Leaders Sport Business Podcast

UC3 Co-Managing Directors Charlie Marshall and Guy-Laurent Epstein join Leaders Worth Knowing this week to shine some light on an organization that has been quietly pulling the strings of European football in the shadows for a little while. It was set up in 2017 as a joint project between what was then the European Clubs Association (ECA) and Uefa to consult on the commercialization of European club competitions - principally the Champions League. Last year, the project became an incorporated joint venture and has moved from a consulting role to a management capacity. In the wake of the failed attempt at a European Super League breakaway, Uefa and the continent's most powerful clubs are now bound tightly together. UC3 exists to manage the commercialization of both the men's and women's club competitions; it has contracted Relevent Football Partners and Two Circles as agencies to enact that work in the market. But how does it work? What's being done differently? And what does it mean for the future of European and world football. Marshall - who is also the CEO of the EFC - and Epstein - the Marketing Director of Uefa - are thrusting UC3 into the limelight.

Over 40,000 people volunteer at Parkrun events worldwide each week, with around 20,000 in the UK alone, which prompts James Emmett and David Cushnan to discuss sport's reliance on volunteers to help run - and effectively help market - big events.They reflect on this week's podcast interview with Elizabeth Duggan, Parkrun's CEO, and on the word of mouth-driven success story it's become in the UK and further afield.Elsewhere, as Gianni Infantino celebrates his 10th anniversary as Fifa President in Instagram style, it's a timely moment to assess his front-foot approach to communications, in a week when IOC President Kirsty Coventry miscued during a press conference and a leading voice in women's football, Victoire Cogevina Reynal, stepped away from her Mercury13 multi-club investment firm.

Elizabeth Duggan is approaching one year in the role of CEO at Parkrun, the volunteer-led running organisation that is held up as a blueprint for sports participation in the UK. Duggan and her team do a lot with a little. What started 21 years ago as one man - Paul Sinton-Hewitt - looking for company on a 5km run around Bushy Park in London has blossomed into a global community of 'fun-runners'. Parkrun welcomed its 12 millionth registrant recently and now operates weekend events - 5km runs and walks, as well as 2km runs for children - in 23 countries around the world. In the next few years, Duggan anticipates reaching 800,000 weekly runners taking part. In this conversation, she explains the principles that have driven the charity's success. For more detail and analysis, subscribe for free to the weekly Leaders Worth Knowing newsletter at leadersinsport.com/newsletters/ ------ Leaders Week London is moving to Stamford Bridge, home of Chelsea FC. We'll see you on Wednesday 7th and Thursday 8th October. For more details visit leadersinsport.com/leadersweek

The proposed merger between the ATP and WTA remains on the table, but as James Emmett and David Cushnan discuss, the time it's taking to finalise tells its own story. On this week's show, there's reflections on conversations with Marina Storti, CEO of WTA Ventures, the commercial arm of the WTA, and Eno Polo, the new CEO at the ATP - and the challenges tennis faces with calendar congestion, balancing the demands of tournaments of various sizes, and player influence. There's also time to discuss Casey Wasserman's decision to sell his stake in his agency, and the possible forms the sale could take, and as the NFL hires TMRW Sports to operate its planned new flag football league, how and where rights holders can create new IP, to make a greater footprint, expand geographically or fuel player development. ---- Leaders Week London is moving to Stamford Bridge, home of Chelsea FC. We'll see you on Wednesday 7th and Thursday 8th October. For more details visit leadersinsport.com/leadersweek.

WTA Ventures CEO Marina Storti joins the podcast to review a transformative year for women's tennis. She takes us inside the process of landing Mercedes-Benz as a new headline partner, in what is being widely reported as the biggest sponsorship deal in the history of women's sport. She details the gains the tour has made across its digital output and in its internal structure. And she explains the rationale behind the new PIF WTA Maternity Fund programme, an industry-leading scheme that provides WTA players up to 12 months of paid leave. This episode is part of a series exploring PIF's growing sports sponsorship portfolio, detailing how it is striving to help solve societal and sporting challenges across its portfolio. Listen to episode 1, with PIF Director and Head of Events and Sponsorship Alanoud Althonayan, here.----- Leaders Week London is moving to Stamford Bridge, home of Chelsea FC. We'll see you on Wednesday 7th and Thursday 8th October. For more details visit leadersinsport.com/leadersweek.

