SportsPro Podcast

The latest episode of the Playbook Podcast sees host Matt Rogan seeking how to shape and influence the cultural side of an organisation. Matt is joined by Tony Simpson, partner at Oliver Wyman, to decipher high-performance cultures and to find out if any business really wants one. The pair also discuss how to create drive and energy in your business in a candid and wide-ranging conversation. Tony Simpson has held a variety of leadership roles in sport and media businesses in both Europe and the Middle East advising corporations and governments on business transformation, corporate structure and executive alignment strategy. And more good news! The SportsPro Podcast has been nominated for a Sports Podcast Award. If you like what you hear, please vote for us in the Best Sports Business Podcast category here. Please note that you will have to register first.

Eoin Connolly gets a look inside soccer’s transfer market with Financial Times sports business correspondent Sam Agini; Kieran Maguire, author of The Price of Football and co-host of the podcast of the same name; and Daniel Geey, partner in the sports group at Sheridans law firm and author of Done Deal. They explain what must happen and who needs to be involved for a player transfer to take place, reflect on how deals are valued and the financial instruments that pay for them, and consider how the market affects clubs’ behaviour and what reforms could improve the state of play. And more good news! The SportsPro Podcast has been nominated for a Sports Podcast Award. If you like what you hear, please vote for us in the Best Sports Business Podcast category here. Please note that you will have to register first.

Amid a build-up dominated by the Novak Djokovic vaccine saga, Press Association tennis correspondent Eleanor Crooks joins Eoin Connolly to preview the Australian Open. They discuss how the men’s world number one’s Covid stance will affect his standing in the game, how the episode has been received by other players and fans, and the implications for the tennis authorities and other sports bodies in creating vaccination policy. They also cover broader themes in the business of tennis, from competition in the calendar to how the WTA will cover the fallout from the alleged 2021 disappearance of Chinese star Peng Shuai. And more good news! The SportsPro Podcast has been nominated for a Sports Podcast Award. If you like what you hear, please vote for us in the Best Sports Business Podcast category here. Please note that you will have to register first.

The latest episode of the Playbook Podcast sees host Matt Rogan seek to challenge the assumption that financial management in business is a formulaic skill. In a bid to prove that financial management is not just simply having the numbers in the right place on a spreadsheet, Rogan talks to two partners at EY in Anna Faelton and  Eva Garcia de la Fuente about their work at the global services firm, as well as some of the challenges outside of the sport-space and the applicable lesson in dealing with them  for those within it. As the conversation moves on Anna Faelton and Eva Garcia de la Fuente also lift the lid on how to approach translating a company's finances into a coherent strategy and then executing on that plan. And more good news! The SportsPro Podcast has been nominated for a Sports Podcast Award. If you like what you hear, please vote for us in the Best Sports Business Podcast category here. Please note that you will have to register first.

SportsPro editor at large Eoin Connolly turns quizmaster for a festive reflection on some of 2021’s defining trends. Two teams – SportsPro digital editor Tom Bassam and senior staff writer Ed Dixon; SportsPro media and tech editor Steve McCaskill and Charlie Beall, VP of digital strategy and ventures at Seven League, the digital sports consultancy within IMG’s Media & Events division – battle to a dramatic and by no means contentious finish.   They cover soccer’s European Super League debacle and its fallout, NFTs and sport’s metaverse dreams, major events and geopolitics, media rights adjustments and the continued rise of the athlete voice.

SportsPro senior contributor Matt Rogan talks to Louise Johnson, chief executive at sports marketing agency Fuse, about business planning going into 2022. They discuss how Louise juggles daily and long-term planning in an organisation with 100 staff in the UK and another 250 around the world. Louise also explains how she balances the needs of clients – including PepsiCo, McDonald’s, Nissan, and Carlsberg – with those of internal teams and Fuse’s parent, Omnicom. And they look at how best to assess annual targets, growth and resources, and future changes and obligations, in a testing period for the industry.

As tennis star Peng Shuai’s generates headlines worldwide, SportsPro editor at large Eoin Connolly is joined by China Sports Insider’s Mark Dreyer and Professor Simon Chadwick, global professor of sport at Emlyon Business School. They discuss local reaction to Peng Shuai’s sexual assault allegations against former vice premier Zhang Goali and consider the WTA’s response. With a US-led diplomatic boycott of Beijing 2022 possible, they ask whether sport’s relationship with China is changing. Then SportsPro staff writer Rory Jones talks to Danish Football Union (DBU) chief executive Jakob Jensen about its promotional boycott of the Qatar 2022 Fifa World Cup.

SportsPro senior contributor Matt Rogan talks to Emma Barraclough, product owner at Blue Fuel. Emma leads elite sports nutrition company Blue Fuel, launched in 2020 within Chelsea Digital Ventures - a ‘digital-first, consumer product business spun out from Chelsea Football Club.’ Rather than narrowing the conversation to a single area, this conversation covers the expanse of responsibilities undertaken by a business leader - in particular ones in a fast growth sector. From launching during a pandemic to scaling both a B2B and B2C business simultaneously, this is a fascinating look inside a fast growth business and a really candid reflection on the highs and lows of leading and juggling divergent priorities.

With a racism scandal rocking English cricket, SportsPro editor at large Eoin Connolly talks to Chris Grant, an independent Sport England board member and expert in change management, to ask how organisations can respond properly to reports of discrimination and protect people from abuse. Chris outlines the structural reforms sports bodies and businesses should embrace and explains why an honest dialogue is vital to the industry’s future, culturally and commercially. Meanwhile, SportsPro staff writer Rory Jones dials in from the Smart Cities and Sport Summit in Copenhagen to relay the key trends in event hosting and urban development.

SportsPro senior contributor Matt Rogan talks to Adam Fraser, chief executive of the Laureus Sport for Good Foundation. Adam talks about how to put purpose and social impact at the centre of a sports business, explaining how Laureus works through projects around the world and also laying guiding principles for any organisation.  He also reflects on his transition to a CEO role, exercising global leadership through the limitations of the pandemic, and where a generational shift will take the cause of sport for good in the future.