JPMorgan confirmed on Monday that it is financing the nascent European Super League, a breakaway group featuring 12 of Europe’s biggest football clubs that threatens to shake up the sport.

Six Premier League teams – Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur – are involved in the deal, alongside AC Milan, Atletico Madrid, Barcelona, Inter Milan, Juventus and Real Madrid.

Each of the clubs will receive a one-off payment of €3.5 billion ($4.5 billion) for their participation in the League. Organisers stated that a further three founding members would be announced, with five places left open to qualifying teams each year.

"I can confirm that we are financing the deal, but have no further comment at the moment," a spokesperson for JPMorgan said in a statement to AFP.

The announcement of the Super League appeared to be timed to pre-empt UEFA’s scheduled unveiling of widespread reforms to the Champions League on Monday. The move has been met with widespread criticism from UEFA and the Premier League, as well as UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who has promised to “make sure” that the European Super League “doesn’t go ahead in the way that it’s currently being proposed.”

The Premier League said in a statement: ““A European Super League will undermine the appeal of the whole game, and have a deeply damaging impact on the immediate and future prospects of the Premier League and its member clubs, and all those in football who rely on our funding and solidarity to prosper.”

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Shares in Juventus rose 10% in early trading on Monday, while Manchester United stock slipped 0.6%.

Wait a minute — before you delve deep into the coverage options at your disposal, there are a few things that you need to keep in mind. Here’s your checklist for buying personal liability insurance; rather, here are a few things you must ask yourself before purchasing an insurance plan.

Does It Aid You, Oh Globetrotter?

Oftentimes, your insurance does not cover liabilities taking place anywhere but locally. While the average insurance provider will not be concerned with travelling, we know the importance of it. Travelling is an addictive yet life-changing interest to possess. Not just that, logically most people travel in some form or fashion, and staying insured during such times seems like the smarter thing to do.

For this, you need to check whether your insurance provider covers liabilities that take place off-premise. In other words, check whether your liability coverage is spanned across more than just local areas. Planning your finances is an arduous task, especially if you like to travel, and liability coverages here are a lot trickier. Try not to acquire insurances that do not cover such damages, even if they come with more benefits. Unless you are someone who likes to be burdened by the weight of the four walls surrounding you, global coverage is quintessential.

Are You Sporty Enough?

Try not to take this in the literal sense of the term. We are in no way asking you to get personal liability coverage just because one fine day you would want to go putt-putt. Think of it this way—you decide to practice throwing a ball in your backyard with your child. You happen to hit someone else on the street, or damage someone’s property (such as a phone) by accident. Not only does that prove that you are a bad thrower, but also makes you responsible for damages incurred.

This is a very real use-case of personal liability insurance. Ensure that your provider has sports-related liabilities covered at your residence, for such cases are pretty ubiquitous, and dare we say, expensive to repair. While you can learn how to throw ball better and more accurately next time, you need to ensure that the liabilities from that front are taken care of. On that note, such personal liability coverages are pretty extensive in the kind of damages they cover. Ensure that you pick a policy that covers multitude of damages, and of course, learn how to throw better.

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Who Let the Dogs Out?

Granted that pets are not just a great companion but a must in some cases, but it only takes a moment for things to go wrong. While your pet is the most amiable companion around you, it only takes one bad day for a third party to face the brunt of your pet’s primal instincts.

Here too, personal liability coverages and questioning stances about them is mandatory. Ask your insurance provider whether these damages are covered too. On that note, it is pretty sensible to get liability coverage spanning such scenarios, considering how common pets are at households. Damages caused by pets to a third party is surely not under your direct control, but it does not hurt to cover such specific liability cases, does it?

Does It Cover Legal Expenses?

Ah, the irreparable damage. The kind of damage that you get sued for. Damages carved out of unforeseen circumstances have very little control from your end, as is the case with lawsuits that come out of it. If your coverages don’t suffice the needs of the damaged party, chances are, you might need a good lawyer. Wait — liability insurances might cover that too?

It is important for you to look for coverages that will manage your lawsuit too. In this world plagued with capitalism, lawyers aren’t getting any cheaper. This is where your personal liability coverage should come in handy. Ask your provider whether liability coverages cover legal costs, for it might be useful, irrespective of whether you are found responsible for the said damages.

To Conclude

As with most other policies, getting to know the ins and outs should be of utmost importance to you. Try to put some extensive research into looking for the kind of insurance that is right for you. As with most other things in life, personal liability coverages should be subscribed according to your specific lifestyle. Once you cover the basics of liability insurance, ensure that you cover other specific scenarios. After all, indecision is fatal, but so is uncertainty.