ATP CEO Eno Polo joins the podcast to reflect on his first 100 days in charge of the men's tennis tour. The Kenyan sets out his strategic priorities in what could end up being a transformative year for tennis, with a merger between the ATP and the WTA firmly on Polo's agenda. He also outlines the support that the PIF brings to the tour's work with its players, particularly through its sponsorship of the ATP Rankings and through its investment in the Tennis IQ analytics platform. This episode is part of a series exploring PIF's growing sports sponsorship portfolio, detailing how it is striving to help solve societal and sporting challenges across its portfolio. Listen to episode 1, with PIF Director and Head of Events and Sponsorship Alanoud Althonayan, here. ------ Leaders Week London is moving to Stamford Bridge, home of Chelsea FC. We'll see you on Wednesday 7th and Thursday 8th October. For more details visit leadersinsport.com/leadersweek

James Emmett and David Cushnan look ahead to a new Formula 1 season and another potentially seismic shift in the sport. With significant gains in audience and commercial growth for the motorsport series in recent years, teams have felt the trickle down benefit, logging their own commercial gains. With the biggest set of rule changes for over a decade coming into force this season, the playing field - theoretically - has been levelled. At this stage, championship contention is a realistic goal for almost all the teams. One that stands a particularly realistic chance of improvement is Aston Martin, whose commercial MD Jeff Slack is the featured guest on the interview show this week. James and David reflect on Slack's comments, and take some time to look back on the Super Bowl as well as ahead to the future of the IOC's TOP sponsorship model. - -- -- -- --   Leaders Week London is moving to Stamford Bridge, home of Chelsea FC. We'll see you on Wednesday 7th and Thursday 8th October. For more details visit leadersinsport.com/leadersweek

As F1 pre-season testing gets underway in Bahrain, Jeff Slack, Aston Martin F1's Managing Director of Commercial and Marketing, lifts the lid on how the team intends to reach the front of the grid. He reflects on the way the team has grown to over 1,100 people since it was rebranded as Aston Martin in 2021, its move into a new purpose-built facility at Silverstone and, after a 7th place finish in 2025, how owner Lawrence Stroll has set the course towards competing for world championships in the next few years, with the help of Honda and Aramco. Slack also draws on his wider sports industry experience, including stints in leadership roles at Inter Milan and IMG, to assess the overall health of F1 and the way it's evolving for brand partners as the 2026 season dawns - and reveals what the sport must be wary of as it enjoys its current fan and corporate boom.--- Leaders Week London is moving to Stamford Bridge, home of Chelsea FC. We'll see you on Wednesday 7th and Thursday 8th October. For more details visit leadersinsport.com/leadersweek 

James Emmett in Brisbane and David Cushnan in London reflect on conversations with Australian Open CEO Craig Tiley and his top team, and explain how the expansion - outwards and upwards - of Melbourne Park hints at a new trend across sport's major events - and opens up the opportunity to create new sponsorship, entertainment and fan-friendly spaces. There's also time to look ahead to the Winter Olympics in Milan-Cortina, which begins on Friday, and will be spread across Northern Italy - bringing with it the potential for operational and sustainability challenges, that will help determine the future of the winter Games ahead of regional editions in the French Alps (2030), Utah (2034) and, most likely, Switzerland (2038). Plus, there's a run-through of the broadcast innovations Olympic Broadcast Services are rolling out for the Games. - -- -- -- -- -- -- - Leaders Week London is moving to Stamford Bridge, home of Chelsea FC. We'll see you on Wednesday 7th and Thursday 8th October. For more details visit leadersinsport.com/leadersweek

As the dust settles on a tournament that attracted a record 1.3 million attendees, we explore the inner workings of the Australian Open in a special episode. James Emmett spent the weekend on the ground at Melbourne Park, as Carlos Alcaraz and Elena Rybakina claimed the big prizes, to find out how the AO operates, as a tennis and social event, and a best-in-class fan experience. James sits down with Tennis Australia CEO and Tournament Director Craig Tiley, and then a trio of Tiley's key executives: Chief Content Officer, Darren Pearce; Director of Product and Customer Experience, Amanda del Prate; and Director of Partnerships, International, Roddy Campbell. They explain all aspects of how the AO does what it does: designing, developing and delivering sponsor activations, creating hospitality offerings to suit all tastes and price ranges; retail and merchandising experiences; innovative content and broadcast products; and wide-ranging entertainment programmes. - - Leaders Week London is moving to Stamford Bridge, home of Chelsea FC. We'll see you on Wednesday 7th and Thursday 8th October. For more details visit leadersinsport.com/leadersweek

The world's top tennis have been barred from wearing Whoop wearables at the Australian Open, reigniting a debate over who owns personal performance data.James Emmett is on the ground in Melbourne for this week's show, with David Cushnan back in the UK, to examine the various cases for ‘owning' that data.They also reflect on recent events in Saudi Arabia, as well as the Public Investment Fund's global sponsorship strategy, laid out in David's conversation with PIF's Director and Head of Sponsorship and Events, Alanoud Althonayan.And as British Cycling's Jon Dutton is appointed as the next CEO of the British Olympic Association, what will the next period of leadership look like for British Olympic sport and its many governing bodies.- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -Leaders Week London is moving to Stamford Bridge, home of Chelsea FC. We'll see you on Wednesday 7th and Thursday 8th October. For more details visit leadersinsport.com/leadersweek

