Business of Sport – Details, episodes & analysis

This week, we are delighted to welcome Charlie Methven to the show. Charlie is the co-owner and CEO of Charlton Athletic. He was part of the consortium that bought the London club in 2023, and was appointed CEO earlier this year. But as many of you will have seen in the infamous ‘Sunderland til I Die’ Netflix documentary, this isn’t his first dabble in football club ownership. 

He was part of the group that took over Sunderland as they attempted to recover from back to back relegations. What followed was the most transparent insight into what happens when it all goes wrong at a club, both on and off the pitch. You can’t rely on the owner to pick up the tab at the end of every month; you have to build a sustainable business behind the passion and fanfare. That’s not as easy as it sounds. 

It’s the realities of decision making at the highest level, the understanding that universal popularity is impossible, underpinned by what goes into running a sports entity as a business.

We’re delighted to welcome Charlie to the Business of Sport.

On today’s show, we discussed:

Navigating Football Finances:

• What did the business of Sunderland look like when Charlie and the new owners bought the club in 2018?
• How to manage going from £200m a year revenues to £20m.
• Owners cannot be left to pick up the bill. A club has to be sustainable if it wants to progress.
• What does it cost to buy a team outside of the Premier League?
• How are budgets spent? The cost of running the academy, first team, women’s team, behind the scenes staff.
• The problem with relegation clauses; why they’re very important but often hard to implement when attracting the top talent.

The Sunderland Experience 

• Balancing the business objectives of a football club alongside fan expectation can be the hardest job of an owner. How do you navigate it?
• There were ingrained cultural issues at the club. How did Charlie go about changing these?
• Managing a player wage bill that was more similar to a Premier League club than a League One club.
• How did they go about turning a £27m a year loss making club into a breakeven Championship team in just a few years.

Buying Charlton

• What did the new ownership buy Charlton for and how does that compare to the current revenues across the club?
• The unique academy set-up that plays a huge part in the successful running of Charlton, and the strength of the local population that feeds it.
• What are the ambitions of the team over the coming years and how are the ownership looking to achieve them?
• The challenge with running a women’s team in an environment that isn’t set up for success; how the FA missed a golden opportunity to make women’s football great.

This week, we’re delighted to welcome Marcos Galperin to the show. Marcos is the founder of Latin American e-commerce giant Mercado Libre. Last year, he bought the Miami Sharks, a Major League Rugby expansion franchise, combining a lifelong passion for the game with asset ownership in a high potential league and market.

There are some crazy numbers in the world of sports valuations, and the opportunity to identify value where it is not yet maximised is becoming increasingly hard. Can rugby make it in the US? Hosting the 2031 Men’s Rugby World Cup is a huge opportunity to build community and engagement in the sport, but a strong domestic league needs to underpin the temporary arrival of a major tournament, and that is what Marcos is looking to help create in Miami. 

Understanding the motivations of owners is crucial to helping fans establish a deep relationship with their teams. This is the story of why one of the tech industry's best entrepreneurs went all in on franchise rugby. 

In today’s show we discuss:

Rugby in the US:

• Why the 2031 Rugby World Cup taking place in the US is a huge opportunity to build a strong community required to sustain attention on the game.
• Major League Rugby is an emerging league with increasing potential to challenge more established sporting organisations in the country; what needs to happen to grow the league?
• What are the key revenue drivers behind teams in the league? Does the league negotiate and broker deals or do franchises have the opportunity to do so at a local level?
• Miami Sharks has a strong South American following and community. Who are their fans? What do they want to see when they go to games?

Running a franchise:

• What is the cost of entry to buy an expansion franchise in Major League Rugby?
• Sports ownership can often be an ego play rather than financially driven business endeavour. What was the motivation behind Marcos purchasing the team?
• It is crucial to form an identity to be able to take out to market and sell to partners looking to work with you. How have Miami done this to build a roster of sponsors many MLS and NFL teams would covet?
• How important has it been to have the right people in place behind the scenes to execute the vision of the ownership?
• MLR has a salary cap to ensure overspending and subsequent financial mismanagement can’t happen. Is this good or bad?

