The World Football Summit Podcast

Recorded live at WFS Europe 2024 in Sevilla, Lluís Cortés, head coach of the Saudi Arabian Women’s National Team, shares his experience developing women’s football in a rapidly evolving landscape. He talks about leadership, legacy, and the exciting future for Saudi women’s football. What you’ll hear: The evolution of women’s football in Saudi Arabia. Building a culture of trust and leadership in t...

Today, we welcome Matteo Balliauw & Max Goldsmith, from the Belgian Football Federation for a “data management in football masterclass.” And we look at it from both the performance and the business side of things. It is pretty remarkable what they have done at the Federation, and they have a bunch of examples and use cases that I believe you guys can benefit from. I love these conversations wh...

Recorded at WFS Europe 2024 in Sevilla, this episode features Zubair Timol discussing the critical role of data and AI in shaping modern football. From personalized fan experiences to how football clubs can become content creators, Zubair dives into the future of football tech. What you’ll hear: How AI and data can personalize the fan experience. Why football clubs are evolving into media companie...

This week we talk about the world of sports tourism. After all, Sports tourism represents around 10% of the total global tourist flow and has transformed into an almost mandatory element of all sports stakeholders’ strategies We welcome Olivier Rust from Radisson Hotel Group and Iker Meyerson from Athlos Travel, a Barcelona-based start -up, both of which joined us for WFS Europe. This is a fascina...

Live from WFS Europe 2024 in Sevilla, we chat with Ebru Koksal, Chair of Women in Football, about the Open Doors Agenda and its push for greater female representation in football leadership. Ebru shares strategies for promoting diversity, building expertise, and fostering inclusive environments. Among other things we talk about: The goals of the Open Doors Agenda to promote gender equality in foot...

I am thrilled to bring you an awesome conversation with Mike Amstrong, CMO at Juventus Football Club. As a marketer at heart, I am a big fan of the work they are doing at the club. I believe that initiatives like the Juventus Creator Program are what the industry needs to tap into new avenues of growth. Mike and I cover: Marketing fundamentals at a Football Club The role of content in the sports b...

In this episode recorded live at WFS Europe 2024 in Sevilla, former footballer Siem de Jong talks about his transition from the field to a career in investment, content creation, and purpose-driven initiatives. Siem shares his thoughts on navigating life after football and the role athletes can play in driving social change. What you’ll hear: Siem's journey from professional footballer to sports i...

This week, we welcome Emily Heath, Global Brand Director at Rexona, to the show for a true brand marketing masterclass! Emily and I discuss: Rexona’s involvement and efforts to develop women's football. Marketing and branding fundamentals such as marketing strategy, storytelling, and the role of brands in football. Advice for women looking to get a leadership job…either in brand marketing, footbal...

In this episode recorded live from WFS Europe 2024 in Sevilla, we sit down with Nora Henriksson from Media. Monks to explore the intersection of technology and football. Nora shares insights on the generational shift in fan behavior and how AI is transforming content creation. We cover: How Gen Z is consuming more highlights than full matches. The role AI plays in personalizing football experience...

Jordan Gardner is back for another fun review of the global football industry, specifically about areas that are not mainstream…yet. These include Asia or Mexico and the LatAm region We also talk again about MLS club valuations, and the state of the Premier League... I mean, you can already tell this one was fun! World Football Summit: The football we want, and need. This podcast is  for leaders w...

We are thrilled to welcome Michael Broughton back to the show. With so many things going on in the sports investment landscape, I wanted to have him back for a deep dive into the different trends and dynamics. And this is what we talk about! We also talk about how the evolution of the media rights market will impact this landscape, adopting a fan-centric strategy, technology… As is always the case...

Today, you are in for a treat if you are interested in everything related to American football / soccer, as we cover: The evolution of the sport in North America, Expectations toward the upcoming WC The role of media… We do this with an amazing guest like Joe Machnik, a true industry legend who has been at the front lines of this evolution and is even a member of the National Soccer Hall of Fame....