Alanoud Althonayan, Director and Head of Events and Sponsorship at Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund, joins the podcast to explain PIF's sponsorship strategy and dig into its current key partnerships. In the first episode of a new series exploring PIF's growing sponsorship portfolio, Alnothayan sits down with David Cushnan in Riyadh for an extended conversation, outlining what PIF looks for in partners, and the ways it is striving to help solve societal and sporting challenges across its portfolio. She explains the rationale behind the new PIF WTA Maternity Fund programme, which provides WTA players up to 12 month of paid leave; how the AI powered PIF TennisIQ platform is revolutionising and democratising data for players and coaches on the ATP Tour; how the Electric 360 initiative co-developed with Formula E, Extreme E and E1 is supporting the growth of electric transportation; how the appeal of golf is being unlocked for locals through work with Golf Saudi; and how partnerships in football, notably with CONCACAF, are giving PIF a platform in the world's most popular sport. Leaders Week London is moving to Stamford Bridge, home of Chelsea FC. We'll see you on Wednesday 7th and Thursday 8th October. For more details visit leadersinsport.com/leadersweek

The NBA's private event in London on Monday saw investors and other interested parties gather to learn more about the league's plans for its European league; how is the project starting to come together and what happens now? James Emmett and David Cushnan unpack the latest on a potentially game-changing project, and reflect on James' in-depth conversation with British & Irish Lions CEO Ben Calveley, touching on the upside and downside of scarcity, clarity of business models and innovation in rugby union. There's also a look at the trend for NFL stadiums to have roofs, changing the look and feel of the league, and what that might mean for stadium refurbishments and new builds in the Premier League.

British & Irish Lions CEO Ben Calveley reflects on a record-breaking tour of Australia in 2025, and looks ahead to the inaugural women's Lions tour of New Zealand in 2027. The Lions - one of the most idiosyncratic entities in world sport - is the organization set up to manage the occasional rugby union side of the same name. Players are drawn from England, Wales, Scotland, and Ireland to compete for a touring team historically every four years. The rugby unions of those same nations co-own the Lions. This episode may well have been subtitled 'how to turn a profit on tour', because since taking on the top job at the Lions in 2018 - first as MD, and then as CEO in 2022 - Calveley has ripped up the model that underpins the Lions and started again with a robust new framework that incentivizes the many stakeholders involved in making - or allowing - a tour to happen: from the competing unions, the host nation, the players and their agents, to the leagues and clubs that they're contracted to. The new model ensures a balanced share in the success of any tour, and revenues have ballooned. Calveley goes into depth on how the model works; puts his neck on the line by declaring the first women's Lions tour will be profitable; and talks leadership and life in this comprehensive episode.

Fanatics chief Michael Rubin thinks a new credit card could generate his company's next billion dollar revenue stream, but could content and his new Fanatics Studios venture also be a contender? James Emmett and David Cushnan delve into the new projects, and reflect on David's conversation with Chris Bryant, MD of Euro 2028. They also examine the raft of innovative, fan-friendly ideas the organisers of the Australian Open are serving up, and the way the Grand Slams are taking up more space in the tennis calendar. - - - Leaders Week London is moving to Stamford Bridge, home of Chelsea FC. We'll see you on Wednesday 7th and Thursday 8th October. For more details visit leadersinsport.com/leadersweek

Euro 2028 Managing Director Chris Bryant joins the show to share how preparations for the tournament are going.He'll share how he and his growing team are working with multiple Football Associations, governments and Uefa to bring the tournament, which will be played in England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland, to life - and how his experience of running the Wembley part of Euro 2020 and the whole of Women's Euro 2022 are helping.As the World Cup approaches this summer, he also reflects on how major event organisers need to be attuned to the politics of the day, and ready to adapt accordingly. And he'll share what needs to happen in 2026 to make Euro 2028 great.

Gerrit Meier, the NFL's Managing Director and Head of International, is on the line from New York, to reflect on another season of games played around the world and the league's wider international ambitions. He reviews games played this season in London, Berlin, Madrid, Dublin and Sao Paulo, and explains how the NFL approaches operating in new markets, from commercial activity to fanbase development, diplomacy to participation. Meier also expands on the league's vision to ultimately play up to 16 games per season outside the US, and shares how the NFL is identifying cities and countries as potential future hosts.

Esteve Calzada, CEO of Saudi Pro League giant Al Hilal, assesses the evolution of football in the Kingdom, as he welcomes Leaders' Content Director David Cushnan to the club's corporate office in Riyadh. Al-Hilal SC is Saudi Arabia's most successful football team, and has clubs in over 20 sports. In a wide-ranging conversation, the former City Football Club executive offers his advice to sports industry leaders thinking of making a move to Saudi Arabia; what life is like working and living in fast-developing Riyadh; and the challenge of managing a team of 300 made up of a mix of international and local executive talent. He also explains how football fandom plays out in Saudi Arabia; why he can't go out to dinner with his counterpart at rival club Al-Nassr; the professionalisation process underway in the Saudi Pro League that saw the Public Investment Fund take majority ownership of Al-Hilal; and the private sector opportunities for sponsorship and commercial growth in the Kingdom.