The global profile of rugby:

• Why the need for a global league aligned to the international calendar has never been greater.
• There are not many global stars in rugby, and rugby clubs need to encourage their players to build and leverage their brand to boost the sport as well as the wider ecosystem.
• Riding the Miami wave; how the growth of Inter Miami and the ‘Messi effect’ has created a buzz in the area to take advantage of. 
• The social value of rugby is huge! Why Marcos thinks his time playing the game was more valuable than his traditional education in preparing him for life in the business world. 
• What would Marcos do if he was in charge of World Rugby?

It’s the start of Euro 2024 this week. To celebrate, we are bringing you one of the stories of the tournament, before it’s even started. Georgia made history early in the year when they qualified for their first ever major tournament, an occasion which saw much of the population on the streets celebrating this longed for achievement. The team put together behind the scenes played a key role in achieving this. 

David Webb, an Englishman without international coaching experience but with over 20 years working in football, was brought in by manager Willy Sagnol to be his assistant. A truly unique approach to football and sports psychology, his qualities offered an increasingly valuable opportunity to maximise performance on and off the pitch.

This isn’t a show focused on franchise values and wage budgets. It’s a different ‘business’ of sport. From the individual perspective, it’s how you can go from scout to sporting director to manager to international football. From a broader perspective, it’s the impact of sport on a nation, what it means to wear the national badge, and how you prepare for a major tournament.

In today’s show:

Georgia & Euro 2024:

• How did David come to be the assistant manager of Georgia, helping them qualify for their first ever major international tournament?
• What does this achievement means to the population and country as a whole?
• The importance of manager Willy Sagnol and what the management team have implemented to get the best out of the playing squad.
• A recap of that incredible night in Tbilisi when qualification was confirmed; occasions that only sport can create.
• What is success to Georgia and the coaching staff in this tournament? You don’t want to wait so long to get there only to underperform when the time arrives!

Strong mentality and importance of psychology:

• To David, the best performers have more than great talent on the field. What is the role of a strong and collective mindset in creating winning teams?
• Georgia’s values that every player must buy into; learnings from the All Blacks.
• Why sports psychology is so important in today’s teams, and how it can be harnessed and applied to push further than a group may think possible.
• Uncovering young talent in the national set-up is different to club football. The players at your disposal offers the chance to curate the best team and mix of individuals without going to a board and requesting transfer funds.
• A mix of experience and youth will give you the perfect dynamics to build from, but be careful not to go too far one way.

David’s unique career:

• From scouting days at Crystal Palace and uncovering Wilfried Zaha, to taking the job with Georgia. 
• Time spent at Bayer Leverkusen and demonstrating his uncommon (British) approach to talent identification. What are the most important things to look for in young players?
• Working with managers like Eddie Howe and Mauricio Pochettino. What makes the top managers special and how do their styles differ to get the best out of their squads?
• The importance of enjoying the moment and taking it one step at a time.
• Being described as Neurodiverse and coming to terms with the possibility that the culture with which you operate in may not be the one that appreciates your qualities as they should. 

We are delighted to partner with Tyndall Investment Management for this show. To learn more about Tyndall and their incredible work in the wealth management sector, please visit https://tyndallim.co.uk/

This week we welcome Spurs defender Ben Davies to the show. One of the Premier League’s most experienced current players with nearly 300 top flight appearances for Tottenham and Swansea, he has also won 86 caps for Wales.

But there is much more to Ben than just the footballer. We couldn’t go through this chat without getting the inside track on his 10 years at Spurs and winning trophies with his boyhood club Swansea. However, alongside this, it’s a wider conversation on the current footballing landscape. 

The finances of a footballer and how they’re reported, his perspective on VAR, working with Pochettino, Mourinho, Conte, Rodgers, and the impact to a team of losing big players like Harry Kane, it’s a current players open and honest perspective of the business of football. 

Footballers often get a bad rep. If you want to see the other side of what players are like, listen to this.

On today's show we discuss:

Managers and leadership:

• Pochettino, Conte, Mourinho - what are the traits that make the best managers special and what resonated most with Ben?
• How do dressing rooms respond to managerial change? Can you afford to get attached to circumstance and personnel when things can change overnight?
• The importance of experience in a dressing room to demonstrate the consistency and best practice required to succeed at the top level.
• The value of having something to focus on outside of football makes you a better player and teammate.

