113pages carried over unchanged
16venue records from 2008–09
7sections
24new pieces in this edition
Source: Count taken from the site’s own page register
Licence checks
How to check whether a betting operator is licensed
The Gambling Commission's Public Register is the only place to verify whether a betting operator holds a valid licence. A claim on a website means nothing until you match the business name…
Advertising rules
What the gambling advertising rules ban in football, and what they do not
The claim that gambling advertising is "banned in football" is wrong. What exists is a patchwork of restrictions from three separate sources — statute, advertising codes…
Betting
How To Scout The Best Blackjack Tables
Learn how to choose the right blackjack table by understanding table limits, house rules, decks in play, and overall atmosphere. Maximize your bankroll and enjoyment with these expert…
Betting
Our Guide to Casino Deposit Methods in Canada
Discover the most trusted casino deposit methods in Canada, from credit cards and e-wallets to crypto. Learn which payment options are safe, fast, and ideal for Canadian players.