''The Sportsman'' was a daily sports newspaper published in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

for seven months during 2006.

History

It was launched on 22 March and intended to complement

Dennis Publishing Dennis Publishing Ltd. was a British publisher. It was founded in 1973 by Felix Dennis. Its first publication was a kung-fu magazine. Most of its titles now belong to Future plc. In the 1980s, it became a leading publisher of computer enthusia ...

's gambling magazine, ''

Total Gambler Poker is a family of comparing card games in which players wager over which hand is best according to that specific game's rules. It is played worldwide, however in some places the rules may vary. While the earliest known form of the game w ...

''. It was the brainchild of editor-in-chief

Charlie Methven Charles Harry Finlayson Methven is an English public relations consultant, journalist and publisher. He has also been an English football club executive, including at Sunderland AFC where he was a part-owner. In June 2023, he was part of a take ...

, and the UK's first new national daily newspaper since the launch of the ''

Daily Sport The ''Daily Sport'' was a tabloid newspaper published in the United Kingdom by Daily Sport Ltd., which specialised in celebrity news and softcore pornographic stories and images. The daily paper was launched in 1991 by David Sullivan, followin ...

'' in 1991. It claimed to be a one-stop shop for the modern punter, offering news, views and tips on sport, racing and anything else bookmakers give odds on.

Demise

Sales reached 22,333 in May, some way short of its target break-even figure of 40,000. The publisher went into

administration Administration may refer to: Management of organizations * Management, the act of directing people towards accomplishing a goal ** Administrative assistant, Administrative Assistant, traditionally known as a Secretary, or also known as an admini ...

in July. A subsequent attempt to refinance its debt failed, and the paper ceased publication on 5 October.

References

* * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Sportsman Gambling publications Sports newspapers published in the United Kingdom Defunct newspapers published in the United Kingdom Newspapers established in 2006 Publications disestablished in 2006 2006 in British sport 2006 establishments in the United Kingdom