On 26^th September 2019, Levi Nkunika, FDH Bank’s Head of Marketing, announced the organisation’s investment of MK450 million in football sponsorship.

In launching its five-year sponsorship plan supporting the National League Cup, FDH Bank aims to support rising football talent throughout Malawi. With a prize fund of MK53.6 million, and the eventual winners taking home MK25 million, the National League Cup is setting an all-time record in Malawian football.

Scheduled to run between May and September 2020, the inaugural edition will go a long way towards promoting the sport in Malawi. As a home-grown, forerunning financial institution, FDH Bank recognises the importance of this historic sponsorship deal in inspiring talented young footballers across the country.

As Mr Nkunika explains, no bank believes in the potential of Malawian football more than FDH. In partnering with the Football Association of Malawi in 2016, the Bank recognised the benefits and potential for the sport within Malawi, even when the game was at its lowest level.

Where some saw trouble, the organisation saw opportunity, recognising potential for success through this partnership. Since then, great progress has been made in Malawian football, creating a bright future for the sport in Malawi today.

Attending the sponsorship unveiling, the President of the Football Association of Malawi, Walter Nyamilandu, said the organisation would no longer be accepting new sponsors for elite football competitions. Instead, the Association would encourage organisations with offers to channel funding towards other needy categories, such as youth and women’s football tournaments.

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As Mr Nyamilandu explained, the Bank had effectively raised the bar for football sponsorship, with none of its rivals partnering football in such a serious way. Whereas in the past MK25 million in sponsorship covered the entire competition, the increased funding will benefit not only the eventual winners but the entire sport in Malawi, showing that Malawian football effectively has a father in the organisation supporting it through both good and bad times.

This latest deal follows the bank’s MK180 million, three-year sponsorship of the Flames. The home-grown financial services provider also sponsors the Mayor’s Trophy at a cost of MK10 million in Blantyre, Mzuzu, Lilongwe and Zomba. This year alone, the organisation pumped more than MK160 million in investment into sports events across Malawi, including providing MK1 million in sponsorship for a non-title boxing match between Chikondi Makawa and Limbani Masamba.

About FDH Bank

This home-grown Malawian financial institution is a subsidiary of FDH Financial Holdings Limited. Two other subsidiary companies, namely First Discount House Limited and FDH Money Bureau Limited, are also owned by the holding company.

The Bank operates Malawi’s largest branch network, consisting of 52 service centres and 92 ATMs. As Malawi’s leading digital bank, it provides innovative banking solutions and cutting-edge digital banking products including Ufulu Digital Account and Whatsapp Banking.

The organisation received nine awards at the Chartered Institute of Marketing in 2019, including Marketer of the Year (Levi Nkunika), Marketing Campaign of the Year, and PR Project of the Year.

But how do the most skilled sportswomen compare, which are the best-paid sports for women, and how much are they earning each day?

Protectivity has analysed the annual salaries of the richest female sports players in the world and calculated exactly how long it would take them to reach your yearly earnings. With the most successful female sportswoman, Serena Williams earning a whopping £23.7 million each year, this athlete earns an impressive £65,000 every single day.

The top 5 richest sportswomen include:

Serena Williams crowned the world’s richest sportswoman

Serena Williams, arguably the most famous female sports player of the 21st century, takes the crown as the richest woman in sport with a staggering annual salary of £23.7 million. Known for her world-class abilities as a tennis player, Serena began her career over 20 years ago in 1995. Since then, the American athlete has won an impressive 792 matches at Wimbledon. What makes Williams even more impressive is that she continues to win world titles in her sport, showing off a seriously impressive career, with many athletes reaching their optimum playing skills for just a handful of years.

Serena’s success is reflected in her salary at £23.7 million. Broken down, this figure equates to £2,706 every hour and £45 per minute. The tennis champion is miles above other sportswomen, earning over £3 million more each year than the second highest-earning female sports player, Naomi Osaka, who has a yearly salary of £19 million.

With the average UK salary sitting at £29,009, it would take Serena Williams just 10 hours, 44 minutes and 24 seconds to earn this figure, and for the majority of the richest women in sport, a maximum of two days.

Tennis crowned the best-paid sports profession for women

Amongst the top 10 richest female sports players, all are tennis professionals, which highlights the sport as the best-earning skill to pursue for women. With tennis being one of the most popular sports to play and watch across the globe, it is a great opportunity to encourage women into learning the skill. With the UK seeing over 2 million people playing it on a regular basis, the US holding a staggering 17.9 million participating in the sport, and 2019’s Wimbledon men’s singles final seeing 9.6 million people tune in to watch the match, it is great to see the enthusiasm amongst so many people in keeping fit, healthy and happy playing tennis.