IMG's VP and Co-Head of Multisport Content Sally Brown is in the Leaders studio, alongside David Cushnan, for the final part of the series that examines how to do business around the global sports industry.With a focus on EMEA - a region of established sports markets and fast-growing emerging territories - Brown explains how IMG's suite of production offerings are helping grow sports across the region, including Euroleague Basketball and the Esports World Cup.Chris Guinness, EVP and Global Head of Commercial, and Roland Nikolaou, VP of Football in MENA bring two more IMG perspectives, to discuss media consolidation and its impact on rights and production across European markets; football fan culture in Saudi Arabia and across the Middle East; and advice for sports organisations looking to be more active in the MENA region.

IMG's SVP of Strategy and Growth Josh Humbler joins James Emmett in the Leaders studio in the second of a three-part series looking at how to do business around the global sports industry. After digging into the unique sports media market that is Australia, Brisbane native Humbler is joined by two Shanghai-based colleagues Ellein Cao, VP, Commercial, Greater China and Rufio Zhu, VP, Digital at what was until very recently the Mailman agency. On the agenda: how to make an impact in China and unearth the real economic opportunity ; making sense of the platforms, the numbers, and the content culture in China; tennis, soccer and the sports that are breaking through.

Paulius Motiejunas, CEO of European basketball's premier club competition, Euroleague, is the guest on this week's podcast. As the prospect of a new NBA-backed European start-up league edges closer - with suggestions recently that a competition might be ready to launch in 2027 - Motiejunas joins the podcast (interview starts at 19.58) to give his perspective on developments; from the dynamics of the multi-stakeholder discussions, to the ramifications for the sport in Europe should plans progress as the NBA indicate they will. He also reflects on two and half years of change during his tenure at the top of Euroleague, with a commercial restructuring that has seen a new sponsorship model brought to bear; IMG's comprehensive strategic partnership renewed for a further ten years; and significant headway made in expansion to the Middle East with a new team in Dubai and a successful partnership with Abu Dhabi as the new host of the league's climactic Final Four event. Elsewhere in the show, Henry Breckenridge reports from inside Formula 1's technical broadcast operation at Biggin Hill Airport.

Tottenham Hotspur and England footballer James Maddison joins the Leaders Worth Knowing podcast to unpack his approach to social media. Fresh off the stage at the Summit at Leaders Week this year, Maddison was joined by fellow panelists Shaneil Patel, Head of Social Media at Spurs, and Rollo Goldstaub, TikTok's Global Head of Sports Partnerships. The trio piece together the winning formula that has made Spurs the most successful Premier League team on TikTok - with 43 million followers - and Maddison himself one of the most resonant active athlete voices on the platform today.

Andrew Abdo, National Rugby League (NRL) CEO, joins the show for a wide-ranging conversation, as its global ambitions solidify. In London for the England-Australia Ashes Test series, he reflects on five years at the helm of Australia's biggest sports league by viewership, a stint which has seen major revenue growth and international expansion, in the Pacific and to Las Vegas.He sets out the NRL's approach to international markets, reflects on the league's global vision - including its relationship with the Super League in the UK - and, as the NRL's next domestic broadcast rights cycle approaches, Australia's dynamic media market.Abdo also shares his approach to longer-term challenges, including artificial intelligence, private equity investment and real estate development, and gives his advice to international organisations coming into Australia as the 2032 Olympics loom on the horizon.- - -- Join 200 influential sports leaders at Leaders Meet: Australia in Brisbane on 4th and 5th February 2026 - for more information head to https://leadersinsport.com/sport-business/leaders-events/leaders-meet-australia/

IMG Executive Vice President & Head of Americas, Rights, Hillary Mandel joins James Emmett in the Leaders studio in the first of a new three-part series looking at how to do business around the global sports industry.After identifying the ramifications of media fragmentation, corporate consolidation and cord cutting in the North American media market, sports media legend Mandel, who has sold billions of dollars worth of rights across a 22-year career at IMG, is joined by colleagues Evandro Figuera, VP, LATAM, Rights, who's based in Sao Paolo, and Brian Pressman, VP of Brand Partnerships based in New York.On the agenda: how to make an impact in Brazil, from the boardroom to the field play; IMG's record-breaking partnership with Conmebol; Major League Soccer, the NWSL and the gigantic opportunity that is the 2026 Fifa World Cup.