The perspective of the player:

• What's it like to be transferred? How the process unfolds and how involved are players in the decision making?
• VAR - what do players think of it? A valuable correction tool or passion killer on and off the pitch? 
• Management structures in clubs and the roles of directors of football, chief executives, and heads of recruitment.
• The importance of a trustworthy and capable inner circle. 

Increasing exposure:

• Media pressure and the expectations on moderns footballers to meet preconceived expectations.
• Does this social media world help or hinder players? The creation of new opportunity can also lead to a refocusing of time away from the pitch?
• Amazon All or Nothing: what did the Spurs dressing room think of having the cameras on them 24/7?
• How the demands of a professional still leave you with time to focus on other interests leading to Ben’s opportunity for academic success.

We are delighted to partner with Tyndall Investment Management for this show. To learn more about Tyndall and their incredible work in the wealth management sector, please visit https://tyndallim.co.uk/

Robbie Douek is CEO of Blast, one of the leading tournament providers in the ever present esports industry. I’m really excited to bring you this show. We have had more requests for an esports episode than any other over the past few months, and this industry is the epitome of modern entertainment meets traditional fandom. 

Blast hosts events in some of the most popular games, like Counter-Strike and Dota, bringing incredible live production to fans all over the world. 

The gaming industry is now worth over $200bn, and that number will only get bigger. This conversation focuses on what is driving this development, how it learns from traditional sport, but also importantly, what makes it different, and how the traditional industries of sport, music, entertainment can benefit from the reach and success of gaming today.

This week, we discuss:

Esports vs Gaming

• Gaming is the entire ecosystem; esports is the competitive end of the industry. What is the difference?
• Categorising esports: does it matter whether we think of esports as a sport or alternative entertainment?
• What do games publishers use the esports industry to achieve? How do companies like Blast drive value for them to promote their games and generate fandom?
• The esports industry is a long way off being the 'Super Bowl', but this is what it should aspire to be and seek to acheive. 

Crossover industries

• Gaming and esports have driven huge engagement with some of the most valuable demographics to traditional brands, sports rightsholders, movie studios etc
• The traditional entertainment industry can recognise real value from working with the gaming industry. What is being done to realise this?
• How esports tournaments are the most incredible showcases of proper fandom similar to what you’d expect in a sports stadium.
• Blast x Alpine F1 - an example of how you drive value for businesses looking to reach new audiences.

Development of the industry 

• Esports as a bubble was a popular phrase for those not confident in the longevity of the industry. Is this fair?
• Covid was great for eyeballs but bad for brand development in the industry. The successes are built on experiential opportunity.
• The changing investment landscape: how we are no longer likely to see huge sums spent on franchise slots, but does that mean an end to esports investment?

Today, we are delighted to welcome rugby union legend Sam Warburton to the show. At 22, Sam was made captain of Wales, becoming the 3rd youngest captain in their history. He oversaw one of the most successful periods in Welsh rugby, winning the 6 Nations twice including a historic Grand Slam in 2012, while also guiding them to a World Cup semi-final in 2011. 

He also became the youngest captain of the British and Irish Lions for their 2013 tour of Australia, delivering a first series win since 1997. When named captain for the tour of New Zealand four years later, he became only the second person after Martin Johnson to lead the side on two tours.

Sam retired at 29, having been blighted by injuries resulting from a relentless style of play. A career in the media, alongside a number of business ventures has followed, but the values he stood for on the pitch and the mentality adopted to succeed are the epitome of the transferable values athletes bring away from performance.

We discuss:

The making of leaders:

• Leadership comes in many forms. What is Sam’s experience of captaincy and the importance of a tailored approach?
• A reluctant leader? There were players with 100 caps and 10 years more experience, but Warren Gatland made a 22 years old flanker his captain. Why?
• How success can depend on the people you surround yourself with. 
• What were the tactics Sam used to get the best out of his players. It is not a one size fits all approach; you need to have different strategies for different personalities.
• The honour of being captain of your country and The Lions and how that influenced how Sam played his game.
• The value of perspective. Realising what is important and when to contextualise what happens in sport. 
  

