Business of Sport

This week, we’re delighted to welcome Thomas Robson-Kanu to the show, known to many of you I’m sure as Hal. The different names he has gone by is the perfect demonstration as to why this is such a unique story. A footballer with over nearly 500 competitive games under his belt and a businessman with revenues in the tens of millions, Thomas is the epitome of creating additional opportunity alongside elite sporting perfo...

This week, we’re delighted to welcome Wolves Chairman Jeff Shi to the show. Having been at the club since 2016, he has been a key part of the club’s rise from Championship survival to top half Premier League finishes and European quarter finals. Currently enjoying their longest run of Premier League football, there is a lot to be proud of. 

Jeff hasn’t done a huge amount of interviews. With the club surviv...

This week, we’re delighted to welcome Millwall’s Managing Director Mark Fairbrother to the show. This is a football club that many people both in and out of football have a preconceived idea about, built around historical associations with hooliganism and social unrest. These perceptions are rooted in media portrayal, cultural symbolism and sociopolitical factors rather than the club’s present day values.

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This week we’re delighted to welcome Carl Frampton to the show. Second dive into boxing is long overdue and so much has happened since we last visited the sport. A boxing legend and Ring Magazine ‘Fighter of the Year’ in 2016, he was the first Northern Irishman to hold world titles in two weight classes, Carl is recognised as one of the best fighters of his generation.

As you may expect, there is far more ...

This week we’re delighted to welcome Sony Sports CEO Rufus Hack to the show. Strap in, this is a reveal on how technology is changing sport, from the man that brings us Goal Line Technology, VAR, TMO, DRS and much more. Sony have been elevating their proposition, developing on the established Music, Entertainment and Playstation divisions to influence sport and deliver crossover value as sport converges with the modern...

Today we’re delighted to welcome Bradford City CEO Ryan Sparks to the show. Promotions don’t come much more dramatic than Bradford City’s 96th minute winner on the final day of the season to seal promotion to league one. We know how important it is to move through the leagues for both the business and performance side of clubs. 

Bradford is a team with immense support, Premier League history, a 25,000 seat...

I love this game! To anyone who has an interest in sport and finds themselves regularly on social media, this catchphrase is likely to mean something to you, as is the person who coined it. Patrice Evra is one of the most decorated and stand out footballers of the last 20 years. Premier Leagues, Champions Leagues, his success on the pitch most famously with Manchester United is no secret.

But as his media ...

Today we’re delighted to welcome Guy Kinnings to the show. Guy is the CEO of European (DP World) Tour and Ryder Cup Europe. Our first venture into golf and it couldn’t be better timed. An Incredible Rory McIlroy Masters win to kick off the season followed by a summer of elite culminating in the Ryder Cup in New York in September. 

The business or politics of golf have been hotly debated since the inception...

Today we’re delighted to welcome Spencer Owen, Founder & Owner of the iconic Hashtag United, to the show. This is one of the most unique organisations in football. Why? Well it was founded on the internet before becoming a successful men’s and women’s team competing in English football. Spencer, or Spencer FC as many of his fans know him, built one of the strongest online brands in football, with over 2m YouTube subscr...

Today we’re delighted to welcome the British and Irish Lions CEO Ben Calveley to the show. The Lions are one of the most iconic institutions in sport. Made up of players from England, Scotland, Ireland, and Wales, this team which tours once every four years is the pinnacle of many a rugby player's career.

In just a few weeks, the team will begin its tour of Australia, trying to win a series for only the th...

Today we’re delighted to welcome Manchester City Women’s Director Charlotte O’Neill to the show. This is a part of the game we talk about a lot. The growth of women’s football has been in turbo over the last decade, both in the UK and beyond. Man City have been one of the clubs leading that charge, compiling a squad of world class talent with the facilities and infrastructure to deliver on a long term ambition, to be t...

Today we’re delighted to welcome Surrey County Cricket CEO Steve Elworthy to the show, our first venture into one of the toughest businesses in sport. Surrey is a historic institution in a historic sport, part of a club set up integral to the development of all cricket, including the much loved short form franchise tournaments that dominate today. But well documented, the clubs are struggling big time. Surrey, as you’l...

Today we welcome Exeter City CEO Joe Gorman. This show is long in the making. One of the most requested guests we have had. Why? Well Exeter are one of football’s biggest rarities; a fan owned club. This means they cannot rely on the wealth and exuberance enjoyed by many to succeed on and off the pitch. They actually have to try and make the business make sense.

Punching above their weight for many years, ...

Today we welcome Nicolas Julia, founder of Sorare, the record breaking platform that blends fantasy sport with digital collectibles. This is a step beyond the fantasy football/F1/rugby you may already be a part of. It’s an open market, providing the chance to show your skills and talent identification to buy, select and trade tangible assets in the form of player cards. They are reimagining sport for the digital age, c...

Today we welcome 7-time NASCAR Champion Jimmie Johnson, a racing legend. Motorsport has never been bigger. The Liberty Media world of F1 has exploded, MotoGP has sold for over $4bn, but what about NASCAR? The US's second most watched sport is an entertainment and commercial giant, yet outside of America, it’s fair to say exposure is limited.

Jimmie Johnson is one of the most successful drivers to grace any...

This week, we take a look inside one of the most talked about clubs this season. From hiring Wayne Rooney as manager to knocking Liverpool out of the FA Cup, it’s been a crazy season for Plymouth and CEO Andrew Parkinson. Even more so when the club finds itself bottom of the championship fighting for survival. But this is a club that continually outperforms its budget, competing against teams with 6x bigger budgets, an...

This week, we’re delighted to welcome the CEO of the RFU, Bill Sweeney, to the show. There’s no hiding from the fact it’s been a hard few months for the organisation and Bill personally. Significant losses reported last year alongside the now infamous LTIP scheme generated an unrelenting flow of negative press and questions of the leadership. This show is about understanding the financial health of the RFU and wider sp...

Welcome to the business of Non-League football. Beneath the top four tiers of the revered English football pyramid sits a whole other football world; hundreds of teams, players, coaches, owners playing week in week out to climb the ladder. Jamie Vardy, Ollie Watkins, Jarrod Bowen, Tyrone Mings have all played non-league football. ‘Welcome to Wrexham’ recently storied the quality that exists and the difficulty in gettin...

Another first class Football League CEO in the studio this week. Liam Dooley has been in charge of Shrewsbury town, League one’s longest serving club, since 2023. Operating on the smallest budget in the division, balancing good business with competitive performance is not easy.

Shrewsbury have had 10 consecutive years at this level, but are currently bottom of the league having lost their last four games. ...