Former AFC Bournemouth owner Jeff Mostyn and his daughter Janine, MD of search firm Huckleberry Sport, are the guests on this week's Leaders Worth Knowing. The Mostyns are two of the best networked people in the UK sports industry, and ahead of the release of Jeff's new book, The Chairman: The Man who Saved AFC Bournemouth, they visited the Leaders studio to reflect on a (very expensive!) fairytale journey. Having made a success of a financial advisory practice focused on the Armed Forces, Jeff began his association with AFC Bournemouth in 2006. At the time, the club was in the third tier of English football, saddled with debt and poorly run. Over the course of the next 16 years, Jeff took the club through administration, to the brink of extinction, via a trip to the very bottom of the English professional pyramid, before establishing the club as a force in the Premier League. Bill Foley's consortium, Black Knight Football Club, bought the club in 2022. Janine has led sport and entertainment talent firm Huckleberry Sport since 2017, and works with the likes of Premier League football clubs, Formula 1 racing teams, media and broadcast production companies, business consulting services and agencies and world-renowned gaming and entertainment providers.

Audi joins the F1 grid in 2026 and the team's Chief Commercial Officer Stefano Battiston joins the show to give an update on preparations.Completing its phased, multi-year buyout of the Sauber team, the German manufacturer will join the grid as F1's latest round of technical regulations come into play with the potential to shake up the competitive order.Commercially, Battison was at the heart of a new title sponsorship agreement with finance app Revolut - he explains what happened behind the scenes to get the deal done.He also reflects on the changing culture as the Swiss-based team grows, how Audi intends to make its mark as one of 11 teams in F1 next season and how he identifies new sponsorship categories and brands with marketing budgets.

In the aftermath of Leaders Week London 2025, James Emmett and David Cushnan breakdown some of the top stories and tidbits from the biggest sports industry event of the year at Allianz Stadium, before introducing a series of conversations recorded on-stage. On the agenda:(10:42) Jeff Moorad, Co-Founder of MSP Sports Capital, talks about the art of the exit in sports investment, following MSP's recent decision to part ways with McLaren Racing after playing a key role in the team's revival. (17:23) James Foster runs marketing at HUGO Boss and has a number of top tier partnerships in sport, including with Aston Martin. He talks through the rationale behind the organisation's sponsorship activity and more broadly, how the brand thinks about cultural traction.(22:00) Foday Dumbuya, Founder and Creative Director at Labrum, on the partnership between Labrum, Arsenal and Adidas; an away kit collaboration that celebrates Arsenal's connection to its supporters from across the African diaspora.(31:00) Britt Hadris, Director of Global Women's Sport at PepsiCo, on how the brand looks at and measures sponsorships across men's and women's sport.(36:35) Mohammed AlSayyad, Head of Corporate Brand and Strategic Advisory, PIF, on the four principles that help shape how PIF think about sports investment and sponsorship. 

Premier League CEO Richard Masters, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, the FA's Director of Women's and Para Football Sue Day, and CBS Creative Producer Pete Radovich are the featured guests as Leaders duo David Cushnan and James Emmett are joined by Karthi Gnanasegaram to review the final day of the Summit at the 2025 edition of Leaders Week. 

James Emmett, David Cushnan and Eoin Connolly reflect on a terrific opening day at The Summit from Allianz Stadium, which saw over 2,000 movers and shakers from across the global sports industry gather at the home of England Rugby.The trio discuss a range of themes and talking points from on-stage sessions, which featured a stellar lineup of speakers across three stages. Alongside the dialogue, this episode contains short snippets of sessions and from around the venue, featuring Victor Montagliani, Sarah Massey, Mark Wilf and Susan Goodenow.

WWE President Nick Khan, Garcia Companies Founder Dany Garcia, and IMG President Adam Kelly sit down for a series of punchy conversations on Leaders Worth Knowing this week. On the eve of Leaders Week, James Emmett and David Cushnan give an inside view on what to look out for at the biggest sports industry event of the year at Allianz Stadium, Twickenham next week, before introducing a series of conversations recorded at the IMG x RedBird Summit last week. Fresh from TKO's debut boxing event in Las Vegas, WWE President Nick Khan talks ground-breaking media deals with Netlfix and ESPN, ponders the future of PPV, and explains why he won't use emojis; Dany Garcia - the woman who runs Dwayne Johnson's Seven Bucks Promotions production company, as well as the UFL, Danimás, and a portfolio of other businesses - explains what makes a great sports film, talks bodybuilding, and finally reveals what it was that the Rock was cooking. And Adam Kelly looks back at a year of breathtaking deal-making and partnership building at IMG, and gives us a view from his front row seat overlooking the rapidly changing picture that is the macro media market.

In the second episode of the series between Leaders and TikTok, we explore the social giant's approach to sport through the prism of some of its key executives and content creators.To help us do that, we called upon Rich Paul, Founder & CEO of Klutch Sports Group – one of the most influential sports agencies in the world with LeBron James, Anthony Davis, Juju Watkins and Draymond Green on its books. Paul has recently become a TikTok user and has already been widely admired for dropping brilliant insights on athlete branding, draft picks, and what it takes to build a lasting sports empire.Vanessa Craft, TikTok's Global Head of Content Partnerships and Business Development, joins Paul on the show to talk through community-building, how the worlds of sports, music and fashion are showing up on TikTok, and the consumption habits between men and women on the platform.SBJ's Managing Director Dan Kaufman hosted the conversation a few days after TikTok's North American Sports Summit.

