Welcome to the Footballco Business Podcast. On today’s show, we’re going to Cannes, France and bringing you a panel from Sport Beach which was hosted by Stagwell Inc. during last month’s Cannes Lions. Stagwell is a global marketing network built to challenge the status quo and during Sport Beach they welcome leading names from sports, brands and media together for conversations based on the cultural zeitgeist of sport and its massive global market. This panel focused on building brand...

On this edition of the Footballco Business Podcast, we're re-publishing GOAL's 2019 interview with Director, Asif Kapadia and Editor, Chris King about their film, Diego Maradona. The interview was recorded live at the London Gala Screen of the film and is being published today, July 5th, 39 years to the day since he signed with Napoli. Diego Maradona, the film, is the definitive account of Diego's time in Naples and serves as a microcosm of his life. Since this interview was recorded and...

This edition of the Footballco Business Podcast is a Pride special and looks at how the media handles conversations about sexuality and gender identity in football. Our guest host for this show is Jon Holmes, a journalist, media consultant and the founder of Sports Media LGBT+. Jon is joined by Erin Williams, Sport Programmes Manager at Stonewall and Jack King. Jack covers film and TV for publications including GQ and Vulture, often focusing on LGBTQ+ characters and storylines. Jon, Erin and...

On This show we’re speaking with Pien Meulensteen, a sports presenter, reporter, and commentator working across Sky Sports, BBC Sport, Radio 5Live, CBS, and a number of other broadcasters. Recently, Pien became the first female to call a live Premier League game on Sky Sports, and took home the 'One to Watch - On Air' award at this year's Sports Journalism Association Awards. Pien is the daughter of René Meulensteen who had a long career as both a player and manager, most notably as...

On this show, our guest is David Jackson, Vice President of Brand for EA SPORTS FC. David, or DJ as he's often called, could be considered as presiding over the biggest piece of brand work seen in football for decades, the creation of EA SPORTS FC, the brand that will be replacing FIFA as the title of EA SPORTS football video game series - which is also the best-selling sports video game series of all time. Since launching as FIFA International Soccer in 1993 FIFA has become synonymous with...

On this show, Alex is talking to James Ruth, Chief Marketing Officer at MLS club, Austin FC. James talks about how the Austin FC brand was created, what it’s like having Matthew McConaughey as a Minister of Culture and how all this translates into the stands to create the Austin FC match day atmosphere. This atmosphere is driven by Austin FC’s unique supporters' culture, sitting at the centre of the club. To help give the supporter perspective, Alex and James joined by Rico Hernandez, VP of...

On this show, our guest is Jane Fernandez, Chief Operating Officer for Australia for the FIFA Women's World Cup Australia and New Zealand 2023. We also have a guest host with Morgan Brennan, Head of Indivisa (Footballco's women's football brand) taking over from our regular host, Alex Manby, Morgan speaks to Jane about preparations for this summer's tournament, from the bid process to how it is they're reaching fans in the UK and US. Morgan and Jane also discuss the legacy of the 2022 Women's...

On this show, Alex is speaking with Peer Naubert, Chief Marketing Officer for Bundesliga International. Alex and Peer discuss how the Bundesliga grows its fanbase abroad and how in an age of player-focused fans, competitions can strike a balance between bringing fans in through star players but not being left high and dry when those stars move on. Also, ahead of Der Klassiker, we find out how the DFL uses this marque match to bring in fans without being overly reliant one a game that only...

This week on the Footballco Business Podcast we're talking to Mark Lowyns creative director at Orlando City SC and Orlando Pride and co-founder of Fly Nowhere, as well as an American football culture connoisseur. We’re discussing both the emergence of soccer culture in the US during the 80s and Mark's introduction to it before he made it his career. We will cover the relationship soccer has with music and fashion, including looking to the future to predict where soccer as a creative outlet is...

This week on the Footballco Business Podcast we're talking to Marlon Fleischman, agent and MD of player management services agency Unique Sports Group. On Unique’s books are the likes of established internationals like Reece James, Hirving Lozano and Dayot Upamecano as well as many young players ready to break into the big time. We’re going to be discussing both the World Cup and January transfer window as well as tackling the role of agents and the debate around players on social...

This week on the Footballco Business Podcast we're talking to Mateo Kossmann and Andrew Dolan, both Senior Product Managers for adidas Football, on what goes into designing World Cup football shirts. The pair cover both the performance and aesthetic side of kit design, with a focus on the kits worn by Argentina and Japan at the 2022 FIFA World Cup. Here the stories behind the kits, what special considerations went into creating them for the conditions in Qatar and the shirts Mateo and Andrew...

This week on the Footballco Business Podcast we're talking to Lee Price, former Head of Mischief at Paddy Power. During his time with the bookmaker, Lee was responsible for Rainbow Russians, Paddy Power's campaign for the 2018 World Cup which saw Paddy Power donating £10,000 to LGBTQ charities in Russia for every goal the Russian team scored during the tournament. As well as talking about the creation of Rainbow Russians, Lee discusses other famous Paddy Power football campaigns, from...

