| Saudi Arabia has rapidly established itself as the biggest source of new money flowing into the world of sport, whether that's in golf or football. Now some cricket players are hoping the kingdom's money will help transform England's national sport. "You can't compete with money, especially the money that Saudi Arabia is throwing around to certain people," England cricket captain Ben Stokes told Jamie Nimmo in an interview. Stokes is one of the athletes backing a new London-based £40 million venture capital firm called The Players Fund, joining a storied list of celebrities — from Ryan Reynolds to LeBron James — investing in the lucrative world of sports.  England captain Ben Stokes Photographer: Stu Forster/Getty Images Europe This week is also a reminder of how little money is going into women's sports. So far, all the athletes announced for The Players Fund are male. Saudi Arabia has no investments of note in women's sports, despite Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman's plans to increase freedoms for women in the workplace and outside. And at a time when the Spanish women's team should be showered with new sponsorship and advertising deals following their historic win against England in the Women's World Cup final, headlines continue to be dominated by the scandal of a forced kiss. "This should be a golden period for commercial partners of the women's team, with a hugely successful tournament having positioned the game for an explosion of interest and potential marketing opportunities," Matthew Brooker writes for Bloomberg Opinion. "Yet instead of positive narratives, the oxygen around the sport is being consumed by the (Luis) Rubiales controversy." Elsewhere in the UK, that summer feeling is coming to an abrupt end and not just because of another rained out week. Wall Street firms, from Citigroup to HSBC Holdings and BlackRock, are now tightening their return to office requirements, reports Aisha S Gani. The move comes even as new Covid strains gain ground globally (you can read all about it here) and hospitalizations start to tick up. The pain could be exacerbated in the UK where junior doctors and senior doctors have just announced they will strike together this month and the next, a first for the already overwhelmed National Health Service. Thankfully, the UK's abundance of parks are still free and a relatively covid-safe way to spend the weekend. Maybe a picnic instead of dining out, which is becoming even costlier in the country as restaurants add higher gratuities into tabs to offset labour shortages that are squeezing margins and continued food price inflation, David Ramli reports. | 
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