As the finals take place this week, Billie Jean King Cup CEO Kerstin Lutz joins the show from Shenzhen, China, which is hosting the women's national team tennis competition for the first time.Lutz explains how China's third-largest city is embracing the finals, and shares her tips for working in and running events in the country, as it re-emerges onto the global stage.She also reflects on her first 18 months as CEO of the BJK Cup, the operational takeover of the tournament in 2023 by Billie Jean King and TWG's Mark Walter, working in tennis alongside the sport's many stakeholders, and the elements of agency life - Lutz is a veteran of Team Marketing - that have helped as she settles into life running a sports property.

Nascar EVP and Chief Media & Revenue Officer Brian Herbst joins the show to discuss how the stock car series thinks about broadcasting and engaging fans. Speaking to Leaders' Editorial Director James Emmett, he explains the rationale behind the latest cycle of US broadcast rights, including a new partnership with Amazon, which began this season and netted Nascar a reported $7.7 billion over the next seven years. Herbst also discusses why and how Nascar shows up in Roblox and Fortnite, plus its recent debut on Substack, and where international rights and coverage fits into his thinking as he plots the future media direction of the top-level Cup Series, the secondary Xfinity Series and the Craftsman Truck Series. 

Professional Triathletes Organisation (PTO) completed a series C funding round earlier this summer, raising a reported $40 million. The round was led by Saudi Arabia's SURJ Sports Investments, and supported by Cordillera, Verance Capital, and initial investor Sir Michael Moritz. Sam Renouf is the founder and CEO of PTO and the man who leads the organization's T100 series of triathlon events. He led the efforts to raise the money. He joins the Leaders Worth Knowing podcast this week to give us a step-by-step guide to the year-long process that led to the capital injection.- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Professional Triathletes Organisation and many other rights holders from across global sport will be out in full force at Leaders Week London from 29 September - 2 October. To find out more and to secure your pass, visit leadersinsport.com/leadersweek

David Bruce is the Chief Business Officer at Sunderland, the North East club that's back in the Premier League after an eight year absence. Under owner Kyril Louis-Dreyfus, who, at 28, is the youngest Chairman in the Premier League, Bruce is responsible for steering the commercial operations at Sunderland. Staying in the Premier League is the aim this year, and, quite simply, much of the resource required for putting together a team capable of doing that is being driven by Bruce and his team. Bruce, who left his role as CMO of Major League Soccer to take up a position at his home club of Sunderland two years ago, joined the Leaders Worth Knowing podcast fresh from an opening day win against West Ham. On the agenda: - The record shirt sales achieved through partnerships with Fanatics and Hummel;- The new need for a season-ticket waiting list for the team's 49,000-capacity Stadium of Light;- The new premium offerings rolled out this season;- Finding new fans, and reconnecting the club to the city and its people;- The business and marketing lessons he learned in the US that he's trying to implement in Sunderland.

According to Google, that's the second most common question people ask in relation to the former FC Barcelona and Spanish international football legend. The answer may well be 'very'. Since retiring from playing in November 2022, Pique has launched himself whole-heartedly into the running of his Kosmos agency. A few short weeks after hanging up his boots, he launched Kings League, a seven-a-side football competition with unconventional rules designed to major on the entertainment side of the sport. Two and half years later, and Kings League has established itself as a new model for short-form football; it's expanded out of Spain and into new markets around Europe and South America, with the Middle East and the US now firmly on radar. Pique sat down to record with Leaders at the Cannes Festival of Marketing earlier in the summer. Fresh off a whirlwind few weeks of activity with Kings League - including signing a landmark deal with Saudi Arabian fund SURJ, and overseeing a successful finals event in Paris - Pique gave his thoughts on football's expansion into the US market, the Club World Cup, spawning competitor outfits like the Baller League, and the transition from the field to the boardroom.

Raine Group Partner and Head of EMEA, Jason Schretter joins the show to explain how the England & Wales Cricket Board managed the sale of stakes in the eight Hundred franchises - which drew significant investment from the United States and India. Raine was the lead financial advisor to the ECB on the auction process, working closely with Deloitte to achieve an overall valuation of over £975 million across the eight franchises, and a £500 million windfall for the development of English cricket. In conversation with Leaders' Content Director David Cushnan, Schretter reflects on the process from start to finish, shares the rationale for such sizeable investments, identifies some of the lessons for other sports looking for investment and offers his assessment of the sports industry's current financial literacy.  Look out for the Leaders Week London agenda, which is out next week - check out leadersinsport.com/leadersweek