Outside of tennis and in the top 15 richest female sports players, football, badminton and golf appear. Football player Alex Morgan ranks 12th, badminton athlete Pusarla V Sindhu sits at 13th and Ariya Jutanugarn at 15th.

The richest women in sport compared to men

Whilst Serena Williams’ salary is immensely impressive, it is clear that female sports players have a long way to go to reach the earnings of the most successful male athletes. Football star, Lionel Messi is crowned as the richest sports player of all time, earning over £100 million each year, which is over four times the amount of Williams. However it is not just football players that are earning more, but tennis professionals too. Novak Djokovic sits as the highest-paid player in tennis earning $50.6 million.

Sean Walsh, Marketing Manager from Protectivity Insurance comments: “It’s great to see the success of women in sport and shine a light on their achievements, particularly in an industry where male professionals are known for earning significantly higher salaries. The popularity of tennis matches really shows in the top 15 richest women in sport list, with both male and female matches being immensely popular with audiences, and thousands of people each summer tuning in to watch Wimbledon.

“Over the next few years, it would be fantastic to see women in other sports rise into the top 15 list of richest women and break the top ten list of tennis players,”

With the Wimbledon Championship in full swing, Samuel Leach, author of The Formula for Success: How to win at life using your own personal algorithm, takes a look at some of the key tricks we can learn from champions like Roger Federer when it comes to mindset and mental strength, with some notes on how this can help you in trading.

Successful traders must deal with constant high levels of stress, while remaining mentally alert enough to make the right moves at the appropriate time. Dealing, in a world of probabilities, many find it difficult to survive and easy to make a wrong decision. Likewise, tennis players worldwide must work to withstand intense pressure if they are to compete successfully and thrive.

The edge that standout players possess in sport is mindset. While Roger Federer is admired globally for his physical flair and the poetry of his single-handed backhand, he is also extolled for his ability to remain calm when competing on the world stage, and to excel under high-pressured situations: traits which have facilitated his domination of tennis for nearly two decades. Both new and experienced traders must aim to replicate this mental discipline in order to translate ambition into success on the trading floor.

Trading persistence 

Trading requires great mental strength — especially in forex (FX) trading, where the pace is swift, and the markets are open 24-hours. Working with money, especially vast quantities of money, can be an intimidating prospect, and without experience, it can be hard to know where to start. Consequently, practising with paper trades, where no real money is risked, can help you to understand the process without suffering real financial damage, and acclimatise to the experience of waiting for the desired outcome and reacting to changes in the market.

Traders must remain aware of the effect a profit or loss can have on your mental state. When a trader makes a mistake or suffers a loss, the natural response is to feel stress and view the loss as a threat. This can trigger anxiety or fear, which can make further decisions more difficult and less logical. Similarly, however, making a profit can cause you to react arrogantly in further trades, perhaps taking unnecessary risks that could result in massive losses. Remaining level-headed at all times is difficult, and experiencing a sustained series of losses can have negative effects on your mental health.

Look to tennis as your teacher

Appropriate preparation is something top tennis players always point to as being key to their success. This ranges from diets, workouts, physical treatments and competitor analysis. Likewise, traders need to be prepared when making trades. To do this, traders should carry out comprehensive market research, pattern and past performance analysis, and – as with tennis players – competitor research. It is crucial that you view trading as a business venture, and not as a personal hobby, if you are to maintain a high level of self-discipline and professionalism.

Although technical skill is necessary to excel in trading, the key differentiator for a successful trader is state of mind. Numerous tennis champions have honed a mind-set that allows them to dedicate themselves to the pursuit of their goals without giving in to distractions; Rafael Nadal recently explained in an interview that he was able to return to victory on clay at the French Open despite being injured simply because he decided to change his attitude and his mentality. As with Nadal, traders should recognise their own strengths and weaknesses, and map out how to overcome them, in order to fight for success.

A major part of mindset is also about controlling emotions. Australian tennis player Nick Kyrgios is notorious for his inability to reign in his angry outbursts, which have so far not helped him to much success. Federer, on the other hand, has rarely been known to cede to emotion on court. It is clear that giving in to too much emotion can hamper your performance. Consequently, you should seek to maintain an objective view of the aims you’re looking to reach and to leave as much emotion behind as possible. Try not to get invested in any single one of your trades, and ensure that you diversity your trades so none affect you overmuch if anything less than positive occurs.

