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Telegraph
4 hours ago
- Sport
- Telegraph
Zharnel Hughes yet to be paid by Michael Johnson's troubled Grand Slam Track league
Britain's fastest man, Zharnel Hughes, has revealed that he is still waiting on prize money from the troubled Grand Slam Track league. The new athletics competition, which Michael Johnson fronted, was cut short after three of the planned four weekends following sparse crowds in meetings in Kingston, Jamaica, Miami and Philadelphia. Hughes, who respectively won $130,000 (£96,000) across those three events, is among a large group of athletes who are understood to be collectively owed millions. Olympic 200m champion Gabby Thomas – who raced in the first three events – commented on a Grand Slam Track social media post earlier this month by saying: 'Pls pay me'. Grand Slam Track have reportedly told agents that they intend to get the prize money for the opener in Jamaica paid by the end of July and the other two fixtures by the end of September. A main draw of the competition was the prize money, with event winners each due to receive $100,000 (£74,000). As well as Hughes, British runners Matthew Hudson-Smith and Josh Kerr had respectively won $220,000 (£163,000) and $162,500 (£120,000) this year in the Grand Slam Track. Although payment for athletics events does often only arrive late in a track season, the sudden end to the Grand Slam Track season has only heightened concerns about the viability of the concept. 'My agent has been in contact with them – so it's not like I'm studying about what's going on with regards to my payment – but I do know I haven't received funds yet,' said Hughes, an Olympic, World and European Championship medallist. 'I think he did mention that the appearance fee funds did come through, but in regards to the actual race money, it hasn't come through as yet. 'I thoroughly enjoyed the competition – it helped me. In regards to the payment, it's almost like a regular season where you run a couple of Diamond League races, you run other races, and you get paid in the latter part of the season. 'I think most people are looking at it as, 'Why are we not getting paid right now?' I'm just looking to see if you get paid by August, September, the time we usually get paid by.' Asked if he would compete next year, the British 100m and 200m record holder added: 'I think a lot of the athletes that participated in it thoroughly enjoyed it ... but obviously, now that the payment has been delayed and they fell short by not having the last Grand Slam, people might be a bit more hesitant. 'It kind of sucked not having it over in Europe. Maybe, if they do go again next season, they can get some races over here in Europe because people love track and field and you won't have to worry about filling up the stadiums.'
The Independent
10 hours ago
- Business
- The Independent
How much do England women's players get paid? Lionesses' Euro 2025 prize money explained
England are once again through to the latter stages of a major international tournament but there remains a significant pay gap when it comes to what the Lionesses players are likely to earn financially this summer. England have reached a sixth consecutive major tournament semi-final - the best run of results in the team's history - and will bid to make it through to a third final in a row when they play Italy in Geneva. England won the Euros three years ago when they defeated Germany at Wembley and the Lionesses followed their first major honour by reaching the final of the Women's World Cup the next year. Before the start of Euro 2025, Uefa confirmed record prize money of €41m (£34m) for the 16-team tournament. It represents an increase of 156 per cent on the prize money offered at Euro 2022, when it stood at just €16m. England's federation received just over E2m when the Lionesses lifted Euro 2022 but the Euro 2025 champions can take home up to €5.1m, when performance bonuses are added on top of a base participation fee of €1.8m awarded to all teams at the tournament. The total prize money on offer at the men's Euro 2024 was €331m, with the champions Spain winning a maximum of €28.25m. The participation prize money for all 24 teams at the men's Euros was €9.25m. Player bonuses Before Euro 2025, Uefa's executive committee confirmed that participating teams would be required to distribute between 30 to 40 per cent of their prize money received at the tournament to the players for the first time, in a move that mirrored the agreement announced by Fifa ahead of the 2023 Women's World Cup. The Lionesses also reached an agreement with the Football Association (FA) over performance-related bonuses before the Euros, avoiding a repeat of the row that broke out in the lead up to England reaching the World Cup final two years ago. The Guardian reported that England's players would receive a collective bonus of £1.75m if they win Euro 2025. The agreement with the FA ensures that England players can receive a performance-related bonus from their national association, on top of their guaranteed cut of the prize money distributed by Uefa. Are England's players paid per match? England's players receive what is essentially a nominal fee of around £2,000 per match and there has been equal pay between the men's and women's national teams since 2020. Most donate this to charity but they are not required to. Top England internationals playing in the Women's Super League can receive annual salaries that are in the low six figures, while top England internationals in the Premier League are able to double that in one week. It was also also reported that the England men's team who reached the Euro 2024 final last summer would have shared a bonus pot of £14m had they beaten Spain in the Berlin final Of course, many Lionesses players can boost their incomes through sponsorships and paid partnerships. However, the reliance on social media to generate additional income may put some players in a difficult position at a time when members of the squad are advocating for a social media boycott following the racist abuse suffered by Jess Carter at the tournament.