Tom Jackson, Group Director, Content at the DP World Tour - once known as the European Tour - joins the podcast to share the organisation's approach to content creation and in particular its run of viral videos featuring challenges and players.In conversation with Leaders' Content Director David Cushnan, Jackson explains the critical planning and process required to bring a comprehensive content strategy to life; how his team convinced players to take part; the risk and reward of humour in content; and how the DP World Tour's approach to branded content has become more sophisticated.Join leading creatives, digital and content experts, and organisations including Ferrari, FIFA, Chicago Bulls, Snuggs, NASCAR and more, on the Creative Stage at Leaders Week London - 1st and 2nd October at Allianz Stadium, Twickenham. To find out more visit: www.leaders on sport.con/leadersweek

Fresh from the Uefa Women's Euros semi-finals, Rexona/Sure Global Brand Director Emily Heath joins Leaders' Editorial Director James Emmett to examine whether women's football sponsorship actually works.Heath shares her on-the-ground thoughts on the atmosphere around this week's games and describes the mood in host country Switzerland, plus outlines how Unilever-brand Rexona (Sure in the UK) is approaching its Uefa and Fifa sponsorship activations across different markets.She also explains how and when Unilever will measure the success of the Euros - from sentiment to sales - and offers a few top tips to rights-holders about how to approach partnership conversations with the brand.Emily Heath will be one of a gaggle of senior, global brand-side executives speaking at Leaders Week London, on 1st and 2nd October at Allianz Stadium, Twickenham. To find out more visit: www.leaders on sport.con/leadersweek

Mark Goldbridge, owner and frontman The United Stand and That's Football, joins the podcast to explain how he's building the biggest football content brands on YouTube, and the truth behind the viral clips they spawn.Manchester United-focused The United Stand (19 million views in June) and That's Football (9.85 million views) were the top two YouTube football channels globally for long-form views in June.In conversation with Leaders' Content Director David Cushnan, Goldbridge discusses how he turned a hobby into a business; his thoughts on mainstream football coverage and how it needs to change; the business model and how The United Stand and That's Football are increasingly working with brand partners; and, naturally, his thoughts on the soap opera that is Manchester United, Sir Jim Ratcliffe, the Glazers and what he'd do first if he was club CEO Omar Berrada.

Manchester United have remained a market leading force in commercial activity despite a run of challenging seasons for onfield performance and results. Current front-of-shirt partner Snapdragon, a mobile phone chip manufacturing brand within the Qualcomm software empire, is entering the second year of a five-year deal worth a reported $375 million. It's a top-end fee for a position at a club that finished 15th last season. On the show this week, Qualcomm CMO Don McGuire and newly installed Manchester United Chief Business Officer Marc Armstrong join James Emmett to talk about how to make commercial and marketing impact through a challenging era of transition.

Warrington Wolves CEO Karl Fitzpatrick joins the podcast to discuss the ways in which his team and sport are attempting to widen their appeal. In conversation with Leaders' Content Director David Cushnan, he reflects on the realities of running a Super League team in the north west of England, surrounded by four Premier League football clubs; how the club - a mainstay of the Super League since its formation in 1996 - is evolving; and efforts to boost the sport's profile. As a former player, Fitzpatrick is also well-placed to consider IMG's impact on the sport since it signed a 12-year deal with the Rugby Football League and its commercial offshoot RL Commercial three years ago, with a mandate to transform the sport. --- Fitzpatrick was speaking in Manchester at last month's Leaders summer drinks, to mark the launch of the Manchester chapter of Leaders Club, our community for tomorrow's sports industry leaders. For more information on the membership, visit leadersinsport.com.

As The Championships begin, Wimbledon's Marketing and Commercial Director Usama Al-Qassab sets out what's new this year and how he's settled into his role over the past two years.In conversation with Leaders' Content Director, Al-Qassab discusses how the All England Lawn Tennis Club continues to balance history and tradition with innovation and technology; how conversations with brand and broadcast partners are changing; and how he's thinking about AI and its applications in and around The Championships.Plus he discusses the changes for the 2025 tournament, including line judging and the start time of the men's singles finals, plus Wimbledon's digital strategy and what his diary looks like during The Championships

Reigning Olympic 100m champion Noah Lyles and four-time Olympic champion Michael Johnson sit down with Leaders' Editorial Director James Emmett in Cannes to discuss how track and field is being - and should be - disrupted.Lyles, who claimed gold in the blue riband event at Paris 2024, discusses his deliberate approach to personal brand-building, and what he likes and doesn't like about the current structure of the sport.Then Johnson opens up about the successes and challenges he encountered launching Grand Slam Track, the new series he founded earlier this year, a week after the announcement that season one would end prematurely with one event to go. He also reflects on his own approach to leadership, raising money and team building.