The formula for success 

Traders and tennis players will all have different methods for attaining their goals, but one thing that unites them is a formula for success. Creating your own formula that sets out how you will go about achieving your aims and each step of your plan is an effective way of putting you on the road to success. This formula should revolve around developing the mental strength to be able to remain strong under pressure, resist giving in to emotion, and to keep going even when the situation is difficult. Finding this kind of mental fortitude will make it much simpler to find the way forward to the future you want.

A bout of World Cup fever may have swept the nation last month but with normality restored, it is business as usual for the Premier League. Except that according to Will Tingle at Moore Stephens, the next season of the UK’s top football league is up for a little more than business as usual.

Premier League clubs are already reported to have spent close to £1bn on over 200 deals so far with a number of high profile transfers such as Riyad Mahrez moving to Manchester City and Alisson’s arrival at Liverpool setting a new transfer record for a goalkeeper. With steady investment already, we explore the reasons why it could be another record breaking summer for the Premier League.

Primarily, there is money to burn. Last year, for the first time, every Premier League club reported an operating profit, with 18 of the 20 clubs also reporting a pre-tax profit. Financial fair play appears to have ushered in a new era of sustainability. There are many reasons why clubs can expect a continuation of strong financial performance and revenue growth. This will in turn be used to fund their transfer war chests.

The domestic TV rights for the year is said to be just shy of the record-breaking £5.14bn existing deal, for three seasons from 2016-2019, with Amazon joining the Premier League market for the first time. The cost of the Amazon package to show 20 games a season from 2019 is still unknown. However, any dip in the domestic TV rights income is likely to be offset by an increase in overseas broadcast income as well as club’s own commercial deals.

The Premier League is reported to have made £3.2bn from international TV rights in the same three season period (2016-2019). Beyond this, five out of 80 contracts are said to have been confirmed to continue through to 2022: the Premier League will be optimistic they can continue growth in this area given that some of the new contracts are said to be as much as 14 times the value of current deals.

In terms of other commercial transactions, last season the Premier League introduced sleeve sponsorships, which allowed clubs to have a second brand on their kit in addition to the main shirt sponsors for the first time. Recently, Arsenal are said to have completed the biggest deal yet in this area for a reported £10million per season over three seasons with Visit Rwanda, the club’s official Tourism Partner. Notably Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur are yet to agree sleeve sponsors which reflects the fact there is significant scope amongst several clubs to increase revenues through commercial partnerships of this nature.

What does all this money mean? As we have seen in the past, increasing revenue normally translates to growth in transfers and player wages. Although clubs are spending within their means, transfer spending has continued to rise over the years as clubs show little sign of tightening their purse strings with increased revenue making transfers more affordable for clubs and used as justification for record-breaking fees.

Premier League teams have now set a precedent for spending and there is great expectation amongst fans to do so. This has contributed to records being established at an alarming rate. Within the last 12 months, 15 of the Premier League sides for the 2018/19 season have broken their transfer record. Last summer, the total spend for the Premier League during the transfer window was beaten for a sixth consecutive year, coming in at £1.4bn. During the final day of the January transfer window alone, clubs made a record spend of £150m, marking a total spend of over £400m for the month.

There are two additional factors which will serve to add fuel to the Premier League money bonfire. Firstly, the transfer window will close earlier than normal as Premier League clubs voted in favour of closing the transfer window before the start of domestic fixtures. This means that clubs will be under increased time pressure and now have little over 2 weeks to conclude their business. This could possibly trigger a rise in the panic buys associated with the final few days of the window. A lack of time provides leverage to selling clubs in negotiations allowing them to attract higher fees for their players as buyers use money to solve problems when time becomes pressured.

The World Cup only adds to the haste given that many players, many of whom are still on holiday as part of their recovery programmes, wait until after the tournament to resolve their futures. Historically, the competition has led to irrational buying behaviour and overinflated fees as clubs have signed players off the back of a handful of good games. Kleberson, El Hadji Diouf, Guivarc'h… do the names sound familiar?

The precedent for all sides having a reason to spend is well established. Newly promoted sides and those fighting relegation are desperate to establish a foothold in the league given the rewards associated with survival. The riches of the Champions League provides sufficient justification for those competing towards the top to invest heavily.

Others are keen to scale up and compete with the so called top 6 or solely avoid a season of mid-table obscurity. With over £1.4bn spent last summer, Premier League clubs are well on track to break this record again. It promises to be a hectic finish before the transfer window closes on 9^th August.

