They’re off – Sportsman makes it for Spring launch

Dominic Ponsford

Britain’s first new daily newspaper for twenty years – The Sportsman – is to launch on 22 March.

The seven days a week gambling daily was aiming for a launch on March 14 – to coincide with the Cheltenham Festival of racing. But it is understood that IT glitches have held back the start date.

A Sportsman spokesman said: “In the last five years betting turnover has risen from £6bn to £40bn each year and has seen sports outside of racing account for 60 per cent of bets struck. “The Sportsman will offer in-depth reports, results and inside information from those closest to the sport as well as some of the most respected writers in the business.”

Publishing editor Charlie Methven said: “The enormous growth of sports betting has created a hunger for information and knowledge to the sports and racing bettor. We feel strongly that our team of over 120 staff can deliver a service that has never been on offer before.

“With the writers we have there can be no doubt about the strength of the product we are offering to anybody with an interest in sport.”

Managing director Max Aitken said: “Prior to launch we have had incredible support from advertisers and commercial partners which bodes very well in what we see as an entirely new marketplace. Inevitably, people will see the Racing Post as our nearest rival but in reality they provide a publication that is essentially aimed at the racing industry rather than the wider sporting public.”