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Telegraph
2 minutes ago
- Telegraph
Lionesses' never-say-die attitude driven by new approach to team bonding
Before the start of Euro 2025, England manager Sarina Wiegman asked each of her players to share a personal story about their journey in football. For some, it was about the lack of opportunities to play when they were growing up. For others, there were more emotional anecdotes of some of the hardships and struggles they have faced along the way. Wiegman's aim was to bring her players closer together before heading to Switzerland to defend their European Championship title and, as they prepare to take on Italy in Tuesday's semi-final, it is a tactic that appears to have paid dividends. This week defender Jess Carter opened up on how she has been inundated with racist abuse on social media throughout the tournament. England's players released a joint statement condemning the 'online poison' and have decided they will no longer take the knee before matches. Carter, who has stepped away from social media as a result, has received the full support and backing from her team-mates. 'I think if anything it's probably brought us together as a team,' Georgia Stanway said. 'We've made ourselves very vulnerable' Being vulnerable and sharing experiences is something Wiegman has actively encouraged. Beth Mead and Ella Toone have spoken openly about their shared grief over losing a parent. Mead's mother, June, died from ovarian cancer in 2023 while Toone's father, Nick, passed away from prostate cancer last year. Before the tournament, Lucy Bronze opened up for the first time about her autism and ADHD diagnoses while Chloe Kelly spoke out about her unhappiness and struggles with mental health during her time at Manchester City. 'I think we've made ourselves very vulnerable, whether it's individually, Sarina herself has made herself really vulnerable, staff, players,' Mead told the BBC. 'I think that gives us so much more togetherness, so much more trust in each other, that we're willing to share really tough moments with each other and how can we help each other. 'I'm super proud of how we've dealt with that as a squad. In the past I think teams I've been a part of might not have been able to do that so positively and quickly in hard moments. 'I think Sarina has really instilled that into us as a team. She's got our back, we've got her back. You can see that in the way we've come back in performances when it's not gone quite right but we still give that proper England attitude.' 'It brings the group so much closer together' The Lionesses had to come back from two goals down against Sweden and then through a chaotic penalty shoot-out to reach the semi-final stage. Wiegman said after the game that it was a sign that her team are 'never done' and players have put a large part of that never-say-die attitude down to the team spirit they have fostered. 'I think being vulnerable is probably one of the most important things because it brings the group so much closer together,' Stanway said. 'I think when times are tough on the pitch, you want to be able to rely on your team-mates and you want to be able to look at them in both good and bad and understand that you're both on the right journey and you're both on the right path to exactly what you want at the end, which is to win.
Daily Mail
2 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Inside Daniel Dubois' 'insane' house party before defeat by Oleksandr Usyk - with 'people he didn't know' causing major 'disruption' to his preparation
Footage has emerged of Daniel Dubois ' insane' 70-person house party thrown in the hours before his defeat by Oleksandr Usyk on Saturday. Other boxers have blasted the bash - which was reportedly thrown by his father for people Dubois did not know - as a 'disruptive' interference with his day. As it happened, Dubois was knocked out by Usyk in the fifth round at Wembley as he lost out on the chance to become the undisputed heavyweight champion of the world. Videos from the party show Dubois smiling and posing for photos with attendees, with dozens of people packed into the house and overflowing onto the property's driveway. The Times reported that Dubois' father, Stanley, grew 'agitated' that his son was apparently set to bank £150million, when the actual fee was around £10m, and threw a lavish occasion at their family mansion in Essex. Later, Stanley requested extra vehicles to take the entourage to Wembley, with only one of the vehicles accredited to park, meaning Daniel had to walk to the stadium on foot. Stanley also reportedly threatened that his son would not go ahead with the fight if his expanded posse was not allowed in. @fightermagazine Videos from Team Dubois' 70 person house party have emerged, showing the boxer being recorded by multiple people before the biggest night of his career, fighting for the undisputed heavyweight title 😬🥊 You have to feel for Dubois, as it seems his team have let him down in a big way in what should be a time of extreme focus ⭐️ #dubois #fyp #boxing🥊 #usykdubois #fightermagazine ♬ original sound - fightermagazine On talkSPORT, other boxers could scarcely believe what they were hearing as Simon Jordan related what had happened to them. 'That is insanely disruptive,' said Joseph Parker. 'I'm very surprised, I'm shocked. That many people over? You're preparing for a massive fight. 'You need rest, you need to chill, you need to get in the zone,' and he's got this big party happening. Lawrence Okolie concurred: 'The problem is, it's coming from someone that he looks (to) out of the ring. It's coming from his dad. 'I've trained with him, his dad's a huge part of his life, so that is obviously going to be disruptive.' Spencer Oliver added: 'We're talking about fighters being regimental and superstitious on the day, some fighters want to wear a ring in their laces and all that stuff. 'It all has to be on point for you to go in there, any little thing can throw you off track.' Dynamite was always going to be up against it taking on Usyk, who has since been crowned one of the best three heavyweights ever by Mail Sport's Jeff Powell. It has emerged that Stanley had a party on the day and took Dubois to Wembley himself - with the boxer having to walk some of the way rather than park up outside The British fighter faced the toughest test of his career in the national stadium, suffering defeat for just the third time as a professional - with one of the other two also coming against the Ukrainian, who is 11 years his senior. He was given a slight chance of victory by some punters on the back of his demolition of Anthony Joshua last autumn, but many had backed Usyk to get the job done once again and unify the heavyweight division for a second time. Dubois needed his preparation to be perfect, and, according to The Times, it wasn't - with the 27-year-old thought to have only arrived at Wembley less than 90 minutes before he was set to walk to the ring. It is thought he arrived at around 8:20pm, with events surrounding his father thought to have triggered the chaotic build-up. He is said to have even left the house party at one stage to go for a drive, perhaps in a bid to clear his head. Dubois' journey to the stadium was reportedly delayed after Stanley requested extra vehicles to take the entourage to the venue, and Dubois was taken to the venue by Stanley, with only one of the vehicles accredited. That resulted in Dubois walking to the stadium on foot, with his dad having parked in the car park. A video clip is reported to show Stanley heavily involved in the entrance to the stadium, with the former champion's father reportedly threatening that Dubois would not proceed if his entourage was not allowed in. Stanley was in Dubois' corner during the fight. He threw in the towel when his son was knocked down by Usyk for a second time - with the bout coming to an end in the fifth round. Stanley, whose real name is Dave, homeschooled Dubois as a child and has played a huge part in his rise to the top of boxing. Speaking in a lengthy interview with The Times, Daniel, alongside his Stanley, revealed the brutal yet enjoyable training program he had been put on as a child which included laps around their council estate and never ending push-ups which left visible scars. The workouts began when he was about five years old with his father running a disciplined ship. 'My dad put a lot of work into me, so I got the full brunt of the force. He's not crazy strict, he's just disciplined,' he said. Although the family was living in a council estate during Dubois' upbringing, it didn't stop Stanley from implementing a tough training regime. The dad of 11, including Caroline Dubois - the interim WBC women's lightweight champion - managed to get very inventive when it came to ensuring his son reached his peak both mentally and physically.