Wales & The Lions:

• Grand Slams, World Cups, two British & Irish Lions tours, Sam was a staple on rugby’s biggest stages. What were these occasions like to play in?
• The success Wales achieved under his leadership is well documented. How was that curated from boardroom to dressing room? 
• Sam’s infamous semi-final red card in the 2011 World Cup and the fear it would be his ‘Beckham moment’, but the reality was very different!
• The Lions was the pinnacle. What did it mean to pull on that number 7 jersey for the first time?
• How the physical demands of international rugby meant he had to adapt his approach to playing for Cardiff Blues.

The wider rugby landscape:

• The success of international rugby carries the game. We need to find a way to elevate the importance of the club competitions. How?
• Would promotion and relegation be good for The Six Nations? What are the arguments for and against this initiative?
• The pressures of playing sport in the era of social media bring a different set of challenges. You need to block out the noise and focus on your game, not what people are saying about you. 
• Why Owen Farrell moving to France is a good thing for his game.
• Welsh rugby is the pride of the country, and the system needs to reflect that in the quality of its product. What would Sam do to elevate the game in Wales? 

For this episode, we are delighted to partner with SeatUnique, the ultimate destination for elevating live events into unforgettable experiences. 

Visit seatunique.com to discover some of the incredible packages they have to offer across some of the biggest sport, media and entertainment events.

This week's show is a very special one, as we welcome Lina Nielsen to the Business of Sport.

Lina is a 400m hurdler for Great Britain. She was recently a member of the bronze winning relay team in the World Indoor Championships in Glasgow, alongside her sister, and is about to compete in a series of qualifiers to reach this summer's Olympic Games in Paris. 

But there is a unique addition to Lina’s story that shone a light on her career in 2022. At the World Championships in Oregon, she announced he has been living with multiple sclerosis since she was 17. Multiple sclerosis is a lifelong condition that affects the brain and nervous system. Symptoms include double vision, muscle weakness and loss of sensation and coordination. The condition affects everyone in different ways. 

The fact she pushed through a relapse (when someone with MS experiences a flare up of symptoms) to participate in Oregon is an amazing story in itself. To be one step away from competing in the Olympics is another. 

For many reasons this is a special interview, and a unique spin on ‘The Business of Sport’. MS is something that has impacted mine and Harry’s life. Our mother was diagnosed with the illness 15 years ago. It is something we are hugely passionate about supporting and spreading the word on, so it is a real pleasure to welcome Lina Nielsen to the show.

We discuss:

Elite competition:

• What does the day in the life of an elite athlete look like? What are the priorities and key focuses essential to high performance?
• Qualifying for an Olympics - what does the road to Paris involve and how much competition is there for places on the team?
• Small margins are the difference between success and failure. New qualifying times have made it harder than ever to make it.
• Financing a career in the sport. Funding is hard to come by; the importance of brand partnerships to ensure you can commit to a full time career.
  

MS diagnosis and Athletics:

• Announcing to the world that Lina had MS was not an easy decision. Why did she decide the 2022 World Championships was the time to tell her story?
• How does multiple sclerosis impact the body and what challenges does it present to someone trying to make it in professional sport.
• The mental hurdles to overcome once the news was out in the open. Why did Lina fear critique and backlash from the community because of her achievements?
• When you have a story like this, your profile changes. How to deal with a new attention from the public and fellow athletes while still focusing on your performance. 

Role of the Athlete

• There is social responsibility that extends beyond performance in today’s society. Athletes have the ability to influence and inspire.
• The role social media can play in reaching fans, giving them access to your story, and bringing them into your world, offers endless opportunity.
• How being a figurehead or leader for something can be intimidating, but at the same time it can empower you with the support of an entire community.

This show is brought to you by MS-UK, the charity supporting all those affected by multiple sclerosis. Visit https://ms-uk.org/ to find out more about their amazing work within the MS community. 

This week, we are delighted to welcome Nico Rosberg to the show. Nico is a Formula One legend. He competed in 206 Grand Prix’s, with 23 wins, 30 pole’s, 57 podiums, and over 1500 championship points. Nico’s World Championship win when driving alongside childhood friend Lewis Hamilton for Mercedes is one of the most iconic in the history of the sport, and saw him follow in the footsteps of his father Keke, who won the championship in 1982. It was in the days after this win that Nico announced his shock retirement, putting new meaning into finishing on the highest of highs. But that wasn’t the end. A serial angel investor and entrepreneur, Nico last week announced Rosberg Ventures, his new $75m Fund of Funds, a vehicle aimed at investing in leading funds to foster global startup innovation.