This week on the Footballco Business Podcast is a 2022 World Cup Special with former US international and Fox Sports broadcaster Alexi Lalas. Alexi discusses USA '94 and how both fans and the media treated soccer in the US in the 1990s, as well as looking ahead to the USMNT's chances in Qatar. He also discusses in detail what might be the most important transfer in MLS history, David Beckham to Madrid, and his role in bringing 'Brand Beckham' to the US. Alexi doesn't hold back and discusses...

This week on the Footballco Business Podcast we're speaking to Alan Granger, Head of Brand and Marketing and Sports Interactive, the developer being the hugely successful Football Manager games. Speaking to Alan ahead of the launch of Football Manager 2023 we discussed how they keep players coming back and how they bring in new fans. We also discuss player power in the form of famous fans like Griezmann and Gundogan and working with YouTubers and the importance of authenticity and their new...

This week on the Footballco Business Podcast we're speaking to Union Berlin's Christian Arbeit, a man who as well as being the club's communications officer is also their stadium announcer and possibly their biggest fan. We talk to Christian about the rise of Union, who at the time of recording were sitting on the top of the Bundesliga and how this newfound success has (or hasn't) changed the club's identity. We also discuss the role of the stadium and the fans and how the club mirrors the...

This week on the Footballco Business Podcast we're speaking to Greg Lalas, Chief Marketing Officer of the fastest-growing soccer league in the world, the United Soccer League. Greg talks us through the US' relationship with football and why for football to grow in a country the size of the US there needs to be more on offer than just MLS. Listen now to find out how clubs across its divisions engage fans on a local and US-wide level and how some of the USLs plans look more European than...

With the UEFA Women's Euro 2022 kicking off this month it felt like the perfect time for Footballco's Alex Manby to sit down with Kayleigh Grieve, Women's Football Marketing Manager at UEFA to discuss the forthcoming showcase event. Alex and Kayleigh discuss the challenge of attracting young girls into women's football, UEFA's goals for the tournament and also the challenges faced in making sure as many fans as possible can watch the matches in packed stadiums.  You can follow the UEFA...

On this week's Footballco Business Podcast Alex Manby welcomes TikTok content creator Ben Black. Ben was an early adopter of TikTok  (back when it was called Musically) and has gone on to build a huge audience on his platform that, in turn, has attracted some major brands looking to tap into that audience. Alex talks to Ben about the potential he saw in the platform in those early days, how he stays ahead of the game, how brands can work with TikTok creators and his plans for the World...

This week on the Footballco Business Podcast is all about the most famous of all football competitions, the Emirates FA Cup, as it celebrates the 150th anniversary of the first-ever FA Cup Final. Alex's guest on today's show is Ryan Armstrong, Senior Brand Manager at the Football Association and the man in charge of marketing the oldest national football competition in the world. Ryan talks about the competition's proud history, how it attempts to market itself to young fans and striking...

This week on the Footballco Business Podcast we're talking about the Women's Champions League with DAZN's VP of rights partner relations, Katie Smith. In 2021 global sports streaming service DAZN acquired the rights to broadcast the women's Champions League and on this show Alex digs deep into the objectives of that deal, the expectations for the future and if the rights ownership is living up to expectations, in terms of audience numbers, Alex and Kate also discuss the 2022 women's...

Wolves, LAFC, Sabrina Comms & BOL on clubs becoming bigger than football. We're off to Miami for this episode of The Footballco Business Podcast as we step on stage at Soccerex Americas. Footballco's PR Manager, Paul Rayment hosted a live panel discussion during the event in Maimi which focused on how football clubs need to look outside of their sport to attract and engage fans. A panel of four industry experts discussed how areas like gaming, music and lifestyle have become integral...

What would you do if you were given a blank sheet of paper and told to create a brand new Major League Soccer team? That was exactly the proposition that faced Darren Eales, president of MLS team Atlanta United and the guest on today's Footballco Business Podcast.   Founded in 2014, Atlanta United are one of the world's newest football clubs but one that has a strong following that watches them week in, week out in the 73,000 capacity Mercedes Benz Stadium. On this show Darren discusses how...

For many football fans who look back on the 90s with fond memories, Mundial magazine is somewhat of a bible. For those who work in the print industry, it is a blueprint. A beautiful magazine with well-told stories and an example of an incredibly high watermark of modern journalism.   On this episode of The Footballco Business Podcast Alex speaks to one of the men behind the magazine, Owen Blackhurst, co-founder of the award-winning publication.   Owen talks about the challenges of not only...

Harnessing the power of the latest social media platforms to engage football fans can be a tough line to walk. Being authentic whilst also sticking to rigid brand guidelines is a challenge that some football clubs just don't take on. That's not the case at Juventus where this episode's guest, Mike Armstrong, leads a team of content creators whose job it is to interact with fans of the Serie A club in new and innovative ways. Mike joined Juventus from a background in esports, bringing with...

How can a domestic football league, such as Japan’s J League, grow its brand and status so it can compete with the European superpowers? That is one of the questions being answered in this episode of the Footballco Business Podcast as Alex Manby sits down with J League's Global Business officer, Kei Koyama to talk about the future of the competition. They also discuss the impact that European superstars such as Andrés Iniesta have impacted the league's reputation outside Japan, the league...