The Guardian
2 minutes ago
- The Guardian
Manchester City's record £1bn deal with Puma and the value beyond bottom line
Manchester City had a billion reasons to celebrate the new kit deal with Puma announced last week, yet beyond the bottom line the value of the contract may prove priceless. The Guardian has learned that the 10-year deal, worth £1bn, contains clauses giving the German sportswear manufacturer options to extend the partnership way beyond that, but most significant to City may be what Puma's endorsement and huge financial commitment say to independent brands and the Premier League about the club's value. The Premier League has twice accused City of using related-party companies to artificially inflate the value of their sponsorship revenue. It blocked proposed deals with Etihad Airways and First Abu Dhabi Bank in 2023, sparking an acrimonious legal battle that remains ongoing. In a significant victory for the club, an independent panel ruled in February that the Premier League's associated party transaction (APT) rules in operation at that time were 'void and unenforceable'. City have since launched a legal challenge against amended APT regulations voted through by 16 clubs last November. Another independent panel is expected to rule on that matter later this year, with City reserving the right to sue the Premier League, depending on the outcome. The kit deal with Puma could prove an extremely useful weapon in City's armoury, as well as opening the door to other lucrative contracts, which has not gone unnoticed at other clubs. 'This is a huge deal for City, in terms of what it says about the size of the club and their ability to attract independent sponsors,' a senior executive at another club told the Guardian. 'City have submitted two legal challenges to the Premier League's APT rules after having two sponsorship deals blocked. But maybe those deals weren't overvalued after all?' The reported value of the Puma deal has attracted some scepticism because, at £100m a year, it is a huge rise on City's existing £65m-a-year Puma contract. The increase does not reflect City's recent merchandising sales which, according to figures collated by Uefa, brought in £69m last year, just over half the revenue generated by Manchester United and Liverpool, and far behind the world leaders, Real Madrid, whose merchandising income was £170m. City's ability to generate more than the £90m and £60m annual payments United and Liverpool will receive from Adidas next season has been widely questioned given their north-west rivals have larger global fanbases, but independent experts are adamant that Puma would not overpay. 'Puma's strategy is based upon having a smaller number of iconic clubs so Manchester City fits this profile,' Ricardo Fort, a former head of sponsorship at Coca-Cola and Visa who now runs his own consultancy firm, told the Guardian. 'They also have kit deals with other clubs in the City Football Group, including Palermo and Melbourne, but City will be their priority. 'Puma are very disciplined about what they will pay for sponsorship deals so will not have overpaid, or at least not by more than they had to. They are very rigorous.' Puma's relationship with City goes back to 2019, when they signed a group-wide deal that also covered Melbourne City, Girona FC, Club Atlético Torque and Sichuan Jiuniu FC. Despite this Puma had to beat off rival offers from Adidas and Nike to agree an extension, which may also go some way towards explaining its value. Sign up to Football Daily Kick off your evenings with the Guardian's take on the world of football after newsletter promotion City's income and global profile have also increased significantly since 2019 on the back of the extraordinary achievements of Pep Guardiola's side, who have won 14 major trophies, including four Premier League titles in a row, and in 2023 became the second English team to claim the treble. In their annual report published last December, City announced a Premier League record revenue of £715m for the 2023-24 season, with commercial income accounting for £344.7m. Over the past five years City's revenue has grown by 50%, an increase which broadly tallies with the value of the Puma contract. For branding expert Marcel Knobil of BrandGuru, the partnership makes sense. 'Brands want to be associated with success and Manchester City can boast a record that no other club has achieved,' he said. 'The club also has an extremely wealthy owner behind it, which will also provide some future-assurance for Puma. Kit sponsors want teams to be both successful and packed with stars – and only deep pockets can secure the latter.' Puma's renewed commitment is also a confidence boost for City while they await the verdict of the Premier League's 130-plus charges related to alleged breaches of financial fair play rules. Numerous industry sources told the Guardian that the contract would almost certainly include so-called 'bad faith clauses' enabling Puma to terminate if the club are found guilty of serious wrongdoing. City declined to comment. The club have denied the charges, so do not consider early termination to be a possibility.
