The Business of Sport: Recent Episodes
International Sports Convention
With the FIFA World Cup in the USA, Canada, and Mexico only days away, and two years beyond that, the next Olympic Games in Los Angeles, our recent guest is perfectly placed to guide us through what to expect from the marketing partners of these global events, the biggest in the world, and with a focus on the fan experience.
Sergey Krasotin is a proud-based design director with 12 years' experience shaping products, brands, and digital experiences that people genuinely enjoy using. He mentors founders and has led design for start-ups that have collectively raised over $1 billion.
Indy Khabra is a global ad technology executive, entrepreneur, and industry thought leader. He is the Co-Founder of Livewire, an award-winning gaming marketing company launched in 2021 that helps the world's leading brands connect with highly engaged gaming audiences at scale.
With deep expertise across strategy, data, technology, and emerging media, Indy leads Livewire's global growth, working with clients including NFL, Live Nation, DAZN, Verizon, Nike, Uber, and Amazon.
Prior to Livewire, Indy held senior leadership roles at Dentsu, where he led the Data, Technology, and Programmatic division, earning multiple industry accolades as part of the group's executive team.
Recognised as a Top MarComm Leader in Campaign's 40 Under 40, Indy is a regular contributor to leading industry publications and events, including Digiday, WARC, Campaign Asia, and Advertising Week, where he shares insights on the future of media, gaming, and advertisingInnovation
Born and raised on Cape Cod, MA, Buckley was introduced to sailing by his single mother who worked multiple jobs and sports became both an outlet and a foundation for discipline, resilience, and drive.
What started as an unexpected extracurricular pursuit quickly grew into a defining passion that shaped his personal and professional trajectory. From high school waters to global competition, Buckley's career ascended quickly. He went on to become a 2-time world champion sailor, competing at the highest levels of the sport and earning recognition for his strategic sharpness and relentless competitiveness. His experience across international racing circuits provided not only athletic success but also an insider's understanding of the opportunities and shortcomings of sailing as a spectator sport.
In November 2023, Buckley and tech entrepreneur Ryan McKillen led the acquisition of the U.S. SailGP Team, marking a historic moment for professional sailing. As CEO, Buckley has built one of the most diverse and high-profile ownership groups in the sport's history, with investors including Issa Rae, DeAndre Hopkins, Gary Vaynerchuk, Avenue Capital Group's Marc Lasry and Carolyn Tisch Blodgett's Next 3. This groundbreaking roster underscores his vision: to align sailing with culture, entertainment, and mainstream sport in a way never done before.
A multiple world cup medalist in the sport of Olympic Sailing, and an athlete on the Canada SailGP team, Isabella Berthold also leads a Next Gen Legacy Fund, focused on providing financial support to youth athletes in British Columbia.
Isabella is also a professional cyclist, racing a European focused UCI Road Calendar.
A former venture capital analyst, Isabella believes that responsible business, is good business. She believes that sport and sustainability can work side-by-side to develop innovative products and business models that drive real change, fast-tracking our journey towards a smaller carbon footprint.
Working in Venture Capital around health, Isabella, who captained Canada's Women sailing in 2024's Americas Cup in Barcelona, is passionate about sustainable cities, and the circular economy.
From having Olympic Games accreditation at the age of just 4, to leading one of the world's biggest broadcast operations, Ursula Romero has a fantastic story to tell.
The daughter of early pioneers in major event broadcasting, Ursula is the CEO of ISB, International Sports Broadcasting. With over 20 years experience providing coverage of global sporting events, Ursula and ISB are now transitioning away from mainstream sports to providing a platform for emerging sports and events.
Michael Payne has been at the forefront of Sports Marketing for over 40 years, most of that time spent leading and advising on deals around the Olympic Games. Payne has brokered over 25 billion dollars worth of deals and sold his first sponsorship package at the age of just sixteen!
He worked alongside all of the great leaders who built the industry – from two decades at the IOC with President Samaranch, and in those early days Horst Dassler of adidas, to over a decade with Bernie Ecclestone at F1 as his right hand person, to now Chairing Volleyball World - a joint venture between FIVB and the private equity group CVC.
Payne already has a Sunday Times - Best Sports Book of the Year (2022) and his latest work - Fast Tracks & Dark Deals, How Sport Became Business and Business Became Sport - is available to order now.
It tells the story of how the industry started in the 1970's and looks to the future – focussing on what sport and the business of sport holds in store for the next 50 years.
Hugo Inglis is a four-time Olympian with New Zealand. For over a decade, he scored goals at the very top of international elite Field Hockey. Nowadays, Hugo is a co-founder of High Impact Athletes (HIA), a global movement empowering athletes to fund the world's most effective climate and social solutions.
Under his leadership, HIA has grown to over 220 athletes across 48 sports and 34 countries, collectively driving almost $2 million in donations, improving almost half a million lives, protecting nearly 7 million animals and mitigating more than 600,000+ tonnes of CO₂e.
Grounded in science, technology, and storytelling, Hugo is committed to turning sport's cultural power into real-world impact.
Lindsey Eckhouse is the Chief Revenue Officer at Mercury 13, a multi-club ownership group focussed on acquiring controlling stakes in professional women’s teams in Europe and Latin America.
Lindsey has previous experience in sport with the NFL and Maclaren Racing.
With the Women's Rugby World Cup 2025 in full swing, the RFU’s Head of Consumer Engagement, Sally Sheppard, joined our Her Business of Sport podcast to assess the success of the tournament so far and to reveal an insight into England Rugby’s plans to harness new supporters in the future.
After more than 15 years with Unilever and over a decade as Global Lead of their Rexona/Sure brand of deodorant, Emily has led numerous high impact global campaigns and strategic partnerships.
The Sure brand, known as Rexona globally, is over a hundred years old, but Emily’s focus is very much on the future, developing on-going partnerships with Manchester City FC, the reigning World Club Champions, Chelsea Football Club and the UEFA Women’s Euro Tournament, recently won by England.
This is part of a broader strategy to drive brand growth, global visibility and deeper consumer engagement. Her work has been instrumental in unlocking new audiences, delivering measurable commercial returns and helping to establish Rexona as the world’s number one deodorant brand.
Thayer Lavielle says she is never afraid of a blank page, something she has proven over the last 6 years, by leading the development of The Collective, a women-focussed division of Wasserman, designed to bridge gaps in gender equity in sport and music through community, insights, events, tools and services.
Since 2019, that “blank page” has grown to include The Collective Think Tank, The Goal Post and the Collective Marketplace.
Thayer has negotiated over $250m worth of deals across talent, brand, property and venues and has extensive experience with leading female-focussed brands including L’Oreal and Lancome.
The Collective are partners for the ISC Women’s Sport Business Summit, at the National Gallery in London on September 25th 2025.
A year out from the next FIFA World Cup in the USA, Canada and Mexico, one man is leading the charge to create a sustainable platform for soccer in the USA.
For over 50 years, American soccer has relied on importing players from around the world, mostly at the end of their careers, to play in stadiums designed for more popular American sports.
Now though, a former college goalkeeper turned entrepreneur is trying to change all that.
Justin Papadakis is the Chief Real Estate Officer and Deputy CEO of the USA’s fastest growing pre-professional and professional soccer organisation, which is developing new talent and new stadia side by side. As young and home-grown players are secured to play in teams across the country, developers are being recruited to build stadia integral to new Real Estate Entertainment Districts, to sustain the growth of truly American soccer when the World Cup has moved on.
Imagine being a student at one of the best sporting universities in your country. An opportunity to learn from the best and to play in the greatest facilities available.
Well, for Steven Ball, that dream not only became a reality, but almost 30 years later, he is still there, as CEO of The High Performance Centre (hpc) at the University of Pretoria in South Africa.
HPC is a partner organisation of the ISC, offering some of the best facilities for national teams, professional clubs, universities and colleges to enjoy over 72 hectares of training and recreational facilities.
A new organisation has been formed to offer guidance, education and legal support to those working to protect children, young adults and the vulnerable in sport.
The Union of Safeguarding Officers, with a Mission Statement of “Every Child Safe, Every Voice Heard”, was formed by former Manchester City and Tottenham star Paul Stewart, who has spent almost a decade raising awareness of sexual abuse in sport, following his own harrowing experiences as a young footballer.
Many ISC delegates at our event at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in 2024 witnessed Paul's story as he spoke about his mission to prevent what happened to him, ever happening again.
Paul has enlisted the help of another ex-footballer Ian Bishop, who has over 20 year's experience of the youth system in the USA after a top-level career in England with Everton, Manchester City and West Ham United. Ian is General Secretary of USO, Paul is Chair of the Board.
They hope the union will provide support to both professionals and volunteers, tasked with safeguarding at their clubs and associations.
Michael D’hulst is a man on a mission. Driven by a passion for triathlon, the Belgian entrepreneur and former Ironman World Championship athlete, is currently seeking funding to take his Supertri business to the next level.
After helping Volkswagen set up a new plant in China, D’hulst turned his entrepreneurial skills to his love of Triathlon.
Along with business partner and four-times Triathlon World Champion Chris McCormack and Russian Tech Investor Leonid Boguslavsky, D’hulst founded Supertri in 2016, with an ambition to transform Triathlon from a traditional, participant-led sport, into a dynamic spectator experience, delivering innovative race formats in a “made for TV and digital package”, creating fandom with incredible destinations and corporate partners.
Now, after delivering award-winning events and record-breaking view numbers, both the USA Olympic Triathlon team and Great Britain’s famous triathlete Brownlee brothers are on board, alongside global broadcasting giant HBO, as Supertri powers towards the Olympic Games of 2028 in Los Angeles.
Charlie spent the first decade of her career producing TV, radio and film for the biggest UK networks and companies, including the very popular radio show Fighting Talk. During this time, she worked closely with talent, where she witnessed their unfiltered, off-duty, human side and started to think about creating a world where fans could gain access to this too.
Disenchanted by the unimaginative, boring, predictable events she attended, where talent was reduced to scripted conversations and stifled interactions, Charlie saw the need for something radically different. She envisioned a space where talent could show up as their authentic selves and connect with fans on a deeper, more meaningful level.
Her passion for creating fresh, immersive, personality-driven experiences has pushed Underground Fan Club to break the mould of traditional fan experiences, attracting some of the biggest talent and brands to join her ‘Underground’ revolution.
Formerly the Director of Leadership, Organizational Development, & Mental Wellness for the Texas Rangers, Baroody brings over 20 years experience in professional sports, having overseen leadership, mental wellness and organizational development programs for the Texas Rangers Baseball Operations Department.
During his tenure with the Rangers, he spearheaded the revolutionary ‘Rangers U Player Pathway’ in partnership with ACU, creating bilingual, custom educational programs aimed at enriching players’ personal development and advancing their careers. He also played an integral role in leadership programs for professional sports staff, such as the Rangers ‘Leadership Academy’ for players, coaches and front-office personnel.
Baroody now leads the expansion and promotion of ACU’s robust portfolio of sports-related academic and continuing education programmes.
Josh is a digital media professional with a comprehensive understanding of the OTT ecosystem. He joined Simplestream in 2015 and has been a part of their commercial and business development team since then.
His primary responsibility is to create, launch, and manage OTT services for various broadcasters, rights holders, and publishers such as British Forces Broadcasting Service, GAAGO, PBS America, Telus, Racing UK, TVSN, and NewsCorp.
Before joining Simplestream, he worked with digital rights experts at Perform Group which has since become Stats Perform and DAZN.
Cedric VdB has been the Executive Director of AISTS, the International Academy of Sport Science and Technology, based in Lausanne, Switzerland since October 2023. Prior to that, Cedric was the head of Strategy and Education at AISTS, overseeing the development of world-leading sports and education programmes, including the Master (MAS) in Sport Administration and Technology, from which he graduated in 2009.
An electronics and telecommunications engineer by training, Cedric has spent over a decade working for the International Olympic Committee (IOC) on several strategic initiatives such as:
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Olympic Agenda 2020 and 2020+5 - the strategic roadmaps for the Olympic movement.
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The New Norm - the in depth review of the delivery model of the Olympic Games implemented for the first time in Paris in 2024
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the IOC’ strategic brand management programme.
Cedric has also headed the press and media operations for Athletissima, the Lausanne Diamond League meeting. A former 400m runner, he is now active in endurance sports including triathlon and Ironman and is also a keen surfer.
Elite Performance Partners are a global business, focussed on taking the best principles of elite sport performance into the boardroom.
Founded by the former Harlequins and Connacht Rugby Union full-back Dave Slemen in 2013, EPP provides recruitment, leadership and advice for professional sports, including football, rugby, cricket and tennis, as well as the GB and Australian Olympic and Paralympic teams.
Managing Partner Anna Edwards brings a wealth of experience from a 12 year career with some of London’s top advertising agencies, working with brands including Amazon, IKEA, Bacardi and Lego. Anna is also a leading head-hunter of talent across the media, sport and entertainment sectors.
Leah Davis joined the SailGP ranks in 2023 as the league’s Chief Marketing Officer and is responsible for driving the league’s global marketing strategy, focusing on brand development, fan engagement, and communications & PR, working closely with each of the SailGP teams in twelve international markets.