Welcome to the first episode in a new series called The TikTok Gameplan. Over the course of several episodes across the year, we'll be exploring the social giant's approach to sport through the prism of some of its key executives and content creators. In this first episode of the series, we dig into TikTok's Gameplan for magnifying women's sport. To help us do that, we called upon the services of the Queen of TikTok herself, England goalkeeping legend Mary Earps, who announced her retirement from international football in May 2025, having won 53 caps and helped her country to a Euros win and a World Cup Final. She has also found herself central to the battle for mainstream recognition that women's football has been fighting, particularly through the campaign to get Nike to manufacture and sell her replica goalkeeper jerseys for women. Joining Mary and Leaders' Managing Director Laura McQueen were TikTok's North American sports lead Kat Marquez, and former basketball player and coach Chloe Pavlech, who is now Chief Growth Officer of start-up 3x3 women's basketball league Unrivaled.

Katlyn Gao, CEO of LOVB (League One Volleyball) and Alex Bazzell, President and Co-Founder of Unrivaled Basketball join Leaders' Editorial Director James Emmett to discuss why women's sport was top of the agenda in Cannes this year. Gao charts the story so far for LOVB as it builds its own brand – and looks to attract brands - and considers the prominent role of the league's athletes in its storytelling approach. Bazzell lays out the plan to build 3x3 women's basketball property Unrivaled into sport's next billion dollar league franchise. He reviews the first year and reveals where he's looking for inspiration as Unrivaled grows. James also chats to Deirdre Lester, CEO of western sports media and entertainment company Teton Ridge, which is transforming the way cowboy culture and rodeo is packaged up and delivered to consumers.

Leaders Editorial Director James Emmett and Content Director David Cushnan dust off the mics to discuss what's worth knowing this week in the global business of sport.They examine some of the sports organisations currently on significant recruitment drives - Relevent Football Partners, Premier League Studios, Glasgow 2026 and the Cadillac F1 team among them - and reflect on a remarkable weekend of Grand Slam tennis at Roland Garros. Plus why Fulham FC's new Riverside Stand might be the new model for stadium entertainment offerings.There's also a look ahead to the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity - where James will be next week and sport will again be well represented. Stagwell Chief Brand Officer Beth Sidhu drops by to preview this year's Sport Beach.

Outgoing Meta wearables chief Dan Reed joins the Leaders Sport Business podcast this week. Having announced his departure from the technology giant earlier this month, Reed reflects on 11 years at the helm of various departments at Facebook and then Meta. Hired out of his role as President of the NBA's G League, Reed initially joined Facebook to head up its nascent sports activity as Director of Global Sports Partnerships in 2014. Building out a crack team - which included the likes of Peter Hutton, Joyee Biswas, Ronan Joyce, Jordan Gruber, and Nick Shaw among many others - Reed oversaw the development of Facebook Live as a viable sports streaming platform, 'experimenting' with hundreds of millions of dollars of rights as the company tested different strategic directions in sport. As VP of Global Sports and Media Partnerships, Reed developed the growing content creator ecosystem inside Facebook's portfolio of apps, and tailored new monetization models for all manner of sports-focused entities and individuals. And as COO of Reality Labs, essentially Meta's wearables division, Reed drove a multi-billion dollar business in AI, AR, VR and Mixed Reality products, pioneering what many believe will be the next iteration of mass-adopted connected devices through the Meta Rayban partnership.

Major League Baseball's CMO and the President of the Harlem Globetrotters join Leaders Content Director David Cushnan in New York on the fringes of 4se, SBJ's sport-meets-entertainment conference.MLB's Uzma Rawn Dowler explains how the league's MLB Life platform is at the heart of its growing activity on fashion, music, gaming, arts and entertainment, and how she's managing her role as the league's CMO and SVP, Global Partnerships.Harlem Globetrotters President Keith Dawkins shares how he's trying to turn the storied organisation, which celebrates its 100th anniversary next year, from a touring show into a ‘beloved global entertainment brand'.And Daniel Yaw-Miller, who writes about and observes everything going on at the intersection of sport, culture and fashion, reviews what he heard at 4se, including detail of the NFL's fashion strategy and the growing influence of the league's Fashion Editor Kyle Smith.

World Snooker Tour CEO Simon Brownell reflects on crowning a Chinese champion, alongside Leaders' Editorial Director James Emmett and Content Director David Cushnan.In a wide-ranging conversation just after WST's debrief of this year's tournament, Brownell discusses the plan to maximise Zhao Xintong's success at the Crucible, in China and beyond; Sheffield's future as host of the World Championships; the sport's Olympic hopes and global ambitions; and how to engage a new generation of fans.

Exploring the influence Donald Trump will exert on the 2026 Fifa men's World Cup and LA 2028 Olympics, with sports communications strategist John Zerafa.John joins Leaders' Editorial Director James Emmett and Content Director David Cushnan for a tour of global geopolitics, starting at the White House where Trump this week hosted Fifa President Gianni Infantino. They discuss the implications of Trump's Presidency and policies on the upcoming Club World Cup, from visas to tariffs to how to handle those Oval Office encounters.They also consider what might be in Kirsty Coventry's in-tray as she takes over the IOC Presidency, how the competition to host the 2036 summer Games is shaping up, where Saudi's sports strategy stands, China's first world snooker champion and Lego F1 cars.