The Long Game is SportBusiness’ big picture look at what comes next for sport.
A project we began in 2024, it’s a series of ideas, visions and musings that aim to tackle the question of what sport could – and should – be doing to remain at the forefront of culture in the 21st century.
In 2026’s edition, much of the focus goes towards sport’s two most important stakeholders: the athlete and the fan.
On one side stands the athlete. We ask whether they will ever truly have a say in sports governance – and look at fledgling examples of it in practice. We explore which corners of the ecosystem athlete investment groups might soon disrupt – and ask whether they could ultimately own the leagues they participate in. We look at how athletes are taking agency of calculating their own value, and what that means for agents, teams and sponsors.
On the other side, the fan. We consider what Dream11’s remarkable success in fantasy sport reveals about what young audiences want from their gaming. We examine the new football formats rewriting the revenue rulebook and prioritising reach over rights fees. We show why F1’s growth depends on co-creation with its female followers. And we lament the sanitisation of women’s sports marketing that is holding back its commercial potential.
The question seemingly raised: will rights-holders and the powers that be wake from their slumber and actually cater for the most important forces in sport? Or will, as some of the ideas here suggest, control be wrestled from their grasp?
Some of the ideas expressed here will turn out to be wrong – and you may not agree with everything you read – but our aim is to provoke thought, conversation and action.