Prior to SailGP, Davis led the brand transformation and marketing strategy for Team GB through the London 2012 and Rio 2016 Olympic cycles which resulted in a 98% brand awareness in the UK. She also established a successful consulting business in 2020 with a number of high-profile retained sporting clients.
Davis has also previously led the Media and Communication for Laureus World Sports Awards (+32% global audience and x7 social engagement YoY).
Davis holds a degree in Business, Masters in Marketing Strategy and recently completed a Sustainable Business Strategy course at Harvard Business School, driven from a key interest in how sustainability can deliver both purpose and profit in today’s world.
In this episode we cover:
- ⛵The Evolution of SailGP: Exploring how this groundbreaking league has grown and transformed.
- 🌱 Sustainability in Sport: Why it matters and how SailGP is leading the charge for a greener future.
- 👩🦰 Championing Female Representation: SailGP’s ambitious goals and strategies to create more opportunities for women in the sport.
- 🤝 Mentorship & Networking: The vital role of a good mentor and building strong connections in shaping a successful career.
- 💡 Career Lessons with Leah: Insightful takeaways from her journey and experiences in the industry so far.
Hannah Brown is the co-CEO of Women’s Sport for DAZN. With over 20 years of experience in finance, sports media, pay TV, corporate venture and business transformation, Hannah now has the task of developing DAZN’s investment in women’s football rights globally, into a significant business opportunity.
Together with Esmeralda Negron, she founded ata football, a streaming platform and community for women’s football fans. ata football was acquired by DAZN in 2023 and the pair now share joint CEO status of Women’s Sport at DAZN.
Hannah on DAZN:
“DAZN is a really interesting platform because it has grown, solely in a digital environment. So when we think about how DAZN has got it’s products to market, it has done that through really one delivery system, it’s not had to worry about legacy technology or distribution platforms.
It is wholly a digital business, which allows us to do a number of things. It allows us to turn up in all markets around the world simultaneously. There are big streaming challenges in order to do that, which DAZN has tested and met as an 8 year-old business.
What “digital solely” platforms allow you to do, is, yes, turn up in lots of markets at the same time, but it also gives you lots of flexibility when you think about the business models. We want to be the global home of sport. We are doing that vertical by vertical. If you ask football fans outside the UK, we are already the home of football for them.”
Hannah on the DAZN FanZone:
“We run Fan Zone on a multitude of our properties, not just women's football and we are getting pretty decent engagement rates, around 20 to 30% of fans on premium sports events. But when we put it on women's football, that average goes up to 40% and when Barcelona played at Manchester City in the UWCL recently, that FanZone engagement went up to 60%. It was really encouraging to see big match-ups, big story-telling moments. A similar thing happened when Arsenal played Juventus and when big team take part, fans have got a lot to say.
The fans are very positive about that experience too because they are coming into an environment which is not aggressive, they are allowed to say what they want and negative chat in those groups is basically non-existent.
There’s a lot of fun in the FanZone with quizzes and polls, but we integrated that into the broadcast environment in a really serious way, with commentators talking about what the fans are saying, getting their feedback, voting for Player of the Match. So its really nice to be able to say you can get involved and have fun, but we are also going to take your views and perspectives seriously from a broadcast perspective. We have seen a lot of success with FanZone and I think we have only just got started.”
Hannah on the future of Women’s Sport:
I think from a sponsorship perspective, the uniqueness of women’s sport is definitely valuable. How do you get to an audience with a unique message and positioning. I was a biologist back in the day at University and my analogy is that when men's football put it’s head out of the ecological pond from a commercial perspective in the 90’s, the content landscape was not cluttered and it was coming out as a big and strong fish. It had a big fandom and lots of people cared deeply about it and came out with a strategy to grow and prosper in the environment it found.
Women’s football put it’s head out of the ecological pond into a concrete landscape of content and competition, and that’s not just from men’s football, its from everything that people want to do with their weekends. The ease with which content is made available is so different now. So how does women’s football lean into what makes it unique and allows it to go and compete at the product level? Because I think the challenge you have is that if you are a music artist, you are either good or you’re not. People don’t buy a ticket for Ariana Grande or Taylor Swift, thinking they will be good in three years time….they buy because they are good now. So, Women’s Football can’t ask for forgiveness on fandom for a long time, it’s got to create a unique position in the market which then becomes valuable to a sponsor, with kit apparel or broadcast rights. For football, scale is critical. Running teams and rosters isn’t a cheap business and therefore everyone pushing that bar as high is possible is critical, because mediocrity is not going to win.”
ISC International Sports Awards Agency of the Year nominee, Think Beyond, is a leading social impact and sustainability consultancy, working in and through sport and entertainment.
With offices in London, New York and Lausanne, they have an impressive portfolio of clients keen to prepare for the future, including Liverpool Football Club, World Athletics, World Rugby, FIBA, Subway, The Premier League, ESPN, SailGP and more.
In this latest ISC Business of Sport podcast, Andrew James talks to Managing Partner Sam Shave and Senior Partner, Dr Susie Tomson.
Sam on the changing landscape of sustainability in sport:
“We talk about the shift from risk, to opportunity. This started off as CSR and sport felt it had to do something, because someone might look at us, so let’s make sure we tick a couple of boxes and give some money to this charity, so nobody is going to have an argument with us now.
Then it got to the point where sport realised it probably does have to do something. There’s regulation coming in, fan and sponsor expectations etc. But it was still fundamentally, risk mitigation.
What we try to embed with our clients, is that actually, you need to take a different mind set. Fundamentally, what does it look like if you become leaders in this space? You are no longer just reliant on the size of your perimeter advertising boards or the eyeballs on them, you now have a story to tell and that human interest is attractive to partnets. So it’s not about mitigating risk, it’s about maximising opportunity.”
Susie on the business case for sustainability in sport:
“There are three angles really.
One is just, fundamentally, getting your house in order. You can put a value on retaining and attracting clients, there’s a lot of research done around the expectations of the next generation and you can put a value on that too.
You can also start looking at what happens if you lose your licence to operate from an environmental or health and safety perspective, where there are values if you have a breach of compliance.
The third aspect is commercialisation, which is part of the conversation, but becoming an increasingly critical part.
Susie on the climate future:
“When you talk about the climate, that really is looking to the future and making sure that your sport or your business is future-proofed and resilient to the impacts. Now, as in Spain recently, we are seeing lost days of events and damage to infrastructure. All of that has a cost.
We are certainly now moving into that space where we are helping our clients just measuring their carbon and signing the Sports Climate Action Pledge and making sure they are not being damaging, to now realising that you now have to start thinking about what the risk and the impact is on you from a climate perspective.
Looking at each risk, how can you flip that on it’s head and turn it into an opportunity and make sure that from grassroots through to the professional level, you are ready for what is going to come down the track. We are starting to put numbers on ‘what is the cost of adaptation’ and ‘what is the cost of inaction’.”
Sam on the American focus of the next four years, with both the world’s biggest sporting events heading to the USA.
“We are looking quite carefully at the US. Whatever happens over there will be interesting to watch and we hope to be an integral part of that.
We already have an office in New York and interesting clients there. NASCAR is an absolutely fascinating piece to work on. A traditional sport with a really traditional fanbase. In terms of the US political situation their fanbase will have a view on sustainability, but actually, they have got an incredible leadership team that are saying, ‘we want to look at how NASCAR develops and changes into the future”.
It is easy to get into some kind of rabbit hole, looking at what needs to be done with sustainability. But actually, you just want to think ‘what is the kind of sport you want to be delivering in 20 years time and how do you get to that point.
There’s going to be a huge amount of change and sustainability is going to be one of that pieces of change.”
Rob Wilson is Head of Executive Recruitment and Programmes at University Campus of Football Business, which now has sites at Wembley Stadium, Manchester with a global hub in Miami. UCFB is the first Higher Education institution in the world, dedicated to the delivery of University Degrees in the football and sports industries.
Rob on the ISC Professional Network Booster:
“I think it’s a really good partnership, because it provides a huge amount of value for us at UCFB and I really hope that it provides a similar amount of value for ISC, by having those UCFB students around, by enabling them to access some of the parallel sessions and the speakers, I think it will really enrich the dynamics at the events and I hope, that in two or three year’s time, we find those UCFB students that are working in middle executive leadership roles in sport, and they are on the stage at the ISC delivering a talk to the rest of the members and I think that would really demonstrate the golden thread of the partnership”.
Rob on networking:
“Networking is a crucial part of achieving in any sector. Understanding the people that work in the industries you want to access, but also the environments, the behaviours, the cultures, the mannerisms, the way you need to engage, the time of day you need to engage sometimes. How many opportunities do you have to go into a boardroom at a football club to meet a Director of Football Performance or the Finance Director? You need to take those opportunities and I think what the link up with the International Sports Convention does, is to really accentuate what UCFB are trying to achieve, ie: connecting with the sector and ISC is absolutely embedded in that sector. The speakers that are on offer, the events that are driven, are all the types of people and events that our students need to be able to access, to have those informal conversations and to make their impressions on the employers that might have an influence over them in the future”.
Rob on the evolution of UCFB:
“The sco-system is really important, so I would happily assume that ten or so years ago, when UCFB first started, people did begin to take notice of this new thing in the market place, but didn’t really know what it was or what it was offering. But the calls I now have with executives right across the sports sector, when they ask me where I’m from, they say “oh yes, we’ve got an intern from there”. Rick Parry, the CEO of the EFL did exactly that recently.
I think that demonstrates the way UCFB have begun to open up their brand awareness in terms of their students, but also, and this is where its critical, is the students that are going out into those organisations and are undertaking those roles are coming with a higher degree of professionalism and a really good reputation”.
Mya Doelling is the Senior Partnership Manager at the International Olympic Committee – IOC and leads on their Purpose Partnerships Strategy. She previously directed Sports Strategy for the United Entertainment Group and is a graduate of Harvard University and NYU Stern School of Business. Many of the programmes Mya has spent the last five years creating, were delivered at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, including the first ever Nursery in an Olympic Village with TOP Partner P&G.
Mya on Paris 2024:
“It was a really important moment for us to remind the world of the power of the Olympic movement, what these amazing athletes can do and the types of purpose initiatives that athletes champion, that our partners champion and the way that sport as a platform can really make a difference. As somebody who has spent the last five years designing how our partners can really help the Olympic movement achieve greater impact and deliver on our mission, which is to build a better world through sport, this was finally a platform where we could show everyone what we could do. It was a lot of hard work come to life and it was really beautiful to see.”
Mya on Purpose Partnerships:
“Sport and purpose is not for every single business and I think the ones that have naturally and strategically become partners with the Olympic movement, largely came to us because of the Olympic values. It is really about, how do we find those synergies of those values and ways in which we can work together and because it really is not for every single business, that is why it has been unique. The programmes that we have been able to develop have found those synergies where one organisation puts a stake in the ground and has long term commitments in areas of sustainability, or gender equality, youth empowerment, that line-up with the IOC’s roadmap to deliver impact in those spaces.”
Mya looks ahead to LA:
“In the same way that Paris was really my launching pad for what we are doing from a Purpose Partnerships perspective, and the first instance that we have been able to show the results of this strategy, Paris was the first games within the new structure of climate commitments that the IOC has made as an organisation and what we hope to do as the owner of the Olympic Games. So, as we look to LA and Brisbane after that, we have set very clear objectives for our Partners’ and for organising committees’ roles to address not only sustainability, but legacy, venue usage and optimisation. You will see partner initiatives continue to grow in line with these objectives.”
Zoe Burton is a Director in Deloitte’s Sports Business Group, with expertise in advising decision-makers on how best to use technology and digital to meet desired business outcomes.
She leads on Deloitte’s Sports Transformation Advisory Group, working with leading sports clubs and governing bodies to future-proof their businesses. Her expertise reaches across all aspects of sport, from strategy to planning, grassroots participation to fan engagement and data & digital transformation to culture.
Zoe is one of the lead authors of Deloitte’s annual signpost document, the Future of Sport report, published recently.
Zoe on Deloitte’s report - “Future of Sport”:
“We went out to a group of global sports leaders beforehand, to understand their perspective of the future and one of the key things that came out was that they were a lot more optimistic about the future of sport and a lot of that stems from change, so we are seeing that sports leaders have already started to transform towards the future of sport and adapt their organisations to the trends and innovate within their organisations themselves, which I think is leading to them being positive about what change can do for their organisations, for example, the use of digital to drive commercial revenues and when you can start seeing that in action, you suddenly become more optimistic.”
Zoe on fan engagement:
“I don’t think I fear for matchdays. If organisations really start focussing on their fan engagement strategy for Generation Z and Generation Alpha, then they will be able to get it right. There is a view at the moment that what Gen Z and Gen Alpha want is digital and content consumption. But as a collaborative view of the sport ecosystem, we need to keep on bringing those audiences into live sport and that has been a really great opportunity that Womens’ sport has done, so it is more accessible, both from a cost perspective, but also from an atmosphere perspective. It feels more family friendly and that’s where you are going to start pulling in those next generations into live sport and into matchday.“
Zoe on the demands of owners:
“The next generation is coming and it is real and that increased evolving market means that what is being demanded from new investors and new owners is a whole new level of professionalisation with things like management reports, all the way through to what they are expecting from a revenue perspective, because they haven’t all come from sport and we are seeing boards made up of people from different backgrounds to a sports organisation, which means you have just got that diversity of thought, which ultimately is going to drive growth.”
