Ligue 1 broadcast partner Mediapro is "set to abandon" its €830M ($1.01B) annual TV rights deal in a move that "will leave the finances of Ligue 1 teams in chaos." After months of court-mediated negotiations with the French Ligue de Football Professionnel, France's governing body of pro soccer, the Spanish media company has agreed to return the rights to Ligue 1 and 2 matches from '20-24, but "will pay only a portion of what it owes ... after skipping two payments since October" -- the first for €172m ($208M) and the second for €152.5M ($184.8M). The LFP will be "free to sell the rights to another company, and has already begun talks" with longtime former broadcast partner Canal+. Sources "expect that any new deal will be worth substantially less than the Mediapro contract." The termination "still has to be approved by the French commercial court" in Nanterre (FINANCIAL TIMES, 12/11). 

Mediapro has "agreed to pay damages" of €64M ($78M) in '20 and another €36M ($44M) in the first quarter of '21 to the LFP. Mediapro also "agreed to continue broadcasting" Ligue 1 matches in France "while the LFP looks for a new broadcaster" (L'EQUIPE, 12/11). Telefoot, the TV net Mediapro created in the summer to serve as the home of Ligue 1 in France, "will shutdown" when the company stops broadcasting matches (LE PARISIEN, 12/11). Mediapro in October announced a "desire to renegotiate its deal" given the pandemic's impact. When Mediapro failed to meet its payment in October, the LFP took out a €112M ($136M) government-backed bank loan -- the "second they have taken out this year." Clubs have "warned that they could face bankruptcy in the new year if no alternative arrangement is found" (THEATHLETIC.com, 12/11).

Domestic sponsors have already contributed a record of $3.3B to help pay for the Tokyo Olympics, "at least twice as much as any previous Games." Now they’re being asked to "pay millions more to cover some of the soaring costs of the one-year postponement." None of the the nearly 70 domestic sponsors is saying "no"-- at least publicly -- to an Olympics backed by Japan PM Yoshihide Suga, and driven by Japan's powerful advertising conglomerate Dentsu Inc., the official marketing agency for the Tokyo Olympics. Dentsu helped land the Olympics, lined up the sponsors, and stands to profit with the Olympics opening on July 23, 2021 (AP, 12/11).

McLaren has part of potential refinancing could consider the "possible sale of a minority stake in its racing arm." The manufacturer also is "looking at options for the future of its applied division, which sells racing and car technology to third parties." The news comes as McLaren is in talks to raise up to £500M that "could pave the way" to a listing though a blank-check company. The company "wants to shore up and refinance its business over the coming 12 months." McLaren Automotive CEO Mike Flewitt said that the company is "seeking ways to cut its debt pile before refinancing bonds that mature" in '22. Flewitt said, "We need to restructure the total business. ... The total business did not have the liquidity to survive this kind of crisis."

The company is "in talks with several parties" about raising equity. Flewitt aded that McLaren is "considering investments from 'individuals, family groups, sovereign wealth funds and private equity,' as well as at least one U.S.-based SPAC." A deal with a SPAC "would put McLaren alongside Aston Martin and Ferrari as a publicly listed supercar group" (FINANCIAL TIMES, 12/10).

SSE Arena, Wembley, is partnering with experience automation platform Realife Tech to host 1,000 fans for Saturday's Anthony Joshua-Kubrat Pulev fight, as the arena has put protocols in place to make events as contactless as possible. Mobile-only digital ticketing will be used exclusively to minimize touchpoints on entry into the venue. Fans will be required to download and share their tickets digitally through the venue's app, powered by Realife Tech. Innovative systems have been put into place to limit crowd movement and make facilitate transactions, with the app being the only way to order food and beverage. Realife Tech’s platform allows users to remain in their seats until notified that it is ready to pick up (THE DAILY).

The top clubs from the northern and southern hemisphere "could face each other in a new world club championship as early as next season." It is understood there is "growing support among stakeholders for the creation of the competition and optimism that agreement could be reached early in the New Year." The competition -- which would be staged every four years -- would "replace the knockout stages of the Heineken Champions Cup and feature the best eight ranked sides from both hemispheres in a straight knockout format." The champions of each of the three domestic leagues this season -- the Premiership, Pro14 and Top 14 as well as the winners of the Champions Cup, would "all qualify for the new tournament under the proposals" (London TELEGRAPH, 12/10).