Whether we’re talking about sport or business, this conversation is the perfect demonstration of how a career at the top end of one industry can translate into significant value in another. As you will hear, the margins that separate success and failure in this sport are impossibly small. Dedication and sacrifice are non-negotiables if you want to achieve. This is the same in business.

He brings a truly unique perspective to the role of an athlete. This is sport, investment, leadership, culture, winning mentality. There is something in this for everyone.

In today’s show we discuss:

The world of F1:

• Growing up with a World Champion. How the success of his father Keke inspired a young Nico to become a Formula 1 World Champion.
• What does it take to make it in F1? The karting scene for young drivers is very intense, and requires a lot of time away from friends, family and school.
• Funding his own career in racing and the cost of participation to reach the top of the sport.
• What happened the first time Nico drove an F1 car?
• How important is the car to the success of a driver? What is it like to be driving for the team that is dominating a season and operating in an environment of invincibility? 
• The challenge of creating equal opportunity in a team of two world class drivers. At the end of the day there will always be one who gets preferential treatment.
• Why did Nico retire immediately after winning the 2016 championship?

Mentality is key:

• How to master the 1%’s. From constructing a fitness regime to optimally manage the best physique, to the weight of paint on a hemet, what do drivers do to get an edge?
• Failure is really important. Missing out on pole, podiums, race wins that spurs you on to greater success and achievement.
• The people around you can help create the most prepared mind, and sport is now embracing the presence of individuals specifically targeted with developing the ultimate mindset to live with pressure. 
• What happens when you achieve your ultimate dream? Learning how to enjoy the highs and manage the lows to build the strongest mentality required. 
• How is the mentality of the athlete similar to the mentality of the businessperson, and what can be learnt from each other?

Business success born from sport:

• There are so many traits that translate from professional sport into the world of business. What are the key contributions of an athlete in an outside industry?
• How has Nico built a career away from the race track in investment, entrepreneurship, and wider business? What are things that inspire him?
• The launch of Rosberg Ventures $75m fund of funds and the ambitions Nico has for building bridges between corporate Europe and leading global startups. 
• Learning a new language; the work required to get into a new industry is not to be taken lightly. What was Nico’s transition like from athlete to businessman? 

Today’s show is brought to you by SeatUnique, the ultimate destination for elevating live events into unforgettable experiences. Visit seatunique.com to discover some of the incredible packages they have to offer across some of the biggest sport, media and entertainment events.

This week, we are delighted to welcome Eni Aluko to the show. Categorizing Eni’s career is a hard one. Former professional footballer, media personality, investor, sporting executive. Eni has been a prominent figure in the sport for nearly 20 years. As a player, she most notably represented Chelsea and Juventus, while winning over 100 caps for England, playing a huge role in establishing the women’s professional game we enjoy so much today. She is a leading pundit for ITV and TNT, while also being the first female to appear on Match of the Day. She has held Sporting Director positions at Aston Villa and Angel City in the US, and is now part of Mercury13, a multi-club ownership group focused on acquiring controlling stakes in professional women’s football teams. 

It’s an impressive list of achievements, but that’s not to suggest it’s been an easy road. From the challenges of accessing football in her youth, struggling to finance a career in football before it became professional, fighting against the vitriol of female pundits in the male game, and coming through a very public discrimination case with the FA, Eni has be instrumental in elevating the profile of women’s football and most importantly, women in football as a whole.

This was a special opportunity to sit down with her and talk through all of this. It is a conversation driven by frank honesty, with some fascinating opinion thrown in on the current footballing landscape for good measure. She openly admits she is not everyone’s cup of tea, but that doesn’t bother her.

In today’s show we discuss:

Accessibility of women’s football:

• The lack of access when Eni was growing up. How did she begin her career and what were academy systems like?
• How financially feasible was it to commit to a career in football before the women’s game became professional?
• How moving to the US was Eni’s most viable route to professional football, and how the WSL has changed that today.
• Having to ‘pay-to-play’ for England: taking time off from a full time job away from football to be able to play for your country.
• Should women’s clubs be integrated into men’s clubs or should they be separate entities like we often see in the US. Brand, attendance and freedom to act independently?

