WEDNESDAY 15 JULY 2026 - LOS ANGELES - 40 years ago at the 1986 World Cup in Mexico, within the Estadio Azteca, Argentina defeated England 2-1 in the quarter final. That day, Diego Maradona delivered the haunting Hand of God to illegally punch the ball over England Goalkeeper Peter Shilton CBE. A decade ago at a dinner of the Southern Amateur League, Peter recalled the experience for us. Some say that Maradona's so-called Hand of God cheated England out of a place in the 198

MONDAY 15 JUNE 2026 - BOSTON - Two articles ago, we examined allegations of illegal ticket pricing at World Cup 2026. Last week, we asked whether FIFA's discounted tickets were a lifeline or a brand betrayal. This week, we turn from FIFA's ticket marketplace to a commercial negotiation closer to home, and highlight the risks of AI being used in contract drafting without adequate legal oversight. Even if FIFA used AI in negotiations of its contracts with ticket agents, it almo

MONDAY 08 JUNE 2026 - TORONTO - Following our article last week on allegations of illegal ticket pricing, FIFA reportedly started selling tickets at up to 30% below face value through a resale marketplace run by Ticketmaster. Critics allege however that these are actually direct sales by FIFA to circumvent any obligation to refund earlier buyers at higher prices. This raises questions that matter as much to finance professionals as they do to football fans: Is it fair that ea

Gibson Alexander is proud to hear that our Managing Partner, Graham I Smith, has been honoured with the appointment as Vice Chair of the strategic advisory group on Entertainment, Sport and Media at the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW). The ICAEW is the professional membership organisation for Chartered Accountants with more than 210,000 people across 150 countries.