“Let’s face it, it’s a rare sport that hasn’t been through an existential crisis in recent years. From athletics to cycling and tennis to Formula One, we’ve seen almost every major sport display some pretty ugly cracks as the direct and indirect result of the massive financial pressures that now dominate the global games. Corruption, doping, match-fixing, exploitation: these are what happens when everyone wants a piece of the action, when victory is so rewarding yet increasingly costly to achieve.”
– If modern sport is educating its followers in anything, it’s how to manage resources and interpret a balance sheet, writes Emma John for The Guardian.
The Mayo team pictured before the 2003 All-Ireland senior ladies’ football championship final. Source: INPHO
“In the summer of 2003, an area which knew well the face of tragedy was haunted by it once again. While travelling from her home in Kinuary outside Westport to see two of her sisters play for Mayo against Galway in a Connacht Championship game, Aisling McGing was involved in a fatal car crash. She was just 18.”
– PJ Browne of Balls.ie tells the story of unimaginable tragedy surrounding Mayo’s triumph in the All-Ireland senior ladies’ football championship in 2003.
– Rugby’s damaging ‘us’ and ‘them’ culture on player welfare must end, writes Alex Shaw of Rugby Pass.
“The Olympic movement in Canada is one party pushing a potential bid for the 2026 Olympics in Calgary; there will be a non-binding plebiscite in November to determine if there is popular support for a bid. Canada has been a strong voice for anti-doping, but if the IOC is pushing the reinstatement of the Russian Federation, how can you speak out too strongly without wrecking your chances?”
– Going soft on Russia cripples the fight for clean sport, writes the Toronto Star’s Bruce Arthur.
Dan Byrne of Bohemians celebrates after their FAI Cup quarter-final win over Derry City on Wednesday. Source: Lorcan Doherty/INPHO
“In many ways Bohemians were a metaphor for the Celtic Tiger, living through what seemed like a golden time, winning leagues and cups, travelling across Europe for five seasons in a row. Yet while everything appeared perfect, it wasn’t. The club, like so many others in the League of Ireland before them, were living beyond their means, caught up in a complicated property sale, €7million in debt by the time the fantasies stopped and reality bit. They were nearing their darkest hour when they saw the light, their board voting to slash their annual wage bill from €1million to €140,000. In so doing, their successful manager was lost, as was the entire first team and hopes of winning anything significant. Or so we thought.”