Owen Laverty is the Chief Innovation Officer of Ear to the Ground, a creative agency that builds culturally powerful brands by co-creating with the new breed of fan, in real time.
Ear to the Ground uses a digital platform called Fan Intelligence, which houses a global network of over 11,000 of the world's most culturally connected sports fans.
With a background in Behavioural Economics, Owen plays a key role in how the Strategy and Creative team act on the insights that "Fan Intelligence" uncovers.
Ear to the Ground is helping clients to step out of the boardroom and into what is culturally relevant to a global fanbase. Their current client portfolio includes the likes of New Balance, Playstation, STATsports, FIFA and Arsenal FC.
Ear to the Ground began as a music business, but now, more than 80% of their work is in sport.
Amar is the Head of Content and Comms at @MKTG_UK and the owner and presenter of the Sports Marketeer podcast.
He has over 20 years experience in print, digital media, broadcasting and documentaries.
Amar’s previous employers include West Ham United FC, the London Evening Standard and Budweiser, where he was the Senior Brand Manager in Europe, leading on their football strategy around the English Premier League and Spain’s La Liga.
Her Business of Sport podcast shines a spotlight on women working in the world of sport who are changing the rules of the industry by carving new pathways for women in the field. Each episode interviews a woman in the sports industry about their career journey, experiences working in the field, and advice they give to future generations.
Episode 22 features Emma Murphy, Chief Commercial Officer at Dizplai
In this episode, we’ll dive into:
🔸The evolving landscape for women in sport
🔸 Turning adversity into opportunity
🔸 The power of making your voice heard
Jason Webber joined the Football Association of Wales almost five years ago, to lead on EDI and Sustainability, a brand new role at the time.
Prior to that, Jason worked in various Football Development roles, including coaching at the Cardiff City Academy.
On leaving University, Jason worked for Show Racism the Red Card, which was his introduction to the Equality World.
Jason on the emergence of EDI in football:
“We’ve seen quite a shift in recent years and certainly since the murder of George Floyd. There has been quite a gulf of EDI related roles, particularly in football, but in sport more broadly.
Sport is starting to be under the microscope a little bit more and being held accountable for progress, or lack of it, which maybe other industries have gone through.
So there’s certainly more focus in this area for Chief Executives, National Governing Bodies and in clubs across the game.”
Jason on opportunity:
“Through our BE: Football programme, we do a lot of work in schools, providing playing football opportunities.
Unfortunately, there are still many schools that don’t offer football for girls and it’s very much an exclusive offer to boys.
The Be: Football programme enables skills development and opportunities for girls to be mentors themselves in their own schools and be Ambassadors for younger girls.”
Jason on Governance:
“It is so important that EDI is an explicit and visible core element in any governance.
Many National Associations are often a little bit archaic with how they are structured and set up and that’s been the case for maybe a hundred years.
WE have had a big change ourselves in terms of our own governance models and structures, but also ensuring that EDI is a core part and embedded within those changes and processes and likewise for clubs as well.
We are currently working through to make sure that every club in Wales, from our professional clubs to grassroots, all have their own strategic plans, so that they are very clear on the direction they are going.
The changes we have made ourselves, have brought about better representation and we have made huge changes to our recruitment process.”
Her Business of Sport podcast shines a spotlight on women working in the world of sport who are changing the rules of the industry by carving new pathways for women in the field. Each episode interviews a woman in the sports industry about their career journey, experiences working in the field, and advice they give to future generations.
Episode 21 features Shinead Davis, Head of Premium Services at Brentford Football Club In this episode, we’ll dive into:
- Her recent achievements
- Her career journey so far
- Advice for women working in the football industry
- The importance of making your voice heard
Her Business of Sport podcast shines a spotlight on women working in the world of sport who are changing the rules of the industry by carving new pathways for women in the field. Each episode interviews a woman in the sports industry about their career journey, experiences working in the field, and advice they give to future generations.
Episode 20 features Charlie Sizer, Head of Partnerships at Twenty3. In this episode, we’ll dive into:
- Charlie’s career journey so far - Her personal passion projects - Valuable lessons she’s learned along the way - Strategies to overcome challenges
Immerse yourself in an extraordinary episode of our sports podcast featuring Tim Hinchey III, the President and CEO of USA Swimming and the USA Swimming Foundation! 🏊♂️🏅 Hear firsthand about the exciting plans for the upcoming USA Olympic Swimming Trials and how USA Swimming is aiming for new heights.
🔊 Tim on hosting the USA Olympic Swimming Trials inside an NFL stadium: "We are really excited. This year it's a bit special. We have previously held four consecutive Olympic Swimming Trials in a Basketball Court and sold them out, but this time around, we are going a bit bigger. We are using the NFL Stadium in Indianapolis, Indiana, The Lucas Oil Stadium, and we are going to try and set a world record attendance on the first night on June 15th, which we think is about 16,000 for a global swim meet. What is also great is that in 1924, Indianapolis hosted the first Olympic Swim Trials and also sent those athletes to Paris, so we are doing it a hundred years later, and that is going to be really exciting for us."
🔊 Tim on selling swimming to a new audience: "We are going to have nine days, on NBC, one of our largest broadcast partners, in Prime Time for nine consecutive nights. We need to take advantage of that. They are going to talk about these World-Class athletes, and it's my job to make sure those stories get out to that audience and the spotlight goes on these amazing Women and Men who are in a traditionally amateur sport, but give them the spotlight that they really deserve. USA Swimming hasn't lost a major international competition in over sixty years, so there's a lot riding on this. Hopefully, telling the stories of these swimmers will hopefully inspire the next class of swimmers and keep that 'pipeline' full. So talent development is a big part of this as well."
🔊 Tim on leadership role models: "One of the first big, huge, personalities that I was very fortunate to have several one-on-one experiences with, was the NBA Basketball Commissioner, David Stern. Watching what David did for the NBA, from the 1980's to where it is today, arguably, one of the most profitable, diverse, successful, athletic organisations globally, and to spend time with a leader like that, is something I will never forget. ...the times he put his arm around me, the times he put his finger in my chest, and grabbing those Golden Nuggets out of what he did was super inspiring."
🌟 Don't miss this episode where Tim shares his insights and excitement about the future of USA Swimming!
Hilary Wells - Chief HR Officer, Chief HR Officer, Sony Sports Businesses, Hawk-Eye Innovations Ltd, Beyond Sports & Pulselive
Hilary on ED&I:
“ED&I is huge on our agenda, not only for me and my team from an HR perspective, but its an expectation from the employment market that we are “on point” when it comes to ED&I, as well as sustainability, environment, community – all those social impact aspects that are really important to us.
There’s more work to do, but we have done quite a lot of work already, ensuring that we have got ED&I in our job descriptions to make sure that we are attracting the right balance, making sure that we are not being discriminatory and having unconscious biases.”
Hilary on Sports Integrity:
“It is a huge responsibility for our business, that puts ourselves up as the lead in sports tech for officiating purposes. For us, we just do what we need to do in order to make sure that the data that’s provided to our partners is 100% accurate and then do what we can to ensure that data is used as effectively and professionally as it possibly can be. We want to be the Good Guys in sport. I think we are. It’s a big responsibility, but it’s what we do.”
Hilary on being part of Sony.
“Being part of the Sony Company is extremely valuable to us. Not only is it a quality guarantee, it also allows us access to different investments, it allows us to think bigger than we might do if we were an independent business.
Our challenge is how we make sure we can exist within the Eco System of Sony, but also ensure that we are an innovations business.
We have sort of got the best of both worlds really – the opportunity of a major corporation, as well as being able to operate in the way which we need to.”
Eric Stark is a co-founder and President of Slate, a US-based company that simplifies social content creation for brands, making the process much faster.
Winners of the 2022 ISC Sports Tech Company of the Year, they've been in business now for almost five years.
Eric makes no secret of the fact that his business journey began as an NFL fan first and foremost. He rose through the NFL to become Director of International Marketing and Content Stratgey and also, Manager of International Content Strategy.
His CV includes time with the San Francisco 49ers and the Kansas City Chiefs.
But having worked for multiple teams, along with a business partner, he spotted a gap in the market and Slate was born.
Eric gained a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Film & Media studies from UC Santa Barbara in 2012.
Eric Stark on getting into the Digital Sports Media Industry: "My first role out of college was with the NFL in a digital media capacity. I will say I joined the company and was interested in the role because of the NFL side not because of the digital media side and it was a good pairing because I quickly fell in love with the digital media side and specifically, how digital media and sports come together and that started my career. I have been in the digital media and sports world ever since, but really, I was just an NFL fan who had a best friend in college with a sister who worked at the NFL and I wouldn't stop bugging her, every other week, to say in touch and then an internship opened up and I got an interview and the rest went from there!"
Eric Stark on Slate's USP: When we started, it was about speed for sure. We started as a mobile editing tool only, and it really was about speed of turnaround, especially when you are in person at an event. But there is a need for all social teams across industries to just be more nimble. Yes, speed is part of that, but really it's just about being able to have an idea and to easily execute it and create content.
There's a higher volume of social content that every brand needs to create and there are more platforms than ever that these brands need to create content for. That's only increasing and the need for short-form video content is only increasing and it's not easy to create this content. Teams have to use several different editing tools currently, like Premier and we are trying to make it easier for those teams to create that content without it having to pass through so many hands."
Eric Stark on where Slate goes in the future:
"We are starting to grow more with college athletics in the US. A lot of universities are using Slate for their athletic programmes and a lot of them that aren't, I think will start using it eventually.
Outside the US, we do have some Premier League Clubs and some other international football clubs and rugby and other sports that are popular in Europe and elsewhere, but there is still a lot of room for us to grow.
I am getting more interested in Premier League and international soccer and did a lot of work there when I worked at the NFL with different teams in the Premier League and I think that sport continues to have a really bright future in the US and we are seeing it grow more and more. With the Premier League on NBC and the World Cup coming soon and I live in Portland, Oregon right now, a city which really cares about it's MLS team, so that sport continues to interest me and it's something I will follow."
Niall Couper is the Chief Executive Officer of Fair Game, a fast-growing collaboration of professional football clubs campaigning to improve football governance.
With the support of more than forty world-renowned academics and a growing band of politicians, Fair Game, an ISC Season-Ticket holder, is committed to providing realistic and sustainable solutions to the challenges facing football.
Having recently signed an alliance with the Union of European Football clubs, Fair Game's influence in football globally is growing and Niall Couper, a key player in the re-birth of AFC Wimbledon, is the man leading the charge, on behalf of clubs facing the same kind of difficulties encountered by the former FA Cup winners.
Gabby is the Senior Strategic Partner Manager for International Sports Convention Season Ticket holder, Greenfly, a digital platform seeking to maximise fan engagement opportunities for sports, clubs and leagues globally. Greenfly enables organisations to capture, distribute and organise content. They have become established as part of the short-form content infrastructure.
Gabby previously spent four years working for Meta in a Partnerships role and had a brief spell as New Media Partnerships Director for Copa 90. Gabby also includes Google among her previous employers and she has a First Class honours degree in International Business Management from Newcastle University.
Gabby on the evolution of short-form content: "When you look at the way short-form content has evolved over the last few years, it's been pretty astronomical. You've had the introduction of social media platforms like Tik-Tok for instance, but equally, existing social media platforms, whether it's Instagram or You Tube have evolved their platforms to keep up with this shift in consumer trends.
Gabby on globalisation of content: "Because it is short, short-form content can translate into different interests and cultures. You can make that much more accessible to fans who don't have to sit there for several minutes. You can consume a good variety of short-form content in a short space of time and I think as long as the quality is there, you can translate and make short-form content appealing to all kinds of people.
I think that although that kind of content appeals to sports fans, it also appeals to casual fans. So you don't have to be hardcore fans of tennis or F1, to watch that content. I do believe if the content is engaging and entertaining, you will get an audience. We try and show our clients that yes, you are a sports entity, but you have to be in entertainment too."
Gabby on User-Generated content: "USG is a really powerful tool to enable fans to be brought closer to the action. It makes content a lot more relatable to see yourself represented in that and touching on the diversity point of view, whether you are a league, a team, or a federation, you are able to represent the diversity of your fanbase and give them the microphone to tell their own stories and how they perceive the club and how they enjoy following the journey from their own perspective."
James Dobbs is the Managing Director of Sports News TV (SNTV), the world's leading sports news video agency. Working with over 200 rights holders globally, SNTV produces and distributes exclusive content every day to more than 1200 broadcast, digital and social media companies. SNTV specialises in the production and distribution of branded content, as well as optimisation and monetisation of content across social media channels.
Anzhela Fokina is the Chief Executive officer of the Kateryna Biloruska Foundation, a charitable organisation established in 2019 to promote Health and Wellbeing in Ukranian communities through Education and Sports Participation for everyone.