A career away from the pitch:

• Breaking into the media: appearing as the first female pundit on Match of the Day to contracts with TNT and ITV.
• Putting yourself in the public and breaking down the barriers for women to play a major role in the world of sports media across the men’s game.
• Handling the pressures of live TV and the scrutiny that has arisen from social media. How to ignore the noise and focus on the job.
• The concern that women coming into football media are now not performing because they are fearful of making mistakes.
• A passion for football business and governance: ‘Director of Football’ roles at Aston Villa and Angel City and how football clubs are run.
• Investment into women’s football: Mercury13 and the multi club investment model. What are the opportunities and challenges facing the women’s game?

The football landscape today:

• How do transfers work? As an experienced sporting director, what is the relationship like between clubs when negotiating a deal?
• What is Eni’s view on the increasingly prevalent PSR and how they have been executed over the past 6 months?
• Will an independent regulator improve the Premier League?
• Should there be a salary cap introduced to control spending and protect clubs from getting into financial difficulty?
• Declan to Rice to Arsenal. Did City participate to help Arteta get his deal done?
• Communication is key. We need to know what is going within clubs to help the fans engage with their teams.
  

We are delighted to partner with SeatUnique, the ultimate destination for elevating live events into unforgettable experiences. 

Visit seatunique.com to discover some of the incredible packages they have to offer across some of the biggest sport, media and entertainment events.

This week, ahead of the Grand National on Saturday, we are delighted to welcome Nevin Truesdale to the show. Nevin is the CEO of The Jockey Club, the largest commercial horse racing organisation in the UK. It owns 15 of the country’s most famous racecourses, including Cheltenham and Aintree, as well as thoroughbred horse breeding farm ‘The National Stud’ and land management company ‘Jockey Club Estates’.

Horse racing is the UK’s second most attended sport, with nearly 6 million people visiting racecourses each year. It is a sport steeped in history and tradition, but has come under fire in recent years for not embracing change, appealing to younger audiences, and of course well documented animal welfare concerns. 

Nevin, who has been Chief Executive since 2020, gives us a very honest account of the challenges the sport faces, but at the same time, all of the positive steps being made and the developments successfully implemented to counter some of the critique levelled at racing. 

On the show, we discuss:

The success and history of racing:

• Where does racing sit in the UK and global sporting ecosystem in popularity and participation?
• The difference between jump and flat racing.
• What is the role of The Jockey Club? How has it influenced the sport over the last few hundred years and what is the organisation doing to ensure the sport continues to move forward.
• How is racing governed, and is it set up to be able to modernise and develop it’s proposition in this competition for eyeballs and attention?
• The importance of racecourses to local economies and an increasingly varied use of venues for commercial, events and social purposes.
• The international growth of the sport and the opportunities and challenges that presents to racing in the UK.

Challenging negative perceptions:

• Animal welfare issues have been a continuous issue for racing in recent times. How legitimate are these concerns and what is being done to improve safety in the sport.
• Accessibility and exclusivity. How The Jockey Club and the wider sport are tackling critiques around elitism and a lack of diversity, and how this is not an accurate representation of the sport.
• The fight to win the argument for reasonable opinion: how you are unlikely to change the minds of the most passionate critics, but it is the people in the middle that need to be convinced.
• How removing restrictions around dress codes and better cross platform communications can make the sport more appealing to the younger demographic.
• The importance of betting to racing, and the controls put in place to ensure people can participate in this side of the sport safely.

Media rights and content:

• How racing’s deal with ITV brings over 100 days of live racing to fans in the UK and continues to ensure the biggest events remain free-to-air.
• The opportunity to build relationships with ‘new media’ platforms, from social media companies to OTT platforms, and what that adds to the offering.
• The imminent release of a behind the scenes documentary in the summer will bring a new level of access to the world of racing and how it operates.
• Social media success has made some of the content produced a new staple in sporting TikTok and short form content. What is the impact of this on attracting new fans?

This show is brought to you by SeatUnique, the ultimate destination for elevating live events into unforgettable experiences. 

Visit seatunique.com to discover some of the incredible packages they have to offer across some of the biggest sport, media and entertainment events.