The viewership of major sports championships such as the Premier League, Winter Olympics and the NFL has recently taken a substantial downturn. This poses the question, is the popularity of traditional sports on the decline? A recent study conducted by Limelight showed that young men are now watching esports more than traditional sports. In fact, esports is their second most preferred media source behind movies. The world of esports is growing rapidly, so we decided to delve into the statistics to find out just how big esports has become.

The increasing viewership of esports has led to major brands investing in this new and growing industry in the form of sponsorships, advertising and takeovers. Amazon purchased Twitch for $970m in 2015 and has promoted Twitch as the primary platform for esports ever since. It has been reported that by 2020, esports will overtake the NBA’s reported 400m fans worldwide, with estimates predicting that there could be 500m fans of esports around the world in the next two years. Approximately 11bn hours will be spent by fans watching all forms of esports, with 70m enthusiasts tuning in to watch championship finals through online streaming services such as YouTube Gaming and Twitch. That’s more than the current viewership of the NBA and MLB finals. Overall, esports has amassed more than 600 sponsors. Although esports may not be able to compete with other traditional sports when its comes to revenue from sponsorships just yet, they do have more in total. This shows how esports is growing financially and how this could grow and impact the market further in the future.

Due to this increase in popularity, advertisers have flocked to the platform in order to promote their brand or service. Reportedly, it won’t be long until esports overtakes traditional sports when it comes to yearly revenue. Revenue generated from esports is said to hit the £1.2bn mark by 2020, with viewing figures potential exceeding 600 million people.

Esports began truly growing in the early 90’s, as improvements to internet connectivity led to online gameplay becoming more user friendly and playable. Around the same time, the UFC was also beginning to grow and be recognised as a mainstream sport. Esports and the UFC are two of the most exciting and fastest growing sports today, but who earns the most? Pro-gamers or pro-athletes? We analysed the top 10 highest earning gamers and UFC fighters to find out do you earn more from playing video game or getting punched in the face competitively? We compared their overall earnings, and created an average based on how long they had been involved in the sport. Surprisingly, pro gamers dominate the yearly earnings list. The gamer Miracle, who plays Dota 2 professionally and competes in regular competitions is second on the list only behind UFC superstar Conor McGregor. Miracle has earned just over $1m per year since he began his journey in esports. Overall, there are 8 gamers who have earned an average of $600,000 per year since they start out in the sports, compared to only 2 UFC fighters earning over the same amount, Conor McGregor and Alistair Overeem.

The overall revenue of esports already matches that of Cricket’s Indian Premier League and Major League Soccer, but what about the overall prize pools on offer to competitors at events? The Dota 2: The International 2017 event, which was recently hosted in the KeyArena in Washington, boasted a prize pool of $17.5m. This was the biggest prize pool ever offered at a professional esports tournament and eclipses the current combined prize pool of other major sporting events, such as the Tour de France and the Cricket World Cup.

Does this mean that the next generation will dream of being behind a controller or out on the pitch? Betway predicted that 2018 is set to be another exciting year for esports.

The Three Tours Challenge (3TC) sees wealth manager, James Maltin, complete the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia, and the Vuelta a España in just 63 days of cycling. Only 39 professional athletes have ever completed all three of the Grand Tours in a single year.

Lead by former international footballer, Geoff Thomas, James, and three other amateur cyclists—motivational speaker Marcus Leach, entrepreneur Doug McKinnon, and chef Hayden Groves—are currently churning through the estimated 25,000,000 revolutions in support of a single charity, Cure Leukaemia.

Cure Leukaemia offer access to pioneering clinical trials not yet available through the NHS. 3TC are helping to raise £1m needed to fund the expansion of the world-leading Centre for Clinical Haematology.

Lead by Professor Charlie Craddock, both Cure Leukaemia and the Centre for Clinical Haematology were vital in helping Geoff defeat blood cancer in 2003.

3TC will be the first amateur team to ever complete the three Grand Tours of cycling; travelling a total distance of 10,504km, the equivalent of cycling from Birmingham to Saigon.

Having completed the second stage of 3TC—the Tour de France—James performed an additional remarkable feat, proceeding to cycle, canoe, and run from Paris to London in the Tower2Tower triathlon.

Currently embroiled in the final stage, the Vuelta a España, and baring the strain of temperatures well in excessive of 30C, James, Geoff, and the rest of the team are expected to finish in early September. The Vuelta a España stretches across Spain and parts of Southern France and was established in 1935. British cyclist, Chris Froome, currently leads in the professional event.

If you too would like to support the £1m expansion of Cure Leukaemia’s Centre for Clinical Haematology at Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham, please find a link to James’ JustGiving page here.