Anzhela has over 15 years experience in the Charitable and Social sector, having graduated from the Donetsk Institute of Economics and Humanities, with a Masters Degree in International Economics and Relations.
She previously worked for the agricultural giant Syngenta, running their Corporate Social Responsibility operation across almost 100 countries worldwide.
Anzhela co-ordinates the programme of activities for the KB Foundation, in spirts, education and mental health provision.
Her responsibilities also include developing and expanding partnerships with the non-profit sector and public organisations across Europe and in the Ukraine.
Anzhela on working with key partners: “Our owners and board members want to make a huge positive impact on society. If companies want to make a big impact on a community, they will do it. We don’t have a big team, but we try to involve sports ambassadors using teachers. Also, we involve government because we can do things for 20, or 2,000 people. But the government cover the whole territory of the Ukraine and so we can multi-applicate our efforts and what we are doing, on a government level. When government and businesses co-operate with us, we can make good results in a short period of time.”
Anzhela on the challenges of working in the Ukraine currently: “It I really difficult, but now there are a lot of international projects working in Ukraine, but also our local operations too, because more and more people need support. Everyday it becomes more important because of the war and this conflict that we do things to help people with their health and mental health. That is more important than ever.”
Anzhela on the future ambitions of the Kateryna Biloruska Foundation: “We have now reached a very difficult task where we need to increase external funding through some donors and grants. We are facing a very difficult period of reconstructing Ukraine and that’s why we need to increase assistance and at the end of the conflict, for at least 10 or 15 years, we will work with the consequences, which will primarily effect physical and mental health. It is a very big amount of people who would need this support.”
Magnifi is an "AI-Powered" Enterprise Product by VideoVerse that enables content owners & rights-holders to detect key moments automatically, which can be used in creating highlights and short-form videos in real time.
With offices in the US, UK, Europe, Israel, and India, Magnifi works with enterprises across numerous industries, including OTT Platforms, Sports Broadcasters, Leagues, Sports Federations, E-gaming platforms, and Colleges. A driving force behind the company's success to date has been the working relationship of two Indian women who met at a job interview with another business.
Meghna Krishna is Magnifi's Chief Revenue Officer. She has donned multiple business hats throughout a corporate journey spanning two decades with diverse roles in growth, business strategy, marketing, and sales. Immensely passionate about business growth and team building, Meghna has built various businesses across 3 continents in industries including retail, e-commerce, travel, and SaaS.
A typical workday revolves around building strategic alliances, creating highly productive teams from scratch, and managing investor and stakeholder relations to supercharge business growth.
The woman she employed elsewhere back in 2019, is Ritu Bain, now Magnifi's Senior Vice President of revenue. By excelling within the unified domain of revenue generation, Ritu has steered a course of success in sports technology, media entertainment, and travel industries. Her career spans across global markets, where she has helped teams leverage AI technology for impactful outcomes.
Ritu says by integrating sales, marketing, operations, and customer success into a cohesive business function, she has consistently delivered revenue growth. Her approach centers on pragmatic, data-driven decisions and streamlined operations, consistently achieving significant results. By aligning innovation with market demands, She has championed transformative initiatives that empower teams to create meaningful connections, and drive unparalleled customer experiences.
Meghna on the business opportunity: "I was in the travel industry when this opportunity came around in 2019 and I was in Fashion before that. So I was always interested in being in an industry that would be futuristic and provide solutions that were not already available. People asked me why I was joining a start-up business, but if I didn't join a start-up, that would mean that I didn't believe in my own capabilities".
Ritu on sport: "Sport was not something that woke me up one morning and thought, I must figure out more of what is happening in the sports technology world. But definitely, the interest was there in understanding newer technologies like AI and what new sectors we could explore".
Meghna on the scale of their sports media project: "For me, the biggest thing was to realise just what the scope of this thing is, I mean, how big it is and what a massive impact it can have on everyday life. During the pandemic, a lot of sport was not being played. But the viewing figures for the sports that were played went through the roof, which means that it is something that touches almost everybody".
Rajesh D'Souza is the Global Head of Digital Media Company, The Data Sports Group, based in Berlin, Germany.
With expertise in operations, strategic planning, and corporate and consumer management in the digital media and sports sectors, Rajesh previously spent over a decade with The Perform Group.
A self-confessed fan of finding new ways to do things, Rajesh is a big supporter of start-ups and scaling up opportunities.
As we found out, he is also a long-standing supporter of Liverpool Football Club.
Rajesh on the business of DMC: "Our focus is primarily on different industries. We work with sports, fantasy, sports books and even leagues and organisations and we have specific target services that we can provide. For example, with leagues and organisations, we actually work with them to automate much of their social media output and their content processes, which allows them to have smaller marketing or content teams, so they can rely on platforms to generate the content".
Rajesh on raising the profile of minority sports: "What has really happened over a period of time is that a lot of these sports, which were not really accessible on broadcast, now have a lot of visibility on different media formats. We have audience on social and audience on other digital platforms. So, it is becoming the case that a lot of these sports and properties are attracting a lot more audience, a lot more viewers, and a lot more attention. So, the outlet for them is to reach as much of the audience as they can through the content that they can convey to them and many of these sports are now growing their user base".
Rajesh the sports fanatic: "It's always been football. I have been a Liverpool supporter since a young age. For me, football has just been the life and soul. I have always looked forward to it. My son is only 20 months old and he is also very excited about it...well, I think he gets the drift anyway! I would look up to Steven Gerrard, for me he's an iconic footballer player for the club, and his energy was a great influence on me".
Jamie Dapaah is Fulham Football Club's Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Co-ordinator. He joined the club in May 2020 in the midst of the Black Lives Matter movement, transitioning from a coaching background. Jamie requested to speak with someone at the Club about how he could help support the campaign against discrimination, racism and prejudice. He has since been instrumental in leading club initiatives and championing the on-going culture of equality and inclusion across all Fulham's business operations.
A diversity and inclusion practitioner who seeks to create and implement strategies and policies that promote equal opportunities and create a welcoming and inclusive environment for everyone involved in football, including players, fans, coaches, staff, and volunteers.
A strong leader who advocates for diversity and inclusion initiatives and gains buy-in from employees, leadership, and other stakeholders.
Jamie Dapaah on his introduction to EDI: "For me, working within the Foundation on our local community programmes at the time, when George Floyd had passed, it was a time when businesses around the world really looked internally as to how they could progress and almost lead on the Equality, Diversity and inclusion front. So for me, as an employee within the Fulham Foundation, it was really important for me to be involved and engaging in a workforce that was representative of my values. So it was almost, how can I help, how can I use the agenda we already have as a football club, to inspire and galvanise the next generation of leaders as well as the local community leaders, who we engage with on a day-to-day basis."
Jamie Dapaah on Gender Equality within EDI: "It's an absolutely crucial area, not only for female representation in the workforce, but also using an educational element to inspire and galvanise women and girls who aspire to be within the footballing world. We have a female working group and we meet with our female supporter group to see how we can amplify the messaging of inclusion and inspire the next generation. But looking at policy as well and how we can ensure our policies within the workforce is reflective of those we have within it and listening to our staff members as to how we can progress."
Jamie Dapaah on the current state of racism in football: "I think education is key. I think displaying positive behaviours is key. In terms of where we are at, the conversation has been brought to the table now around EDI, but now we have to start acting and ensuring that we have a zero-tolerance approach to discrimination on a matchday or in real-time as well. Online abuse has been huge, and the messages we put out as a football club, need to be representative of our values."
Her Business of Sport podcast shines a spotlight on female sport business administrators who are changing the rules of the industry by carving new pathways for women in the field. Each episode interviews a woman in the sports industry about their career journey, experiences working in the field, and advice they give to future generations.
Episode 19 features Karen Webb Moss - Chair of British Swimming and Executive Chair of More than Equal
In this episode, we discuss Karen’s journey within the sports industry, overcoming both career and personal battles, the importance of female representation, and much more!
Capture is a Digital Asset Management platform, dealing with visual media, predominantly photography and video assets. Everybody knows that you can store so much of your life on your phones these days, but they do that on an industrial scale. It's a slightly different world. The audience is more complex, they are dealing with rights, especially in sport and they deal with things like permissions, because you may not want everyone to have access to the same material. It's about organising and managing your content, so it is useable.
Peter on industry expansion: "Capture has been around for 25 years and we pre-date the industry term of Digital Asset Management (DAM). But over the years, you have really seen the sports industry start to realise the value of "non-live" content, the stuff that sits outside of their production eco-systems and that has become a real focus for us. Whilst sport is very mature in some areas, in terms of archive content, it is right at the start of the maturity model. There is lots of incredible content, that rights holders and clubs have, that is just scattered around. It is often our first question to clients...where is your content? Do you know where it is...and if you did know, what would you want to do with it? That's the bit you can drive value from, if you can find it"
Peter on Customer need: "We know the live event is the primary focus. But once that match has happened, where does that content go? The answer tends to be that nobody is sure. It is sitting with a production company or it's on Dropbox, Flickr, or the Social Media Manager's laptop. But it's not managed and if you don't know what you have or where it is, you can't generate value from it. The requirement for archive content is generally driven by context. Something has happened for somebody to be interested in that content, like the Welcome to Wrexham documentary for example."
Peter on protecting history: "It is sad to say that we have come across instances where a whole period of history has been lost because it was sitting on somebody's laptop. That heritage and history is a key connector for their fanbase or any follower of the sport."
Team Whistle is built to engage and activate today’s fans worldwide through positive and relatable content, wherever and however they want it. They are a pioneer in the data-driven creation and distribution of positive and relatable content in sports and entertainment for young audiences globally. Team Whistle's proven portfolio of unscripted, scripted, and interactive shows are available across its expansive social and AVOD media distribution network. The company's video content IP and audience combined with its powerful analytical, production, and commercial capabilities serve to help brands, distributors, talent, sports leagues, and media companies activate and engage consumers across the content ecosystem. Joe has over 14 years of digital experience, with nearly a decade at Team Whistle cementing their role as a trusted sports and entertainment media publisher that produces uplifting relatable content for a Gen Z and Millennial audience. Caporoso most recently served as the EVP of Media at Team Whistle where he led the creation of positive, relatable sports and entertainment content across YouTube, Instagram, Snapchat, Twitter, TikTok, Facebook, and the company’s linear network, Whistle TV.
Joe Caporoso on change: "One of the interesting things in being at Whistle this long, which I know is relatively uncommon in media, is the role really changes and evolves every couple of years. We've acquired three companies, we have been acquired twice, a lot of that within the past five years, so it's kept me on my toes and you learn a lot very fast and furiously."
Joe Caporoso on capacity building: "We have to have the ability to go through every social platform and find up-and-coming creators who are telling interesting stories and there's an audience for those stories. I think whether or not you are a full-time athlete, even if you are a smaller creator in a very niche area, there are brands and platforms very interested in sponsoring that story-telling."
Joe Caporoso on collaboration with global social networks: "Both sides need each other. Platforms like Meta and TikTok want as much quality, original content as possible. We can provide that ourselves, and we can provide relationships to creators who can provide that and organise how that content is distributed around major tent-pole events. So, there is a definite need and interest in ensuring that we continue to post original and branded content, of a certain quality at a very high volume, with the most cutting-edge and popular creators and all the different platforms are jockeying for how can they get companies like us to put as many resources as possible on their platform."
Eva Pasquier, Jules McGeever, and Stuart Larman co-founded EqualCareer with a mission to drive transformative change within organizations, addressing the critical issues of inequality, underrepresentation, and gender imbalance. Through tailor-made, hands-on workshops designed for women across various sectors, EqualCareer empowers women at every stage of their career journey. These workshops provide practical learning and development experiences, equipping participants with the tools not just to succeed but to excel in their workplaces. Simultaneously, EqualCareer assists organizations in fostering sustainable growth by promoting representation, diversity, and equity.
Despite comprising 47% of the global labour force, only a mere 2.06% of women reach leadership positions. Many organizations now discuss the importance of achieving a minimum 30% gender balance and representation, yet few possess a concrete strategy to attain this goal. EqualCareer steps in to provide those much-needed solutions.
Eva, Jules, and Stuart bring extensive backgrounds in the world of corporate and sport industries to EqualCareer, having previously delivered programs for women round the globe on behalf of UEFA where Eva worked as Head of International Relations. This provided them with a global perspective on the challenges faced by women and organizations in combatting gender inequality both on and off the field. Their experiences have equipped them with the insights and strategies required to ensure enduring organizational success through meaningful change.
Jules on the current state of women's football. "The recent World Cup was a pinnacle and showpiece. You just have to look at the stats for investment in the women's ga,e, it is undoubtedly growing, on and off the pitch. I think where Eva and I are really looking at that behind the scenes, things aren't quite as equal as they should be."
Eva on equality: "There is only football and it's played by females and it's played by males. It is really important not to have a woman in a top position, just for the sake of having a woman there. It is really very important that we have qualified women there.
