Matt Hardy
Matt Hardy covers how money, governance and infrastructure shape modern sport, with a recurring focus on rugby and the business decisions around clubs and competitions. He is Deputy Business of Sport Editor at City A.M. and co-authors the masthead’s sport business newsletter, The Turnover. His work combines news, analysis and agenda-setting stories on takeovers, investment, sponsorship and the impact of off-field decisions on supporters.
Business of sport off the pitch
Hardy’s core beat is the business of sport, where he tracks ownership changes, investment flows and commercial strategy across major competitions.
His pieces examine issues such as franchise plans in top-tier rugby, highlighting how new structures could reshape domestic competitions and require scrutiny from parliament and regulators. He pays close attention to sponsorship dynamics, including cases where leading clubs enter seasons without a primary shirt sponsor and what that signals about the commercial health of the game. His author page includes work on China’s electric vehicle brands buying into western sport, showing how new industries and geographies are using teams and events as marketing platforms. Across these stories he links boardroom decisions and corporate deals to what happens on the pitch and in the stands.
Rugby’s competitions and shake-ups
Rugby is a central thread in Hardy’s coverage, both as a sport and as a business. He reports on structural changes in elite domestic rugby, including franchise proposals that he treats as the biggest shake-up of the competition since the sport turned professional. His rugby writing also follows form and pressure on leading figures, such as extended losing runs for international sides and the mounting scrutiny on their head coaches.
In European competition he produces barometer-style pieces on the Investec Champions Cup, ranking clubs like Harlequins and Leinster and assessing which teams are gaining momentum ahead of knockout rounds. Match-adjacent features, such as analysis of kit anomalies or sponsor absences, show how he uses specific fixtures to explore wider commercial themes.
The anchor article on Wigan Warriors and train disruption sits in this pattern, tying a major cup tie to transport chaos and its effect on fans and clubs.
Governance, fans and wider systems
Hardy frequently writes at the intersection of sport, public authorities and regulation. His reporting on Premiership Rugby’s franchise plans brings in parliamentary oversight, arguing that changes to league structures merit detailed examination by lawmakers.
In coverage of the Winter Olympics he reports on US immigration enforcement agents being sent to the Games, relaying the host city mayor’s description of them as a “militia” and exploring how security policy can clash with the spirit of global sport. He has covered warnings to football fans about Champions League ticket scams, showing how financial institutions and clubs respond when supporters are exposed to fraud around major matches. The Wigan Warriors piece again reflects this interest in wider systems, focusing on how rail disruption and transport planning affect the fan experience and club operations around a flagship knockout fixture.
Across these stories he positions supporters, regulators and authorities within the same frame, emphasising how decisions off the field reverberate through sporting culture.
Role at City A.M. and output format
Hardy holds a senior sports role at City A.M., where he is Deputy Business of Sport Editor and a key voice on the masthead’s sport business agenda. He co-authors the regular Turnover newsletter, extending his coverage into curated updates and commentary on investment, takeovers and commercial trends across multiple sports.
His author archive shows a high-output mix of exclusives, match-adjacent features, barometers and longer analyses, often flagged as shaping the agenda across the sporting landscape. Earlier in his career he worked across different newsrooms and broadcast environments before specialising in sport, experience that feeds into his ability to link competitions with wider media, political and commercial contexts.
The result is a portfolio that gives equal weight to the integrity of competitions, the experience of fans and the business models that underpin modern sport.
4 more sports journalists.
Aaron Bower
Aaron Bower stands out for covering rugby league through transfers, contracts and squad strategy. He is commissioning editor of Love Rugby League and leads its news and analysis output, while also working as a sports journalist for national outlets. His reporting spans Super League, the Championship, international rugby league and the NRL. He writes hard news, features and audio coverage, from club injuries and signings to long-form pieces on squad building, player contracts, club grading and father-son links. He also covers international selection, eligibility and the impact of NRL-Super League deals. His work treats club news, match context and off-field decisions as part of the same competitive story, and his editorial role places him at the centre of written, podcast and multimedia coverage.
Adam Becket
Adam Becket is a news editor and road racing specialist at Cycling Weekly, combining live race reporting, detailed stage analysis and regular opinion columns on elite men’s professional road cycling. He focuses on grand tours, general classification battles and shifting hierarchies in the peloton, tracking how results reshape team dynamics, rider reputations and future leadership. His reporting covers pivotal race moments, jersey contests and British riders and teams, linking daily outcomes to wider stories about WorldTour talent and development pathways. He also writes on cycling culture, technology and group-ride etiquette from a rider’s perspective, connecting elite competition with everyday riding. Becket previously wrote for Procycling, reported on ecclesiastical matters for an Anglican newspaper and covered politics at Business Insider, bringing institutional and governance insight to his coverage of teams, ethics and power at the top of the sport.
Adnan Riaz
Adnan Riaz is a senior football journalist whose distinct focus is forward-looking, tactical coverage of Manchester United, treating season outlooks and European campaigns as analytical projects in their own right. He works at United In Focus, centring on the club’s domestic and European runs, squad dynamics and supporter response. His beat is Manchester United under Ruben Amorim and Michael Carrick, with detailed work on season previews, prediction-led pieces, Europa League and Champions League campaigns, match analysis and transfer stories. He reports through tactical systems, specific scorelines, stages and scenarios, and player-centric storytelling built around figures such as Bruno Fernandes, Rasmus Hojlund, Matthijs de Ligt and Raphael Varane. His wider background spans fan-facing sports brands, gaming outlets, social-first content and syndicated sports and entertainment coverage.
Aidan Macdonald
Aidan Macdonald stands out for covering how football clubs are run and how supporters shape their future. He works on the sports desk at Clydebank Post, where he reports on club-level football, matches, signings, managers, academies, league campaigns and grassroots achievements. His work also covers governance, supporters’ trusts, ownership debates and the effect of club decisions on fans and communities. He has reported on Dumbarton Football Club’s supporters’ trust raising concerns about a takeover deal. Macdonald also contributes local leisure and business stories to Renfrewshire Gazette, including coverage of a restaurant reopening at a former popular eatery. His background includes work for specialist football outlets and wider news organisations. He writes short, timely reports in a direct, factual style, linking sport to governance, business and everyday community life.