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Khan Wembley deal would move NFL London team step closer to reality | Les Carpenter

The Jacksonville Jaguars owner says it is too soon to determine whether he would move them to the London stadium but he is seen as the man to make the league’s dream come trueOn the morning Shahid Khan increased his profile in the London sports scene, he sat in the headquarters of the Jacksonville Jaguars and laughed into the phone. It was a great roaring laugh that lingered even as he began to speak.“If you know the NFL, you know you don’t choose them they choose you,” the Jaguars and Fulham owner told the Guardian on Thursday. Related: FA holds talks to sell Wembley to Fulham owner Khan in £900m deal Related: FA’s proposed sale of Wembley to Shahid Khan...

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Joshua v Klitschko: the moment boxing’s epicentre moved from Vegas to London

Las Vegas has long been boxing’s most aspirational platform, but the Anthony Joshua-Wladimir Klitschko fight in London may signal a shift in the sport’s commercial centre of gravityAnthony Joshua lingered in the ring at Wembley Stadium as midnight struck on Sunday morning, bathing in the afterglow of the famous night that saw him write his name indelibly into his country’s rich fistic lore. It had been more than an hour since the 27-year-old from Watford had come off the canvas to violently dispense of Wladimir Klitschko in the most gripping heavyweight title contest since the first bout between Evander Holyfield and Mike Tyson more than a generation ago, yet the former Olympic champion was content to delay his retreat to...

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Wembley at 10: iconic venue and national symbol but is it good value? | Nick Ames

It is 10 years since the reconstructed stadium opened at a cost of £757m after years of arguments about its financing and role. Its world-class status is scarcely in doubt but not everyone considers it an unadulterated successWhen photographers converged upon Wembley on 24 March 2007 to capture the first proper match since its reconstruction, they discovered no expense had been spared. The working area was as spacious and plush as should be expected in a state-of-the-art £757m football stadium; shooting England Under-21s’ curtain-raiser against Italy would present few major problems but it was an addition to the facilities that raised eyebrows. To some astonishment, those present opened the doors on a fully equipped darkroom, with sinks provided for the...

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Football’s hostile environments can start at home | Andrew Anthony

Moving to a new stadium can play havoc with a team’s form as West Ham and Tottenham have found out to their cost this seasonWhat’s in a football stadium? Essentially the stands and the pitch. You could add the fans, of course, and inedible burgers, but they are transportable. However, there seems to be some mysterious process by which the fans interact with the stadium to create what is widely known as the “atmosphere”.Hence, although the West Ham fans attending the London Stadium in Stratford are largely the same as the those who attended the Boleyn Ground last season (except there’s more of them now), the atmosphere by general consent has not been conducive to winning. Or not losing. Related:...

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