Jules on the Spanish team: "The injustice of what happened is that at least it has opened up a conversation that needed to be had. While women's football is going in the right direction, things are not perfect behind the scenes and that is what we are trying to correct."
Eva on barriers to success: There are two main barriers that are stopping women from being where they should be, or where they would like to be. First of all is the internal bias that prevents women from going out to show what they can do. The second barrier is organisations themsleves, their HR systems, promotion systems, hiring systems. This is what we are addressing with our Equal Careers programme.
Jules on bias: "Where there are problems, there are biases that stop women getting on. For us, what we have noticed all around the world, is that it is normally a culture problem within an organisation. Football is 27% female, but only 7% of females are in top roles."
Her Business of Sport podcast shines a spotlight on female sport business administrators who are changing the rules of the industry by carving new pathways for women in the field. Each episode interviews a woman in the sports industry about their career journey, experiences working in the field, and advice they give to future generations.
Episode 18 features Maddie Coutts - Senior Business Development Manager and Women in Sport Lead at 50 Sport
In this episode, we discuss Maddie's career journey, championing women in sport, the importance of networking and much more!
The Business of Sports podcast allows for in-depth interviews where guests share their expertise and career journey to date. The episodes are full of great content, topics, and case studies. The Business of Sport gives an opportunity for the next generation of sport business professionals to learn about the variety of careers and opportunities with personal journeys. For those already in the industry, it gives a fresh take on some key subject matters and personal stories of challenge and success.
This Episode features Anneliese Mesilati - Head Brand Activation & Sponsorships, Americas - UBS
Anneliese Mesilati is now in her fifth year as the Head of Brand Activation and Sponsorship, Americas, for UBS.
The former Londoner-turned-New Yorker, has a proven ability to communicate brand values through storytelling and multi-channel campaigns that engage the right audiences, through the right messaging and approach.
Passionate about her field, Anneliese is adept at tackling business challenges, developing high-performing teams and navigating complex organizations, to drive change and future direction.
Anneliese on the UBS philosophy: "We are the world's largest wealth manager and we are with many of our clients and their families for multiple generations and many years. So we look at where we can connect with our clients and where can we be seen, from a brand perspective, in places and spaces where our clients will see us.
Anneliese on the UBS Arena: "New York is actually the global home for ultra-high net worth. The New York Islanders ice hockey team were effectively homeless and looking for a venue. So, we became the naming rights partner of the brand-new UBS Arena. I don't think the Islanders fans believed this was actually going to happen until the doors opened. It was really incredible, something I will never forget!"
Her Business of Sport podcast shines a spotlight on female sport business administrators who are changing the rules of the industry by carving new pathways for women in the field. Each episode interviews a woman in the sports industry about their career journey, experiences working in the field, and advice they give to future generations.
Episode 17 features Sarah Lewis OBE OLY – Global Sports Leader
In this episode, we discuss Sarah's career journey, qualities of a good leader, the biggest doping scandal in Cross-Country Skiing, inspiring women in the world of sport, and much more!
The Business of Sports podcast allows for in-depth interviews where guests share their expertise and career journey to date. The episodes are full of great content, topics, and case studies. The Business of Sport gives an opportunity for the next generation of sport business professionals to learn about the variety of careers and opportunities with personal journeys. For those already in the industry, it gives a fresh take on some key subject matters and personal stories of challenge and success.
This Episode features Carlo de Marchis - Advisor
Carlo de Marchis has a proven record of building and growing profitable sports and media technology assets on a global scale. A digital media executive, innovator, marketer, Carlo is an "ideas person", creative, a challenger, curious, passionate, and a natural evangelist for Deltatre, with whom he worked for 35 years, after being one of the original five employees. Through the years, he has led many multi-million, multi-year contracts with strategic clients and been at the core of the company's impressive growth. An early adopter of the web and digital, now focusing on OTT, D2C marketing, social, mobile, AI, AR/VR, the evolution of beyond-TV and visual storytelling. Carlo has worked on top sports events including F1, Ski World Cup, Athletics, UEFA Champions League, FIFA World Cup, NFL and the Olympics. Now considering his next steps, Carlo is the host of a podcast/newsletter "The guy with a scarf" - a title he has willingly adopted after his frequent appearances at conferences and events, with a classy Italian scarf to complete his stylish demeanour.
Her Business of Sport podcast shines a spotlight on female sport business administrators who are changing the rules of the industry by carving new pathways for women in the field. Each episode interviews a woman in the sports industry about their career journey, experiences working in the field, and advice they give to future generations.
Episode 16 features Ginelle Polinil - Global Brand Partnerships Director Minute Media
In this episode, we discuss Ginelle’s career journey into the sports industry, her move from Canada to the UK, inspiring women and much more!
And much more!
The Business of Sports podcast allows for in-depth interviews where guests share their expertise and career journey to date. The episodes are full of great content, topics, and case studies. The Business of Sport gives an opportunity for the next generation of sport business professionals to learn about the variety of careers and opportunities with personal journeys. For those already in the industry, it gives a fresh take on some key subject matters and personal stories of challenge and success.
This episode features Angélique Richardson - Senior Associate - Freeths
Angelique Richardson is a former British Fin Swimming champion and a synchronized swimming coach.
She is now one of the UK's leading Sports Lawyers, working predominantly in boxing, but also in football, basketball and a collection of other sports too. In this podcast, Angelique reflects on her career in elite sport and her transition into the relatively new world of Sports Law.
The Her Business of Sport podcast shines a spotlight on female sport business administrators who are changing the rules of the industry by carving new pathways for women in the field. Each episode interviews a woman in the sports industry about their career journey, experiences working in the field, and advice they give to future generations.
Episode 12 features Michelle Dorgan – Head of Marketing and Communications at Women In Football.
This episode covers:
- Danetta’s journey into the sports industry
- her proudest career moments
- overcoming self doubt
And much more!
The Business of Sports podcast allows for in-depth interviews where guests share their expertise and career journey to date. The episodes are full of great content, topics, and case studies. The Business of Sport gives an opportunity for the next generation of sport business professionals to learn about the variety of careers and opportunities with personal journeys. For those already in the industry, it gives a fresh take on some key subject matters and personal stories of challenge and success.
This Episode features Martin Cassidy - CEO - Ref support UK
Martin Cassidy is the CEO of the charity Ref Support UK, which offers a platform to referees independently of The FA. Martin is also the co-host of a popular podcast, Ref Pod. A former national list match official, Martin retired early due to injury. He took up refereeing after a knee injury stopped him from playing football. He worked for the FA at Wembley in The FA Referees Department for 7 years, coaching referees at all levels.
This episode covers:
Martin on the new Participant's Charter:
"I think The FA have made some of the most, progressive, positive moves over the last 18 months that prior to that, they hadn't made for decades really. They have never been so supportive of referees, so we are really delighted and we welcome it, absolutely we do.
Having Howard Webb come in is another wonderful move by The FA. He has already removed Mike Dean as VAR lead and what's really positive is that the PGMOL have got together with the League Managers Association and the Professional Footballers Association to deliver this. It's never been done before and my charity, Ref Support, have been calling for the bodies representing players and managers to stand up with The FA and the PGMOL in criticising how their members act towards referees. It's got to make the environment on matchdays better for everybody. Sometimes, they use the word "passion", to justify referee abuse. I was born and bred around Anfield and the likes of Shankly, Paisley and Dalglish were all passionate, but they didn't treat referees like Klopp has done."
Martin on the use of Bodycams by referees:
"It shocked me how many referees don't report the abuse they get. Some might not do it because they have reported it in the past, but in their opinion, nothing has happened. There's also the problem at the grassroots level is that most football is played within 20 miles of where referees live, so they maybe don't want to go public for fear of bumping into the people involved.
We lobbied for Bodycams six years ago. We wrote to The FA, but the head of refereeing at the FA said they had no appetite for Bodycams. But it was just him, and when he left, the FA said we are going to go ahead with the Bodycam pilot, and I was told last week, it's going to be expanded. It is proving to be a huge success, but we knew it would. The only barrier is the cost. But we have been working on developing an app for your phone and a strap to allow referees to wear it in matches at lower levels and feel more protected."
Martin on diversity in refereeing:
"I was lucky enough to officiate games with Uriah Rennie, but we haven't had a top flight official in the middle, since 1991 from the BAME community. On the representation side of it, I think they are doing some wonderful work and there's real signs now, that everybody should have the same chance.
With the female side of things, we had made great progress in the 1990's. Wendy Toms was running the line in the Premier League. A game in the Conference, as it was called then, had three match officials, all female. So what happened? Why has it taken util now to get female referees in the EFL? The FA had let down the Women's game for decades. But now it's a game changer and its down to those changes The FA have made in their structures. The "blazers" have gone and the people running it now are doing it transparently and look what is happening. I think we are in a better place than ever."
The Her Business of Sport podcast shines a spotlight on female sport business administrators who are changing the rules of the industry by carving new pathways for women in the field. Each episode interviews a woman in the sports industry about their career journey, experiences working in the field, and advice they give to future generations.
Episode 14 features Rhea Freeman - PR, Marketing and Social Media Consultant & Coach at Rhea Freeman PR
This episode covers:
- The importance of athletes using social media to their advantage,
- Qualities of a good leader,
- Tips and tricks on how to gain sponsorships and much more!
And much more!
The Business of Sports podcast allows for in-depth interviews where guests share their expertise and career journey to date. The episodes are full of great content, topics, and case studies. The Business of Sport gives an opportunity for the next generation of sport business professionals to learn about the variety of careers and opportunities with personal journeys. For those already in the industry, it gives a fresh take on some key subject matters and personal stories of challenge and success.
This episode features Sally Freedman - Author - Fairplay Publishing
This episode covers:
- Sally’s debut book "Get Your Tits Out for the Lads"
- The Football Writers Festival
- The importance of governing bodies taking accountability
And much more!
Sally on her book:
Sadly throughout my time working in football in Australia, New Zealand, and Europe, there were many stories related to sexism, misogyny and gender inequality. I joked on a podcast one day that I probably had enough stories to write a book. I didn't know, but at that time, the publisher of the book was listening and got in touch with me and said; "Sally, if you are going to write a book, please let me publish it."
The idea was to launch it before the FIFA Womens World Cup 2023, so I had a year to try and put some thoughts and diary entries down and I made the deadline and even now, when I say I have a published book, I still don't quite believe it.
Sally on media coverage:
We are playing catch-up. With the rise of Women's sport, not only football, we are finally seeing change. But in my opinion, it's too little, too late. Why did it take England winning a trophy for people to stand up and start reporting on women's Football? That's what I struggle with.
When the culture is rotten from the top, it's very, very hard to change.
In the UK, female commentators and reporters are part of the furniture now, but that isn't replicated across the world.
Sally on change:
Governing bodies can do more in terms of accountability and punishment for when sexism is called out. But I make it clear in my book, I don't blame men. We are living in a gendered, stereotyped world where we all have bias and that is hard for anyone to change.
The Her Business of Sport podcast shines a spotlight on female sport business administrators who are changing the rules of the industry by carving new pathways for women in the field. Each episode interviews a woman in the sports industry about their career journey, experiences working in the field, and advice they give to future generations.
Episode 13 features Alicia Povey - Women’s content lead at Southampton football club
This episode covers:
- Alicia’s career journey to Women’s content lead at Southampton Football Club
- Qualities of a good leader
- Alicia’s proudest moments whilst working with the Saints
- The importance of making connections in the sports industry
- Alicia’s advice about getting started in the industry and building a career
And much more!
The Business of Sports podcast allows for in-depth interviews where guests share their expertise and career journey to date. The episodes are full of great content, topics, and case studies. The Business of Sport gives an opportunity for the next generation of sport business professionals to learn about the variety of careers and opportunities with personal journeys. For those already in the industry, it gives a fresh take on some key subject matters and personal stories of challenge and success.
This episode features Peter Hutton - Sports board member and advisor
This episode covers:
- Saudi Arabia
“Its been a really great experience being part of the development of the Women’s League in Saudi. I know the headline stories are about the star names going there, but its the fact that they are building something and its been really cool to see the stadiums full of families, watching women play without headscarves, in a league that’s only a year old. It shows just how football can be part of wider change.
When I was first asked to get involved, they said they want to be one of the top 5 leagues in the world. When you’ve heard that from China and the MLS, you are naturally a bit sceptical. But the fact that they ate building academies and the women’s game gives me faith that we are doing something quite useful.”
- The changes in sports broadcasting
“The media landscape for the last 30 years has been shaped by Pay TV, but the growth of Social Media and streaming is beginning to take that space and I think that change is difficult for the sports industry to cope with, because they are used to the big guaranteed cheques of Pay TV and it was relatively easy money!
But social media is not like that. It demands a level of effort and control that a federation or a team or a league is not necessarily used to having. Its a different philosophy to have to make your own content, rather than watching people make content that features you.”
There was almost an expectation that of course, companies like Facebook/Meta would show sport. But the business model that underpins sport, is one that Social Media don’t really need. I think you can make the argument that sport needs Social Media more than Social Media needs sport.
