Usain Bolt's retirement deals Puma another blow with Arsenal set to switch shirt sponsors to adidas

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Usain Bolt's retirement is going to be difficult for his kit sponsors Puma, who are also faced with losing their Arsenal deal. Puma’s five-year contract with the club has two seasons to run but the sports industry believe that adidas will be their next shirt provider.

Adidas are in desperate need of having a top London club on their supply roster having lost Chelsea to Nike, who also have Tottenham wearing the swoosh from this season.

Arsenal will be looking for something like the £60million a year that Chelsea are being paid by Nike. Bolt is being paid around £8m a year by Puma and will continue the association, but the exposure he brings will not be the same now.

Puma athlete Usain Bolt has bowed out of athletics at the World Championships in London

Arsenal have two seasons remaining on their current contract with kit sponsors Puma

Proud Lancashire cricket members hold their county club to account like no others and there is disquiet among the most vocal critics that board member Paul Allott has been appointed director of cricket without the role being advertised inside or outside Old Trafford. A Lancashire spokesman sidestepped the issue, saying: ‘The club are reviewing how best to support the overall cricket department. Once this review is complete, we will make an announcement.’

London Mayor Sadiq Khan showed up the hapless World Championships opening ceremony co-speaker Prince Andrew — who shamelessly left after six minutes at the London Stadium — by watching the whole programme and then going backstage to congratulate Mo Farah on his 10,000m triumph. 

Khan also returned for the second day and his enthusiasm, including mentioning the World Para Athletics Championships in his speech, was seen as encouraging for those who want to bring the Para event back to London in 2019 and need Government support to do so.

Sadiq Khan showed up Prince Andrew by congratulating Mo Farah after his 10,000m triumph

Conspicuous by their absence from the opening night were any high-ranking Government MPs, especially as Whitehall had to guarantee the event before the bid. 

This contrasts with the London Olympics, when Jeremy Hunt and Co were so keen to be seen that their officials came dressed in suits and trainers in order to run from setting up one photo opportunity to the next. It is poor form that PM Theresa May is not scheduled to come to Stratford this week. 

Coe's pay on agenda 

IAAF president Lord Coe succeeded in driving through all the reforms he wanted at the London Congress despite there being 43 amendments up for discussion. An age-limit proposal was knocked back, with Coe believing term limits are far more effective. However, Coe’s own pay has still to be decided, with an audit committee bench-marking a salary against other sports organisations.

IAAF president Lord Seb Coe succeeded in driving through all his reforms at London Congress

Birmingham's bid to host the 2022 Commonwealth Games looks to be a lot more realistic than that of rivals Liverpool, certainly as far as the main stadium plans go. Birmingham, who have added Brendan Foster to their team, are going to revamp established athletics location Alexander Stadium. 

Liverpool, with former FA chief executive Brian Barwick heading their campaign, want to drop an athletics track into Everton’s new stadium which has yet to be designed. Barwick should know better after all the problems Wembley had when incorporating a temporary running track.

Callum Hawkins managed an admirable fourth place in the World Championships marathon

Everyone will know about British marathon runner Callum Hawkins now after his admirable fourth place in Sunday's race, which was dominated by Kenya and Ethiopia. But his agent Malcolm Anderson, of Moyo Sports, was handing out his card the day before, convinced Hawkins was going to do very well in London.

The streaker who ran on to the track before the men’s 100m spent the rest of the evening, still minus his clothes, locked in a small room under the mixed zone where Bolt was being interviewed.