Sports Pundit Podcast Network

Today’s episode I’m joined by Eddie Lewis. Eddie was an American soccer player and is now the CEO and Founder of TOCA Football. During his 14 year tenure as a professional player, he spent much of his time in the US and UK, playing for the likes of San Jose Clash, Preston North End, Leeds United, and LA Galaxy - where he played alongside David Beckham. Since finishing his playing career, Lewis has remained in football, founding TOCA, a training technology company that is used in both elite training centres as well as within TOCA Social, entertainment venues that tap into the trend competitive socialisation, which is best encapsulated by the likes of TopGolf and more recently, F1 Arcade. Time Stamps: 2:00 - Visiting TOCA Social at the O2 in London 3:00 - Expanding the Experiential Venue Concept into the U.S.5:00 - The Growth of Women's Soccer and How TOCA can Support8:00 - The Impact of Beckham and Messi and Forecasting the Growth of Soccer in the U.S. 10:00 - Taking Investment in TOCA from Major League Soccer14:00 - Becoming 'TopGolf for Football' and Engaging with Fans and Players 17:00 - Applying Lessons from Playing Professional Football to Founding a Company20:00 - Using Technology to Close the Gap and Enhance Player Development26:00 - Dealing with Rivals and Taking Inspiration from Other Sports31:00 - Building for Athletes First - A Lesson from Will Ahmed, CEO of Whoop34:00 - Future Plans for TOCA FootballAdditional Reading: Game On: Experiential Venues Worth a Shot to Engage Fans Outside the Stadium Driving Engagement: F1 Arcade Opens First US-Based Venue Digital Revolut-ion: Why it's Important That WeWork On and Offline Sweaty Equity: Why Sports Leagues are Setting Up Investment Funds Diary of a CEO Podcast with Whoop CEO, Will Ahmed - How I Built A $3.6 BILLION Company & BEAT Apple! Connect with Eddie on LinkedIn - ⁠here⁠Connect with Andy on LinkedIn - ⁠here

Today’s episode I’m joined by Zarah Al Kudcy, the Commercial Director for Chelsea FC Women’s team, as well as a trustee of the Women’s Sports Trust.Having previously held commercial roles in World Rugby, ECB, and most recently, Formula 1, Zarah joined Chelsea this summer tasked with building and growing commercial revenue related to the women’s team through sponsorship, ticketing, hospitality, and digital content.Time Stamps: 1:00 - NWSL Final and learning from other sporting properties2:00 - The Case for Women’s Football to be Standalone from the Men’s5:00 - Engaging with fans of Chelsea’s Men’s and Women’s Teams6:00 - The difference between International and Domestic Growth 10:00 - Balancing Coverage Between Match Reports and Lifestyle Content12:00 - Better Signposting Women’s Football 15:00 - Including Women’s Players in EA Sports FC2423:00 - Commercial Power of Female Fans and Breaking Down Women’s Football Audiences27:00 - Sponsorship Case for Investing in Women’s Sport34:00 - Not Becoming Reliant on Subsidies or Sponsors36:00 - Lessons to Learn from Men’s Sport (Football and Rugby) 38:00 - Keeping up with the Pace of Change On-and-Off the Pitch41:00 - Extending the Legacy of the Lionesses Off the Pitch 45:00 - Highlighting Female Leadership Off the Pitch with Angel City Additional Reading: In The Game: How Ultimate Team Inclusion is Driving Women’s Football Forward Female First: Kang Bets on Value of Women's Teams as Independent, Collective Assets   Perfect Stormz: Making Diversity and Inclusion in Football a lot less Merky The 'unbundling' of Women’s Football (Arsenal x Adidas x Stella McCartney) ⁠Finally, a Female Football Boot⁠ (Nike football boot launch)Connect with Zarah on LinkedIn - hereConnect with Andy on LinkedIn - here