- The use of VR for audience growth
“ We want content that makes a viewer feel active and part of what’s happening and that’s what you learn from gaming. If you watch young gamers, they are doing several things at once and playing with friends. So the opportunity of VR, is that you take all the things you see and do watching a game, and put them into one experience. There’s something there about a better way of watching sport.
And much more!
The Her Business of Sport podcast shines a spotlight on female sport business administrators who are changing the rules of the industry by carving new pathways for women in the field. Each episode interviews a woman in the sports industry about their career journey, experiences working in the field, and advice they give to future generations.
Episode 12 features Michelle Dorgan – Head of Marketing and Communications at Women In Football.
This episode covers:
- Michelle's career journey to Head of Marketing and Communications at Women In Football
- Qualities of a good leader
- Michelle’s passion for lecturing and inspiring the younger generation
- The importance of equality in the workplace
- What employees look for on a cv
- Michelle’s advice about getting started in the industry and building a career
And much more!
The Her Business of Sport podcast shines a spotlight on female sport business administrators who are changing the rules of the industry by carving new pathways for women in the field. Each episode interviews a woman in the sports industry about their career journey, experiences working in the field, and advice they give to future generations.
Episode 11 features Cathy Long - Lauryn Turner - Chief Operating Officer at USA Gymnastics
Turner joined USA Gymnastics in March 2020, bringing more than 20 years of leadership experience in the sports industry. She most recently served as Vice President, Development for Varsity Brands where she led the cross-divisional growth initiative that spanned affiliate companies Herff Jones, BSN Sports, and Varsity Spirit. Turner also served as the organization's National Director, Development, Sales and Operations where she oversaw business growth in the event and apparel sectors. In this role, Turner worked with a network of gyms across the country to provide competition and business-strategy support as well as essential educational resources.
Throughout her career, Turner has garnered extensive experience in the areas of strategic planning and development and as a catalyst for positive change through collaboration and analytical business management.
This episode covers:
- Lauryn's career journey to Chief Operating Officer
- The importance of being passionate about your job
- How USA Gymnastics strives to empower athletes to use their voice
- Female leadership
- Lauryn's advice to listeners
And much more!
The Her Business of Sport podcast shines a spotlight on female sport business administrators who are changing the rules of the industry by carving new pathways for women in the field. Each episode interviews a woman in the sports industry about their career journey, experiences working in the field, and advice they give to future generations.
Episode 10 features Cathy Long - Founder & Managing Director at Aposto
Cathy has 33 years’ experience in the football industry, primarily with the Premier League. She designed and led the Visit Football assessment programme, the Equality Standard for Professional Football and co wrote the Accessible Stadia Guide.
Cathy founded Aposto, a consultancy and digital agency specialising in event safety. The Aposto platform enhances safety with digital briefings and audit trails and our Matchbox system enables data gathering and reporting for leagues. Clients include AEG (the O2 Arena), Premier League and EFL clubs, the FSOA and numerous festival organisers.
This episode covers:
- How Cathy began as a campaigner turned into a policy maker
- The disconnection between ticketing people and safety people.
- Safety at sports events
- Game 39
- Kathrine Switzer
- Cathy’s advice to listeners
The Her Business of Sport podcast shines a spotlight on female sport business administrators who are changing the rules of the industry by carving new pathways for women in the field. Each episode interviews a woman in the sports industry about their career journey, experiences working in the field, and advice they give to future generations.
Episode 9 features Renee Washington - Chief Operating Officer at USA Track & Field.
Renee Chube Washington joined USA Track & Field as its chief operating officer in June 2012. As COO, Washington manages the multi-million-dollar budget and 60 person staff.
Alongside the CEO, she develops and implements corporate strategy and direction. Washington has broad cross-enterprise oversight of all departments including: High Performance Programs, Events and Broadcast/Entertainment Properties, Merchandise, Legal, Revenue and Marketing, Communications, Grassroots Outreach and Youth, Finance and Revenue.
In 2017, Washington was named a 2017 Game Changer by Sports Business Journal, as a female executive making a difference in the business of sport. She earned a Cynopsis Top Women in Sports honor in 2019 as a leader in sports operations.
This episode covers:
- The importance of volunteering and being a part of your community
- Renee’s journey to Chief Operating Officer
- Supporting athletes both on and off the track & field
- Renee’s open door policy
- Encouraging conversations about people's passions
- Qualities of a good leader
The Her Business of Sport podcast shines a spotlight on female sport business administrators who are changing the rules of the industry by carving new pathways for women in the field. Each episode interviews a woman in the sports industry about their career journey, experiences working in the field, and advice they give to future generations.
Episode 8 features Bonita Mersiades - Author and Publisher at Fair Play Publishing and Founder of Football Writers Festival.
Bonita has been active in football for a lifetime as a volunteer, and professionally with a national league club, state federation, as team operations manager for the men’s national team, the Socceroos, and as head of corporate and public affairs for Football Australia.
She was one of the first people in the world to speak out about the environment and culture within which world football and FIFA operated in the context of the 2018/2022 World Cup bidding contest. Bonita is known as a 'FIFA whistleblower', and advocated globally for independent governance reform of world football administration long before the famous 2015 FIFA arrests in Zurich.
In this episode, Bonita talks about her career journey into the sports industry. Bonita shares her highs and lows throughout her career, the importance of using your connections, Australia co-hosting the Women’s World Cup, and much more.
This episode covers:
- Bonita’s journey from government to sports industry
- The World cup bidding process for Australia
- The systemic issue within world football administration
- The Footballer’s Writer Festival
- Bonita’s qualities of a good leader
- The importance in having a mentor when breaking into the sports industry
- Bonita’s advice about getting started in the industry and building a career
The Her Business of Sport podcast shines a spotlight on female sport business administrators who are changing the rules of the industry by carving new pathways for women in the field. Each episode interviews a woman in the sports industry about their career journey, experiences working in the field, and advice they give to future generations.
Episode 7 features Sara Butler – Managing Director of Shoot The Company
Sara is the Managing Director for Shoot the Company – an award winning film production agency that has been making films for influential brands over the past 15 years. As a film producer and director, she has worked with some of the biggest names in sport & business and has brought unique collaborative and creative culture to projects that enables everyone to feel empowered and inspired through her work.
As a creative, her impact to the industry doesn’t stop there. Sara also serves as a non-executive member of MAMA Youth Project – a charity that trains young people from under-represented backgrounds to succeed in the media industry, and she is on the Industry Board for the Global Academy.
An expert on all things Media and Film, Sara is dedicated to bettering the industry and is very passionate about equal opportunity for women in the sports industry.
In this episode, Sara talks about her career journey as a film creative delivering impactful projects within the sports world. Sara shares the beauty of storytelling, the responsibility that comes with having a platform, her experience working in film and sports, and much more.
This episode covers:
- Different creative film projects within the sports world including working with Women in Football and UEFA
- The importance of storytelling and the impact of having a platform
- Championing other women in the industry – breaking down barriers through mentorship and fighting for equal opportunity
- Negotiating your new job contract!
- How Sara learned to deliver negative feedback and appreciating different personalities within a team
- Justin Edinburgh and his legacy
- Sara’s advice about getting started in the industry and building a career
The Her Business of Sport podcast shines a spotlight on female sport business administrators who are changing the rules of the industry by carving new pathways for women in the field. Each episode interviews a woman in the sports industry about their career journey, experiences working in the field, and advice they give to future generations.
Episode 6 features Elisa (Ellie) Pettit - Founder and CEO of EEP Consulting
Ellie has 14 years’ experience of design, delivery and implementation of sports events and fan engagement activations globally. She has very recently moved into freelance work, starting her own events management consultancy business called EEP Consulting. Before this transition, Ellie worked as Head of Events for NBA Europe and Middle East. She was responsible for leading the strategic direction and delivery of NBA games, tentpole events and activations throughout the region. She advised and led idea generation for new and innovative ways to activate the NBA brand both in the physical event space and online/virtually.
In this episode, Ellie generously shares her story about discovering her passions and stepping into the sports industry. Ellie and Erin talk about all things event management, tips for interviewing, branding yourself, leadership skills, and more.
This episode covers:
- Ellie’s roles and responsibilities at the NBA
- How she discovered that event management is one of her true passions
- Why most schools in our society only teach young kids about traditional jobs out there!
- Critical skills to be successful working in events
- Ellie’s recent transition to freelancing
- How Ellie steered her career path and concrete pieces of advice when it comes to interviews and branding yourself
- How to enter the sports industry without having previous experience working in sport!
- Clare Balding and her impact
- Ellie’s last piece of advice for pursuing a career in sport and in event management
The Her Business of Sport podcast shines a spotlight on female sport business administrators who are changing the rules of the industry by carving new pathways for women in the field. Each episode interviews a woman in the sports industry about their career journey, experiences working in the field, and advice they give to future generations.
Episode 5 features Donna Kelso - Grand Slam Supervisor for the Women’s Tennis Association and Director of the Women's Tennis Association University.
Donna has served the professional tennis community since the age of 20, attaining the highest level of International Certification – Gold Badge Chair Umpire, Chief Umpire and Referee simultaneously and officiating Her first Grand Slam as Chair Umpire at Wimbledon.
At the peak of her on court career, Donna was one of only 2 female Gold Badge Chair Umpires in the world.
Donna joined the WTA in 1998 as a WTA / Grand Slam Supervisor and continues to be highly involved in officiating, being the final on site authority on rules and decisions at WTA Tournaments and working closely with athletes, coaches, broadcast, sponsors, Tournament organizers and of course officials.
Donna has worked 111 Grand Slams, 4 Olympics Games and countless other tennis events all over the world.
This episode covers:
- How Donna was proactive in stepping into the tennis world at a young age
- Donna’s career journey starting as a umpire and then transitioning into operations and logistics for the WTA
- Being a young female working in a male-dominated field that is umpiring
- How Donna balanced having a successful career with travel responsibilities and raising a family
- Qualities of a good leader and the impact Billie Jean King has on sports and society today
- Billie Jean King and the Original 9’s 3 revolutionary ambitions for women and girls in sport
- Donna’s piece of advice for pursuing a career in sport
The Her Business of Sport podcast shines a spotlight on female sport business administrators who are changing the rules of the industry by carving new pathways for women in the field. Each episode interviews a woman in the sports industry about their career journey, experiences working in the field, and advice they give to future generations. Episode 4 features Katie McIntyre - CEO of Sports Venue Business, a platform dedicated to providing educational resources and access to the sector’s key influencers and decision-makers, all delivered via a range of media-rich formats. Katie has 20+ years experience in the business of sport, first running PanStadia magazine, before spending 3 years working for the new owners on PanStadia & Arena Management and the Stadia & Arena Asia Pacific event. McIntyre then launched Sports Venue Business (SVB) back in September 2016, which is now the leading platform for the sector, delivering insightful interviews, in-depth feature articles and case studies, as well as video interviews with industry execs, which explains why there are now more than 30,000+ industry professionals across the network. Finally, Katie is Executive Director for the hugely successful ALSD International conference and exhibition; Europe’s one & only event dedicated to the Premium Seat & Hospitality sector.
This episode covers: * Katie's career journey into the sports industry
- What it takes to be a CEO and a positive leader
- How the industry has changed since 1997 - good and bad
- Female empowerment within the industry and how to help others
- Rachael Blackmore and her impact in horseriding and sport
- Katie's final piece of advice for women in the sports industry
The Her Business of Sport podcast shines a light on female sport business administrators who are changing the rules of the industry by carving new pathways for women in the field. Each episode interviews a women in the sports industry about their career journey, experiences working in the field, and advice they give to future generations.
Episode 3 features Carly Poyser - a female empowerment coach passionate about helping women entrepreneurs find their voice and feel confident when starting their businesses.
Carly is on a mission to see more women step into leadership positions and provide equal representation within the sports industry. As a huge advocate for women's sports, she single-handedly, successfully created the women and girls youth programmes for her local rugby club, Bishops Stortford RFC. 6 years later, the women's programme is sustainable and has provided opportunity for women and girls to play rugby. Carly currently serves as Director and Chair.
This episode covers:
- Carly's career background in business and her journey transitioning into consulting
- The current status of the industry when it comes to gender equality
- How we can facilitate progressive change on an individual and institutional level
- The importance of female role models for future generations and what it means to be a leader
- How women can channel our inner confidence!
