SPORTS AGENDA: Man United see off Man City when it comes to England!

SPORTS AGENDA: At least Manchester United see off Man City when it comes to England! PLUS, Peter Drury steps up to replace Martin Tyler as Sky Sports’ new voice of football

• England chose to train at Manchester United’s Carrington ahead of qualifier
• Sky Sports select Peter Drury to take over lead commentary role next season
• And the Olympics is fighting over the addition of sports to the LA programme 

It was interesting to see England training at Manchester United’s Carrington base rather than Manchester City’s Etihad Campus ahead of Monday’s Euro qualifier against North Macedonia at Old Trafford.

Agenda understands that Gareth Southgate’s men were due to practise at City’s HQ given its proximity to the city centre Lowry Hotel, where the group have been staying. However, due to the late finish of City’s season and its impact on their summer renovation plans, United stepped in at short notice.

Subsequently, players trained at Carrington over the weekend while media duties were also carried out there. 

Southgate’s squad were given use of all first-team facilities, including the recently-refurbished swimming pool and sauna (criticised by Cristiano Ronaldo before he left) along with the upgraded canteen.

With around a fortnight’s notice, some staff at United broke off from summer holidays to help look after the Three Lions. They may well hope that the facilities — along with ongoing upgrade work — will have caught the eye of potential targets within Southgate’s squad.

England chose to train at Manchester United’s Carrington base instead of their city rivals

Drury to replace Tyler as Sky’s new voice of football

Peter Drury is to replace Martin Tyler at Sky Sports. In what may well prove to be a popular move, the 55-year-old, currently the voice of the Premier League on US broadcaster NBC Sports, is set to become Sky’s main commentator after Tyler, 77, did not see his contract renewed.

Drury, who began his career on local radio in Leeds, is held in high regard by many and was viewed as a natural successor to Tyler, who departed after 33 years at Sky.

Drury will continue to broadcast to US audiences on Saturday, given NBC are owned by Comcast, which owns Sky. He will take the main match on Sunday, Monday or midweek.

Tyler, one of the game’s iconic voices, exited with little fanfare. It is understood Sky bosses, who confirmed Drury’s arrival after Mail Sport broke the story, would have liked to have given Tyler an on-air tribute, but the sore throat which stopped him from commentating on Manchester City’s trophy lift prevented the broadcaster from doing so.

Peter Drury will lead Sky Sports football commentaries next season after Martin Tyler’s axe

Olympic tug of war over LA’s new sports 

Tensions are mounting between the IOC and LA28 Olympic organisers over the addition of new sports (an LA28 decision) and new disciplines for existing sports (an IOC decision) for the Games programme, Agenda understands.

The IOC’s decision regarding new disciplines is to be made this month, before LA28 are due to choose new sports — by which point strict quotas on the total number of athletes allowed may leave LA28 with limited options. Sports such as flag football (non-contact American Football), cricket and baseball, are among those considered — which they believe will add to the commercial appeal of the Games.

However, LA28, led by agency world giant Casey Wasserman, are believed to be pushing the IOC very hard to allow the decision on new disciplines and sports to be worked out in parallel.

Olympic watchers predict some serious horse-trading, with modern pentathlon a potential bargaining chip, and heated arguments between those looking to grow established sports and the LA28 new sports lobby.

Wasserman rarely loses in these kinds of negotiations so we can expect to see flag football and baseball joining the Games as well as at least two other sports.

Battling over additional sports and disciplines for the LA Olympics in 2028 is underway

Huge summer of cricket 

Sky Sports are now providing commentary on some T20 Blast matches from the studio rather than the ground itself. It will be interesting to see if the same approach is taken towards the Hundred, when it begins in August.

The widespread view is that broadcasters and schedulers have bent over backwards for the new competition which has — shock — failed to catch on internationally and repay that time and effort.

There are rumours it could be replaced by a new, two-tier T20 competition, something that cannot come quickly enough. Sky insiders believe the Hundred has reached new audiences and in a huge summer of cricket, including a double Ashes, have put the move down to the logistical issues created by that.

No action over Craven Cottage incident 

Readers may recall the curious incident at Fulham’s Craven Cottage which made the back page of the Daily Mail in March of 2021, in which a mobile phone was discovered strapped to a broadcaster’s platform ahead of a match with Tottenham. 

Suspicions were raised over the presence of two suit-wearing men who were spotted loitering inside the ground and, following the find, police launched an investigation. 

That has now concluded with no arrests and no further action, Metropolitan Police have said. It may be reopened pending the arrival of further evidence. 

No further action will be taken after a mysterious mobile was found at Craven Cottage in 2021

Healthy interest in athletics 

Cash-strapped UK Athletics have been through the mill in recent months, amid losses of £1.8million and redundancies. 

However, with over 40,000 tickets already sold for next month’s Diamond League meeting at the London Stadium, it does at least show that there is healthy interest in the sport — and that it still needs a venue big enough to host its marquee events. 

Team GB athletes getting ready for Olympics 

Britain’s Olympic athletes are making the most of their proximity to host city Paris ahead of next year’s Games.

Team GB’s elite swimmers will spend the next week in Reims, which will also be their preparation camp venue ahead of the Games next summer.

Team GB athletes will make full use of close proximity to Paris to prepare for next year’s Games

The training camp will provide a combination of practice for their upcoming World Championships, as well as a chance to familiarise themselves with what will be their home-from-home in France next year.

Later this month, British gymnasts will also head out to Reims to test Team GB’s preparation facilities, while modern pentathlon stars will head to Team GB’s other pre-Games base in Saint Germain-en-Laye.

Turkish officials’ Champions League boast

At the traditional dinner on the eve of the Champions League final, Turkish officials waxed lyrical to dignitaries and bosses from Manchester City and Inter Milan over how impressive Istanbul was. 

On top of that, they boasted how the successful staging of the flagship event would showcase the city for future Olympics and World Cup bids. 

If anything, the utter shambles that unfolded — with fans forced to walk to the ground thanks to a not-fit-for-purpose infrastructure — will have had the opposite effect. 

Paul Dickov is director and football ambassador for new rights holders Propel Sports Africa

Nigerian football deal 

A firm based in Manchester has announced a £3.9m deal to broadcast Nigerian Premier Football League matches around the globe.

Propel Sports Africa, who have City legend Paul Dickov as a director and football ambassador, will stream games for the next four years.

The deal has been made possible by the arrival of low-cost cameras that can produce high-quality coverage at a fraction of the traditional cost. 

Eighty per cent of top-tier games will be shown from a country whose population stands at 213million — with 17million ex-pats overseas. Industry insiders believe it may be game-changing.

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