Tennis Australia is receiving support from the federal government's JobKeeper program as it "implements a range of measures to combat" the financial impact of staging the Australian Open during the pandemic. TA’s annual report shows it has received A$4.527M in JobKeeper funds on top of A$2M in rent relief. TA also confirmed that it "will eat into" its A$80M cash reserves and is "likely to seek credit as a 'medium term liquidity measure' to manage the heavy costs of funding the biosecurity measures" at the tournament. TA delivered a surplus of A$4.4M for '19-20, which down from a profit of A$10.7M the previous year" (SYDNEY MORNING HERLAD, 12/11).

As TA negotiates quarantine restrictions for players, the package being offered "comes at a significant cost that will force TA to borrow money." Tournament director Craig Tiley had also previously made the commitment to "ensure a maximum prize pool" for players (THE AUSTRALIAN, 12/11).

New Balance used partially recycled materials as a tribute to Costa Rica’s commitment to their ecosystemNew Balance

New Balance released Costa Rica’s men's and women's soccer national soccer teams kits for '21, featuring partially recycled fabric. The shirts are in celebration of Costa Rica’s 200-year bicentennial. Taking inspiration from the country’s wildlife, the design uses shapes derived from morphogenesis and the natural landscape. The home kit features an animal graphic print in red and blue tones, with a v-neck collar. The away jersey also goes for a naturalistic pattern with royal blue and white palette. To create the design, New Balance used partially recycled materials as the canvas for its tribute to Costa Rica’s commitment to their ecosystem (THE DAILY).

The English FA has taken out a £175M ($228M) loan from the Bank of England to "ease financial problems caused by the Covid-19 pandemic," documents released by the bank have revealed (LONDON TIMES, 12/10).

Ferrari CEO Louis Camilleri has announced his retirement from the Italian sportscar manufacturer with "immediate effect" (MOTORSPORT, 12/10).

Infront and World Athletics have reached a new agreement for the int'l media rights to the World Athletics Indoor Tour until the end of the '23 season (Infront).

Seven West Media and Cricket Australia are again at odds, this time "over the ratings figures for the Big Bash League season opener" on Thursday that was 20% down from last year's 467,000 viewership figure (SYDNEY MORNING HERALD, 12/11).

"Under different circumstances, under stressful conditions, but the games, I think, will go ahead" -- World Athletics President Sebastian Coe, positive that the postponed Tokyo Games will go ahead next summer (KYODO NEWS, 12/11).

The Australian's Jaqcuein Magnay wonders if the Tokyo Games will be the "moment of global reinvigoration" or if a "traumatised global society moved past such fripperies as winning a medal?"

The Sydney Morning Herald's Sarah Keoghan proposes that rule changes in the sport of Netball could either "propel the game into an era of innovation and commercial success" or "spell the beginning of the end."

Crazy story out of Germany where Schalke, winless in 26 games, are closing in on the Bundesliga record for a winless run, but even crazier, the club that currently holds the embarrassing record have announced they don't want Schalke to take the record off them. THREAD: pic.twitter.com/44CAfKTXlh

— COPA90 (@Copa90) December 11, 2020

Charles Leclerc pays tribute to his teammate Sebastian Vettel with a special #DankeSeb helmet design 👊#SkyF1 | #F1 | #AbuDhabiGP 🇦🇪 pic.twitter.com/iQbtSpyiBz

— Sky Sports F1 (@SkySportsF1) December 11, 2020

🥁 Introducing the finalists for The Best FIFA Men's Player 2020 🏆

🇵🇹 @Cristiano
🇵🇱 @lewy_official
🇦🇷 Lionel Messi#TheBest | #FIFAFootballAwards pic.twitter.com/II15QxBxG4

— FIFA.com (@FIFAcom) December 11, 2020

Ahead of this year's tournament, @DP_World teamed up with the @EuropeanTour to give Dr. Ellie McCarthy the experience of a lifetime and shine a light on the amazing work frontline heroes globally have done in the fight against COVID #DPWorld pic.twitter.com/uoLLaNpkRr

— DP World Tour Championship (@dpwtc) December 11, 2020