- SUMMER 2022 - Women's Sport Trivia
- Carly's final piece of advice for women in the sports industry
The Her Business of Sport podcast shines a light on female sport business administrators who are changing the rules of the industry by carving new pathways for women in the field. Each episode interviews a women in the sports industry about their career journey, experiences working in the field, and advice they give to future generations. Episode 2 features Eve Roberts, who is Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion Officer for the Surrey FA and a professional wheelchair basketball player for the East London Phoenix. Diagnosed with Cerebral Palsy at a young age, Eve wasn't aware of the opportunities to play and work in sport. However, after getting involved with a local wheelchair basketball team, she instantly fell in love with all sports and went on to compete for the Team GB Wheelchair Basketball team. Since then, Eve has devoted her professional and athletic careers to her passions of creating more pathways for people of all backgrounds to enjoy sports and showcasing equal representation within sports for the next generation to come. This episode covers: * Eve's career journey * The importance of representation within the workforce * Eve's experience as a professional para-sport athlete * Mental health awareness for professional athletes * What it means to be a positive leader within sport. * Limited sport opportunities for young girls and women * Advice for the future generations
The Her Business of Sport podcast shines a light on female sport business administrators who are changing the rules of the industry by carving new pathways for women in the field. Each episode interviews a women in the sports industry about their career journey, experiences working in the field, and advice they give to future generations. Episode 2 features Eve Roberts, who is Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion Officer for the Surrey FA and a professional wheelchair basketball player for the East London Phoenix. Diagnosed with Cerebral Palsy at a young age, Eve wasn't aware of the opportunities to play and work in sport. However, after getting involved with a local wheelchair basketball team, she instantly fell in love with all sports and went on to compete for the Team GB Wheelchair Basketball team. Since then, Eve has devoted her professional and athletic careers to her passions of creating more pathways for people of all backgrounds to enjoy sports and showcasing equal representation within sports for the next generation to come. This episode covers: * Eve's career journey * The importance of representation within the workforce * Eve's experience as a professional para-sport athlete * Mental health awareness for professional athletes * What it means to be a positive leader within sport. * Limited sport opportunities for young girls and women * Advice for the future generations
The Her Business of Sport podcast shines a light on female sport business administrators who are changing the rules of the industry by carving new pathways for women in the field.
Each episode interviews a women in the sports industry about their career journey, expereinces working in the field, and advice they give to future generations.
Episode 1 features Mariana Gutiérrez Bernardez, who is the director of Liga MX Femenil, Mexico's top-tier women's professional football leauge, and is supported by more than 10 years of experience developing women's football in Mexico.
In 2009, Mariana was co-founder of the largest football 7 vs 7 tournament for women in Mexico. Later in 2015, she joined the Mexican Federation of Football in the Amateur Football department, as coordinator of National Leagues, highlighting her leading role in
developing and coordinating the first national amateur women's league of the FMF U16 and U13. In 2016 she took on the management of the new professional women’s football league “LIGA MX Femenil” in the LIGA MX / ASCENSO MX office, focusing her work on the development of professional women's football in Mexico.
Born in Mexico City, she has a degree in Textile Design from “Universidad Iberoamericana” and a master's degree in “image consulting” and “football business” as well as she reached her pro license degree, the highest coaching qualification in Mexico. She is a member of the Women's Football Committee of the FMF and LIGA MX / ASCENSO MX and member of the Advisory Board of “School of Sports Sciences” of the “Universidad Anahuac”. Mariana is an avid women's sports advocate vocalizing her opinions and expertise within the matter on a global scale.
This episode covers:
- Mariana's career journey
- Transitioning from athletes to business professional
- Limited sport opportunities for young girls and women
- Skills to embody as a leader, director, and sport business administrator
- Challenges faced when pursuing a career in sport
- What it means to be a good leader
- Advice for the future generations
The Her Business of Sport podcast shines a light on female sport business administrators who are changing the rules of the industry by carving new pathways for women in the field.
Each episode interviews a women in the sports industry about their career journey, expereinces working in the field, and advice they give to future generations.
Episode 1 features Mariana Gutiérrez Bernardez, who is the director of Liga MX Femenil, Mexico's top-tier women's professional football leauge, and is supported by more than 10 years of experience developing women's football in Mexico.
In 2009, Mariana was co-founder of the largest football 7 vs 7 tournament for women in Mexico. Later in 2015, she joined the Mexican Federation of Football in the Amateur Football department, as coordinator of National Leagues, highlighting her leading role in
developing and coordinating the first national amateur women's league of the FMF U16 and U13. In 2016 she took on the management of the new professional women’s football league “LIGA MX Femenil” in the LIGA MX / ASCENSO MX office, focusing her work on the development of professional women's football in Mexico.
Born in Mexico City, she has a degree in Textile Design from “Universidad Iberoamericana” and a master's degree in “image consulting” and “football business” as well as she reached her pro license degree, the highest coaching qualification in Mexico. She is a member of the Women's Football Committee of the FMF and LIGA MX / ASCENSO MX and member of the Advisory Board of “School of Sports Sciences” of the “Universidad Anahuac”. Mariana is an avid women's sports advocate vocalizing her opinions and expertise within the matter on a global scale.
This episode covers:
- Mariana's career journey
- Transitioning from athletes to business professional
- Limited sport opportunities for young girls and women
- Skills to embody as a leader, director, and sport business administrator
- Challenges faced when pursuing a career in sport
- What it means to be a good leader
- Advice for the future generations
In this edition of careers in Sport podcast we speak to Joyce Cook who is CBE, OBE Chief Social Responsibility and Education officer at FIFA.
Nigel Fletcher, CEO of International Sports Convention discusses with Joyce her fascinating career.
This includes:
- Joyce starting out as a Nurse in the early part of her career
- Her career journey with roles with Football Against Racism in Europe (FARE), Women in Football, Sports Ground Safety Alliance, UEFA and Centre for Access to Football in Europe (CAFE)
- FIFA vision and mission and Joyce current role
Nigel and Joyce discuss diversity and inclusion in particular:
- Women and girls football. How this has changed. Joyce reflects on her personal experience and what FIFA are doing now and in the future.
- Joyce being openly gay. They discuss the prejudice Joyce has encountered but also the positive openness in sport, football and society
They discuss a number of topics including mentorship (mentor and mentee), networking in the sports industry, online education and the power of football. Joyce shares so much of her experience and expertise in this fascinating, personal and open podcast.
*During one answer, Joyce refers accidentally to London 2012 instead of EURO 2012.
George Pyne, the founder and CEO of Bruin Sports Capital, the global sports and entertainment company headquartered in New York, is one of the most knowledgeable, incisive and respected operators in the global sports industry. Callum Murray caught up with him on behalf of the Business of Sport Podcast with the International Sports Convention to ask him his views on the future of global sport. How will it emerge from the global pandemic? Where will the opportunities lie? And how is technology changing the way we view sport?
In the short term – the next 12 to 36 months – “the future for game-day revenue is going to be challenging,” he warns, continuing: “The pandemic is going to be with us for a while. Mid-way through next year there’s a possibility of a return to normal, but the cost of delivering a live event will go up.”
Pyne continues: “Billions and billions of revenue is being taken out of the system and that going to be a shock to the system and that shock is going to last for a while.” Even if spectators are able to attend events again, Pyne expects the market to experience “turbulence” for two reasons:
- “Coming out of the pandemic, people will be naturally hesitant to go back to live events;
- “If people take 12 months off from a lifestyle decision, there’s a chance that they might find other interests and not come back.”
Bruin employs 15 people itself, while about 1700 work at its 18 portfolio companies. These include the likes of: Deltatre, the sports broadcast technology company whose CEO Giampiero Rinaudo was the subject of a previous Business of Sport Podcast (https://internationalsportsconvention.com/the-business-of-sport-podcast-giampiero-rinaudo-ceo-and-co-founder-deltatre/), Two Circles, the UK-based data-driven sports marketing agency; and OverTier, a joint venture with WPP which distributes NFL Game Pass, the NFL’s OTT service, globally.
In April, the coronavirus lockdown forced Bruin to abandon its planned sale of Deltatre for an expected figure of over $1 billion, having acquired it in 2016 for about $160 million. However, Pyne insists that he was not disappointed and that Bruin is in no hurry to put Deltatre back up for sale, saying: “We’re under no pressure to anything, except for the right thing. Our thinking now is we love the management team and we’re going to work to aggressively build that company. It’s a global company, it works with many of the major federations and broadcasters around the world, and we’re excited about the future. I see us in there for a number of years going forward.”
Pyne remains upbeat about the future of the sports industry, despite the challenges it faces, predicting that it will once again return to strength in “three or four years,” because sport’s intrinsic value, its unique ability to “represent” its fans, “that’s not going anywhere.”
Richard Lewis, the outgoing chief executive of the All England Club, organiser of the annual Wimbledon tennis championships, is Callum Murray’s guest on this edition of the Business of Sport Podcast with the International Sports Convention.
A former player himself – he competed 13 times at Wimbledon – Lewis joined the club eight years ago, witnessing some great moments during his tenure, including Britain’s own Andy Murray winning the men’s singles title in 2013 and then again in 2016, the first Briton to do so since Fred Perry in 1936.
What he didn’t expect was that his departure would come amid an unprecedented period of crisis management at the club, which took the difficult decision on 1 April to cancel this year’s championships because of the coronavirus pandemic.
Was that decision made too early? Couldn’t Wimbledon, like the French Open at Roland Garros, have been postponed until later in the year? No, says Lewis. The French Open is played on clay, which means that the ‘window’ in which it can take place is much longer than Wimbledon’s, which is dictated by the weather, the light and the fact that it is played on grass.
“There’s a very limited window for staging the championships,” Lewis explains. “It’s no coincidence that we are pretty much focused around the longest days of the year in the UK.”
The decision to cancel was facilitated by the fact that, unusually for a major sporting event, Wimbledon was insured against the effects of a major pandemic, such as COVID-19, meaning that its ‘surplus’ – the profit that it is distributed to grassroots tennis via the Lawn Tennis Association, the sport’s national governing body – is largely protected.
Other elements of the club’s work, such as its Wimbledon Recreated campaign, which aims to involve fans in tennis-related activities in their own homes during lockdown, were not covered by the policy, but represent an investment as well as a cost, Lewis adds.
Lewis also addresses broader issues in tennis, including a proposed merger of the men’s ATP and women’s WTA organisations (“If it’s a merger of equals, you can easily see how there can be cost savings and efficiencies, given the financial strain that both tours are under,” he says) and a more collective model for the present, fragmented sale of tennis broadcast rights.
Having a “forum, or a panel or a board” that was drawn from the sport’s seven main stakeholders – the ATP, the WTA, the International Tennis Federation, and the four Grand Slams, Wimbledon, and the Australian, French and US Opens – would make sense, according to Lewis, but he draws the line at the collective sale of the rights for the Grand Slams, pointing out that Wimbledon has been able to triple the prize money for players in the last decade, thanks to its commercial ,success.
“You need to be very careful about breaking a business model that’s working,” he concludes. “I’d be pretty confident that one collective deal would lead to less income. Where there’s low-hanging fruit is where the sport is undervalued, and I don’t think it’s undervalued at Grand Slam level. I think it’s [undervalued] on the tours.”
Callum Murray’s guest on this edition of the Business of Sport podcast with the International Sports Convention is Mary Harvey, who graduated from playing in goal for the US women’s national soccer team that won both the inaugural Women’s World Cup in 1991 and gold medals at the 1996 Olympic games, to her present role as chief executive of the recently established Centre for Sport and Human Rights, a human rights organisation for the world of sport.
In between, she worked for Fifa and then the successful joint bid by USA, Canada and Mexico to host the 2026 men’s World Cup,
There couldn’t be a more timely and pivotal moment to discuss issues of human rights in sport, and, asked if the Black Lives Matter campaign that’s sweeping the world presents an
opportunity for the Centre to raise and amplify human rights issues in sport that might have been going unheard previously, Harvey replies: “Absolutely. I’m asking for a paradigm shift
in every part of our lives. I’m not a person of colour, I’m white, but” – and here she quotes a banner she saw while attending a Black Lives Matter protest march the day before the interview – “silence equals privilege.” Harvey says she regards athletes who have staged high-profile protests, such as Colin Kaepernick and Megan Rapinoe, as “human rights defenders, rather than troublemakers,” commending them for standing up for what they believe in, even though it might mean putting their livelihoods and their physical safety at risk. In the wake of the COVID-19
lockdown, she adds: “I really hope that sport now has an opportunity to look at itself and say, "We can do better by these people’.” In the interview, Harvey also discusses other contemporary human rights issue in sport, including the plight of migrant workers helping to build the infrastructure for the 2022 Fifa World Cup in Qatar and the case of Larry Nassar, the disgraced USA Gymnastics doctor who sexually abused dozens of young athletes, and how they can be prevented from recurring (“First thing is, don’t bury your head in the sand,” she says, with reference to the Nassar case. “It’s there. It’s in all walks of life and it’s a question of, let’s get serious about safeguarding.”)
The funding of bodies involved in sport integrity – combating doping, match-fixing and the abuse of athletes – also comes under the microscope, with Harvey pointing out that the anti-
doping movement is by far the best funded of the three. “I think we have to look at that,” she says. “It’s disproportionate. Harvey applauds the IOC’s moves towards gender parity in appointments to its commissions and in the athletes taking part in its events, but, for her, the “bible” on human rights in sport is The Ruggie Report, written in 2016 by John Ruggie, Patron of the Institute for Human Rights and Business. “The Ruggie Report stands up over time in terms of what sports bodies can do to really embrace human rights…”, she says. “Any sports bodies that are listening to
this, that really is a fantastic piece of work – and it’s public.”
Henry Menezes has over 35 years experience in Indian Football. Starting as a national team goalkeeper as well as a variety of football development, administration and business experience.
He is currently Deputy Chairman of the All Indian Football Association Technical Committee.