Today, I am thrilled to welcome back a friend like Agustina de Giovanni to the show. For those of you who don’t know Agustina, she is a Mental Performance expert with amazing experience working with football clubs in the US like DC United and she is currently working with Bay FC, the Women’s Soccer club founded in 2023. Achieving peak mental performance is critical but in today’s world, it has bec...

Keith Wyness, former CEO at clubs like Aberdeen, Everton, or Aston Villa returns to the show for a deep-dive into the English Premier league including: The Profit & Sustainability Rules at the EPL Manchester City’s upcoming hearing The sale of Everton Ownership dynamics in the UK And we even have time to talk about the Saudi Arabian football industry Enjoy! World Football Summit: The football...

We were invited to a live session organized by our friends from iWorkinSport to discuss: Trends in the sports industry job market How to maximize the experience at a sports industry conference / event Frameworks for classifying industry events This was an interesting session with questions from the audience and we thought this would be valuable to you as well...Enjoy! Make sure you check out the c...

Do you know of a football club that is not looking to enhance its fan engagement strategy to drive revenue? I don't... At WFS we are always looking for new technology and solutions that help the football industry unlock new levers of growth and become more professional. There are amazing companies out there who could add value…and today we speak to one of those companies, Andaria, a licensed F...

"We lead with passion and purpose to drive profitability, where we never sacrifice impact for profit or profit for impact." Now, if you were to put a name to someone who truly represents being a game-changer in the industry, Julie Uhrman would be right up there. She is Co-Founder and President of Angel City FC, the football club that has taken women’s football by storm thanks to the impa...

"The emergence of new markets like Saudi Arabia and African nations is challenging the traditional dominance of European leagues, necessitating a rethink of global football strategies." I am absolutely thrilled to have a very special guest with us, Simon Chadwick, a renowned expert on geopolitical economy applied to sport. We're diving deep into the complex and intriguing world of ge...

Content leads to engagement, which leads to revenue. In this week's episode, I look into some trends and frameworks for football properties based on conversations we have had with amazing football industry leaders from Eintracht Frankfurt, or Club Brugge about: Fan-centric innovation eSports & Football Fan Engagement Content & Storytelling The beautiful game is evolving. The question i...

Change is the only constant in the football industry. This week, I analyze 5 big trends that are reshaping the business behind the beautiful game including: Content Creation & Distribution Personalization & Tech D2C Streaming Stadium Experience New Revenue Streams Enjoy! World Football Summit: The football we want, and need. This podcast is  for leaders who want to shape the future of the...

I feel like the role of the referee in the industry is a bit overlooked sometimes, although it is a crucial element to guarantee a flow of the game. Today, we welcome Ali Djedid to the show, a professional referee in France. Ali will help us understand the day-to-day of being a referee, how he copes with mental pressure and even the commercial opportunities for the profession…make sure you stick a...

We bring you back to WFS Americas and share an amazing panel that discussed partnerships in women’s football. With the growth of the women’s game (current and projected), it seems like a perfect time to share this with you. Christina Taylor, Aim Sky High Talent Alex Singer, Houston Dash Richard Feuz, Chicago Red Stars Ryan Dell, Racing Louisville FC Tatiana Briseño, The Marketing Jersey Share the...

Kristian Dobrev Deputy CEO at The Football Business Academy is back on the show and this time he brings along with him someone who understands the dynamics of the sports industry like few others do…Dr. Erkut Sogut, Founder of Grow, a boutique sports agency (among many other things as he has also ventured into the content creation and executive search space). The FBA & Erkut have launched a uni...

The traditional sports business model is outdated and football properties need to innovate. But which are the trends impacting sports most? That is what we discussed today with Eduardo Valdez, who works with our friends from SportBoost, a start-up accelerator led by Iker Casillas, and an investment platform focused on innovation, sport, and technology. I am also joined by Ramón Olaso, from the Wor...

Richard Gilis, from The Unofficial Partner Podcast and one of the best in the sports content creation space, is our amazing guest this week. His knowledge, the guests he brings on to the show, and telling things as he sees them are what I like most about the content he puts out. And it is precisely the sports content space that we focus on today, particularly podcasts! So you can imagine how much...