Opinion Archives | The STA Group

Stifle Stars and Sport Loses its Voice

Keep Stifling Stars and Sport Loses its Voice.

When Boris Johnson was Mayor of London, his press office told me that he’d taken the view that media training Bo-Jo would be like taking the fizz out of the champagne. Let people see the real man and enjoy him for what he is. It worked. While that strategy might not have commuted to the Prime Minister’s office, Boris was a wildly popular mayor.

Too Much Sport or Too Little Athlete

Sport has never been more visible, more valuable, or more in demand. Global calendars are brimming with new tournaments, expanded formats, and international fixtures that attract record crowds and digital audiences in the billions

Is Sport the New Celeb Status Symbol?

Once upon a time, celebrities wanted yachts, vineyards, and a pied-à-terre in Paris. Now they want a football club in Wales, a rugby team in the English Midlands, or the women’s equivalent of the Yankees.

Women’s Football – The Next Step to Silencing the Critics

Every conversation I had last Monday started with the Lionesses’ win. The nation loved it. But if you wandered beyond the match reports and into the comments section… well, let’s just say there are a lot of angry men on the internet.

The Sentiment Shift that Could Shatter Football and the C-Word Answer

A few weeks ago, I wrote about groundhopping – that curious pastime where football fans behave less like loyal supporters and more like tourists with a bucket list. It’s all very engaging, they visit new towns, sample new pies and sing new chants … but it’s not football. It’s trainspotting for the cool crowd.

Why Is Women’s Football Copying a Broken Model?

There’s a lot to applaud in women’s football right now. The talent is top-tier, the Lionesses are still box office, and public sentiment couldn’t be more supportive. But behind the feel-good headlines, the business side is starting to creak.

Forget AI – the Current Hot Tech Topic is Cyber

Industry experts love to say sport should learn from other sectors and when it comes to cyber, they’ve got both a strong point and a rash of case studies.

Set Width Handlebars: the UCI’s Narrow View of Women

H&M once found itself in what can most kindly be described as a PR nightmare – running an ad with a black child modelling a “coolest monkey in the jungle” top.

Hot. Bothered. Still Competing.

Tomorrow it’s going to be 37°C in the UK. That’s hotter than some parts of the Sahara. The British public will, of course, lose their minds. And somewhere, Novak Djokovic might be muttering, “Told you so.”

Should Bicarbs Be Supplementing Your Investments – Not Just Your Athletes?

Swallowing a spoonful of baking soda before a race used to be the nutritional equivalent of playing Russian roulette with your digestive system. Yet many athletes kept doing it – because, inconveniently, it worked.