In this edition of inside the Football Industry we will explore:
- Football Development and Grassroots structure in India
- Football Competitions including Baby Leagues and the Indian Super League
- FIFA U17 Competitions
- Opportunities and Challenges for European Clubs in developing commercial partnerships
- Elite Football in India and ambitions in AFC and FIFA Tournaments
- FIFA 2034 World Cup Bid?
It’s a full overview of Indian Football – Grassroots, Competitions, Commercial and Partnerships.
If you’ve never heard of Deltatre, and you’re a sports fan, you’ve almost certainly seen their work, whether in the form of statistics, graphics, some of the world’s top sports websites and mobile applications, or in the burgeoning OTT market for streaming live sports.
Historically, the Turin-based TV technology company has been involved behind the scenes in some of sport’s greatest events, from Olympic Games to Fifa World Cups.
In our latest episode of the Business of Sport Podcast with the International Sports Convention, Callum Murray’s guest is Giampero Rinaudo, Deltatre’s chief executive and co-founder. In this episode, we look at sports broadcasting after the lockdown and ask Giampiero: ‘How will the way the industry delivers sport and the way we watch it have changed?’
Founded 34 years ago, “not before the internet, but before the PC,” as Rinaudo puts it, Deltatre has grown up alongside the sports broadcasting industry, often pioneering the changes that have conditioned the way we watch sport on TV.
With 50 per cent of its workload now deriving from the OTT industry, its workforce is now over 1,000 strong, based at its HQ in Turin, in London and in other centres across the world. Since Bruin Sports Capital, the US sports investment group, took a 75-per-cent stake in the company in 2015, that workload is increasingly focused on US sports – all four of the US major leagues are Deltatre clients.
Notably, the company is responsible for handling technical delivery worldwide of NFL Game Pass, the league’s international OTT service, as well as delivering the websites of all 32 of the NFL’s teams.
In December, Bruin also acquired Two Circles, the UK-based data-driven marketing agency, opening up new opportunities for Deltatre to use data to interact with TV viewers. “We are going to become more and more a data-led platform to collect and understand the behaviour of the users,” says Rinaudo.
Deltatre is also helped in this ambition by the recent launch of its own data-driven, real-time platform mtribes. Using mtribes, Deltatre is able to analyse viewers’ habits to discover that, for example, a viewer is interested in certain players, or only wants to watch highlights. This enables Deltatre to ‘personalise’ a digital offer. “I can show you something that is different from what I show to somebody else, because I know that you like this particular content. And all this is done in real time,” says Rinaudo.
One remaining sports media sector in which Deltatre is not yet involved is e-Sports, and Rinaudo says that the company is seeking to find a role and to invest in this area. “I’ve been watching some Formula 1 virtual races,” he adds, “and they are fun. That’s something that will continue to grow in the future. This is something where Deltatre should have a major role.”
As for his management style, Rinaudo’s policy is unchanged, despite the growth of the company from its three founders to its present scale. “I tend to delegate,” he says. “My motto is that for any specific task, there is always somebody better than me. I think I’m good at choosing, maintaining and orchestrating a strong management group.”
Tim Ramsberger is Chief Operating Officer for Visit St.Pete / Clearwater
In this edition on Sports Tourism and Events, we explore:
- The destination of St.Pete and Clearwater within the state of Florida
- Sports Events past and future in St.Pete and Clearwater
- Sports Tourism – Strategy, Impact and Measurement
- Long term focus – The Brand
- Marketing B2C, B2B
- NFL SuperBowl, Tampa 2021
Our guest today is Pavel Klymenko, Head of Policy – Global Monitoring and Human Rights.
In this edition we focus on:
- FARE – Football Against Racism in Europe – Origins and remit of FARE and what FARE does
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Campaigning as an important component of FARE and cases from: Eastern European Development Project, Erasmus Plus Sport Projects and Football v Homophobia.
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Sport as a means for social change
- Examples of reducing racism and inequality in football
- A Case study with the German Football Association (DFB)
- Why leadership in sport is missing representation from ethnic minority groups and why this is important for the future of sport
This is the Business of Sport Podcast with the International Sports Convention. Our Show on careers in sport giving you insights, expertise and guidance.
Our guest is Misha Sher. Misha is WorldWide Vice President at MediaCom.
In this edition we cover:
- How a mindset of being curious is Misha's mantra and what this really means in the world of sport and business
- An in depth Case study on Pele, developing brand and commercial assets for the worlds greatest ever footballer and forging partnerships with the likes of Proctor and Gamble, Hublot, Gillete and Coca-Cola.
- Great insight in this podcast is given to sport sponsorship and brand activation.
- Why Winston Churchill and Michael Jordan are the two people Misha would have dinner with.
Dariusz Mioduski, is owner and chairman of Legia Warsaw. He is also Vice-Chairman of the European Club Association and member of the board of administration for UEFA Club competitions and member of UEFA club competitions committee.
In this edition of the Football Industry podcast we explore:
- Legia Warsaw brands and culture
- Legia ambitions on the field – national, European and the development of the youth academy
- Growing the business with a focus on entertainment, media, women, youth, e-gaming and community.
- The campaign – Ready to Help
- Understanding the DNA of Warsaw, its fans but with an eye for change and development.
- What success really means and how it can be quantified.
- The future of European Club Club competitions
Franz Jung, Vice President of China’s Envision Group and Chairman of the Board of Envision Virgin Racing, the team that competes in the Formula E electric motor racing series, is our
latest guest on the Business of Sport Podcast with the International Sports Convention.
What is the future of motor sport in a climate emergency?
With Envision Group, the world- leading greentech company as the team’s majority owner, Jung, whose career before joining
Envision was with luxury car brands like Mercedes, BMW and Porsche, is uniquely placed to answer that question.
“We will see a steep increase of electro-mobility racing in future,” says Jung. “I can’t imagine that there will be no more [fossil] fuel-powered racing, but electro-mobility races will grow a lot over the next 10 years.”
Speaking to Callum Murray, he explains that Envision decided to invest in a Formula E team because it has “exactly the same vision” as the race series, which he summarises as: “Being clean’, being hi-tech, being powered by battery, being powered by computing… Possibly Envision, within the entire Formula E teams, is the only company which is 100-per-cent sustainable – and this is one of the major reasons why we acquired two years ago the
majority stake.”
In its first season, 2018-19, the Envision team finished in third place in the team standings, out of 10 teams, Jung points out proudly, a highly commendable result for a non-OEM (original equipment manufacturer – or major car brand-backed team). Other teams on the grid count the likes of Nissan, BMW, Jaguar, Mercedes-Benz and Audi as backers. However, rubbing shoulders with such brands also gives Envision the opportunity to introduce them to its own technology solutions, especially its Artificial Intelligence of Things-powered batteries (for those unfamiliar with AIoT, Jung provides a useful explanation).
The technology also helped the team to win last year’s race in Paris, according to Jung, enabling it to predict “almost by the minute, when it is raining and where on the circuit.”
The 14-race 2019-2020 Formula E season was suspended in mid-March after five races, as a result of the COVID-19 crisis. With a possible resumption of racing behind closed doors scheduled for July, the Envision Virgin team, like others, is taking part in a virtual e-Sports Formula E racing series, the ‘Race at Home Challenge’, in the meantime.
Competing in Formula E is expensive, Jung admits, but media revenue growth of between 300 and 400 per cent from season to season justifies the cost, while budget caps imposed by the FIA, the sport’s world governing body, and Formula E ensure that smaller, non-SEO teams like Envision Virgin Racing can remain competitive.
Jung, who says he never reads management books, also discusses his own management style, after over 20 years of leadership roles in the automotive industry, saying it is built on trust: “I’m not a micro-manager at all. ‘You have your job to do. Please go and do it, and come back to me if you have a problem. And as long as I don’t hear anything, everything goes well’.”
Robin Russell is CEO and Chairman at Sports Path.
In 2005 after 26 years with The Football Association (the FA), Robin left to start his own business in e-learning specialized in football and also to become UEFA Football Development Consultant for whom he still works. He has also acted as a consultant on coach education and football development projects with FIFA, CONCACAF, Asia Football Confederation and a number of national football associations and professional clubs.
In this edition of the Football Industry podcast, Robin explains:
Growth and retention, the need for innovation in football participation.
Why retention is important
Why participation is important
Which groups are most at risk
Relative Age Effect, ie late birthdates
The underlying problems in retention
Linking video games to practical football
Coach Quality and retention
Free play – facilitate but not coach
Numerous case studies and examples are drawn upon globally.
Stay tuned.
Stefan Gunnarsson is head of marketing and commercial at the Icelandic Football Association.
In this edition of the Football Industry podcast Stefan explains:
- The marketing and commercial structure at the Icelandic FA
- Some of the key initiatives with sponsorship partners -Opportunities for commercial growth, the development of esports
- How the fans and supporters are the DNA of the national team and current national identity
- How fan engagement matters and what digital and brand activation has been successful
Stay tuned.
Vincent Gaillard, CEO and Director General of European Professional Club Rugby, is our latest guest on the Business of Sport Podcast with the International Sports Convention.
EPCR, based in Lausanne, Switzerland, is responsible for the two top, annual pan-European rugby union clubs competitions: the Heineken Champions Cup and the European Rugby Challenge Cup.
Speaking to Callum Murray, Gaillard discusses the challenges facing EPCR, as it wrestles with the implications, sporting and financial, of the COVID-19 lockdown in place across Europe.
Both of the EPCR-run competitions have been halted at the quarter-final stage, but, says, Gaillard, “We remain absolutely committed to the completion of the current 2019-20 season as soon as it is practical to do so, according to the guidance of the governmental authorities. We’re looking at a late summer, early autumn window to play those last three weekends.”
Canal Plus, the French pay-TV broadcaster, was recently reported as withholding the final tranche of its rights fee payments for the season to the country’s Top 14 league, because of the failure to complete its own season, but Gaillard insists that EPCR’s broadcast partners have made no such threats because its two competitions intend to complete their seasons in the late summer or early autumn – even if this means playing the quarter- and semi-finals and finals behind closed doors.
This option is, however, one that one that “we hope to avoid at all costs – a last resort,” according to Gaillard.
Gaillard is also frank about the problems facing rugby in general. “There is absolutely no question that the financial implications of the crisis will be challenging for all,” he says, “perhaps for some more than others. The risk of collapse of some clubs is real. I think it’s going to get worse before it gets any better, for sure. In the wider business one of the knock-on effects of this crisis is to question the value of everything we do.”
The 21 employees of EPCR itself are presently working reduced hours during the lockdown, albeit, “Right now, the only known impact on our revenues is on ticketing,” Gaillard says. To put this in context, 85 per cent of the revenues for the Champions Cup and Challenge Cup come from broadcast rights fees, with sponsorship and ticketing making up the rest, in the proportion of roughly two-thirds to one-third.
Earlier this week, it was revealed that talks are under way to create a Club Rugby World Cup. One possibility, Gaillard says, is a competition taking place once every four years and replacing the knockout stages of the Champions Cup, with the eight clubs qualifying for the quarter-finals playing off, instead, against eight clubs from the southern hemisphere. “This is not for next season, and possibly not for the one after, but hopefully not too long after that,” says Gaillard.
There were reports that World Rugby, the international governing body, wanted an annual competition, but, says Gaillard, “It has to stay something rather exceptional, something rather rare, and that’s why we don’t believe doing it every year is right.” Meanwhile, he dismisses the possibility of World Rugby intervening, saying: “We have been reassured by World Rugby that there is no opposition to EPCR owning and running such a competition.”
Mats is currently head of efootball and gaming at the Norweigan Football Federation.
In this edition of the Football Industry podcast:
Mats explains efootball and gaming and what the status is currently in Norway and how efootball is growing.
The link between social media, digital activation and e-football, and the collaboration between professional players and pro gamers.
The opportunities of sponsorship through efootball and how this transpired and the benefits to sponsors such as Santandar.
The friendly efootball match between Norway and Germany.
Fan engagement and looking at differences between to the two genders in terms of participation and efootball and much more.
Stay tuned.
In this edition on Sports Tourism, we will explore:
- Catalonia as a sports destination
- Catalonia Events strategy
- Catalan Athletes acting as ambassadors
- The diversity of Sports as an attraction for tourism and business tourism
- The region as a Technology hub, reviewing esports as priority - Public and Private partnerships
- 2030 plan – Pyrenees-Barcelona candidature of the 2030 Winter Olympics
- We review Sanchez Casal Academy and of course their flagship brand FC Barcelona
- Insight into Catalonia marketing, communication and partnership strategy to continuously develop and build Catalonia as a hub for tourism through sports
Stay tuned.
Our guest today is Stuart Larman. Stuart is currently director of Club Licensing and Club Development at the UAE Pro League. He has had previous roles with FIFA, the Asian Football Confederation and worked for numerous development projects in Japan.
Stuart supports local team Southend United in the lower divisions of the English professional football. In this edition, Stuart explains football development and best practice in Asia. His role at FIFA in overseeing and implementing infrastructure projects. Insights into the benefits of artificial turf pitches and small-sided football. Information and football development insights on England, Japan, China and the UAE.