Daily Mail
a day ago
- Business
- Daily Mail
Lord Coe raises concerns around Michael Johnson's Grand Slam Track with athletes still yet to be paid for first meet in April
World Athletics boss Lord Coe has voiced concerns about the conduct of Michael Johnson's Grand Slam Track, with athletes still waiting to be paid prize money months on from the competition. Johnson launched a new track series earlier this year, offering stars record prize pots of $100,000 (£74,200) for winning their category at one of the four scheduled meets. However, Grand Slam Track participants – including Britain's Zharnel Hughes - have still not received cash they were promised from the first event, which was held in the Jamaican capital of Kingston at the start of April. Money is also owed from the meets in the US cities of Miami and Philadelphia. The fourth event, which was planned for Los Angeles last month, was cancelled at late notice. 'This is not a good situation,' admitted World Athletics president Coe, whose governing body were not involved in the launch of Johnson's league and have not spoken to the US legend for 'several months'. 'It's a start-up, but the athletes do need paying. Conduct in our sport is important to us. We are following this closely. I've had conversations with individual athletes, athlete representatives and even meeting directors on this. 'It was in everybody's interest for something like this to be successful. But we were very clear that this had to be done properly and executed properly. For these things to work, they can't be vanity projects. They have to be suffused in practicality and deliverability.' Sources at Grand Slam Track insist athletes will be paid their earnings from Kingston by the end of this month, with cash from the other events following later this year. World Athletics chief executive Jon Ridgeon added: 'Grand Slam Track have asked for a little bit of time. Hopefully, in that time, it will be concluded. 'It just shows you how hard it is to launch new stuff. In any sport, it's really hard.'
The Sun
a day ago
- Sport
- The Sun
World Pool Championship 2025 LIVE RESULTS: Latest updates from record-breaking $1m spectacular in Saudi Arabia
THE World Pool Championship is finally here live from Saudi Arabia! All eyes will be on Fedor Gorst to see whether he can retain his title after a dramatic triumph over Eklent Kaci last year. And this year there is a record-breaking prize pot of $1million (£850,000) with a staggering $250,000 awaits the champion. Follow ALL of the latest updates below... 2 minutes ago By Nyle Smith Prize money This year's crown jewel of the World Nineball Tour will witness a record prize fund of $1MILLION (£850,000). And a staggering $250,000 (£185,000) awaits the champion. All eyes will be on Fedor Gorst to see whether he can retain his title after a dramatic triumph over Eklent Kaci in 2024. Or will fans witness the rise of a new World Champion? 5 minutes ago By Nyle Smith Welcome to the World Pool Championship 2025 The world's best cueists will once again battle it out for the crown jewel of the Nineball Tour as the World Pool Championship returns for 2025! Fedor Gorst held off a sensational Eklent Kaci fightback to win last year's incredible final 15-14. The Ghost seemed as if he was set to run away with the win after securing an early 3-0 lead, but a combo of misplaced shots and mistakes saw the match go into the final rack with a 13-13 score. However, an accidental scratch dashed Kaci's hopes of becoming world champion, which led to Gorst methodically clearing the table to earn his second title. It also meant that Gorst etched his name in history as the youngest ever to win multiple World Pool Championship titles. A win this year would put him level with Earl Strickland on three titles for the most ever. But the Russian-born American resident will have to compete with a field looking better than ever. Gorst's biggest rivals, such as 2024 finalist Eklent Kaci, Spanish sensation Francisco Sanchez Ruiz, Singaporean star Aloysius Yapp, American idol Shane van Boening and Scottish superstar Jayson Shaw, will all be among the 128 players in action.
Times
a day ago
- Business
- Times
Lord Coe worried by unpaid fees of Michael Johnson's Grand Slam Track
Lord Coe has said World Athletics is closely monitoring the situation amid concerns that Michael Johnson's Grand Slam Track league still owes athletes millions of dollars in prize money and appearance fees. Johnson, the former Olympic sprint champion and now BBC pundit, had to cancel the fourth leg of the new league in Los Angeles at the end of June because of financial issues, sparked, not least, by poor attendances in the first three events. As The Times revealed earlier this month, track stars are still waiting on payments due after the opening event in Jamaica at the beginning of April. Indeed, an email from a Grand Slam Track official to agents chasing the money on behalf of their clients promised payment for the Jamaica meet by the end of this month and the following two events, in Miami and Philadelphia, by the end of September. Even so, there is talk of them owing as much as $13million with key stakeholders also as yet unpaid.
