Don't Forget Your Tickets

How did English football go from one of the most dangerous sporting environments in the world to the most commercially powerful league on the planet? The answer starts with tragedy, and with a government that told football it had to change or face closure. In part two of this special two-part episode of Don't Forget Your Ticket, host Carl-Erik Michalsen Moberg continues his conversation with...

What does a football club actually buy when it signs a global superstar? Is it results, a bigger brand, or both? And when that calculation goes wrong, what does it cost the club for years to come? In this special two-part episode of Don’t Forget Your Ticket, host Carl-Erik Michalsen Moberg sits down with Dr. Giambattista Rossi, Senior Lecturer at Birkbeck Business School, University of London and...

What does it take to buy your local football club, clear its debts, grow its fanbase, and aim for the Premier League by 2038? In this episode of Don't Forget Your Ticket , host Clare Kenny sits down with Spencer Gore, owner, chairman and group CEO of Chelmsford City Football Club. Spencer’s story is far from typical. After building a successful medical publishing business, he turned a long-he...

What does great ticketing look like when you’re the person making matchday happen under pressure every single week? In this special edition of Don’t Forget Your Tickets , host Clare Kenny sits down with the three winners of the 2025 Ticketing Manager of the Year Awards: Andy Gate of Oxford City Football Club, Ollie Gout of Dorking Wanderers Football Club, and Sarah Rowntree of Hartlepool United Fo...

How do you run two distinct football clubs in different countries while keeping their local community heartbeat alive? We explore the realities of modern football management with Steve Curwood, Chief Executive of both Fleetwood Town FC (EFL League Two) and Waterford FC (League of Ireland). From navigating the English Football League to driving growth across the Irish Sea, Steve operates at a fasci...

Football fandom is much more than a weekend pastime—it is a lifelong, intergenerational commitment that shapes our identity. Yet, the modern sports industry often treats loyal supporters as simple consumers. In this episode of Don't Forget Your Tickets , host Carl-Erik Moberg sits down with Ryan McKnight, a former football club CEO turned academic researcher. Drawing from his frontline experi...

What transforms a football club from a simple team into the beating heart of a community? How can a club’s history, values, and local pride be harnessed to build a truly unbreakable bond with its supporters? We explore the art and science of modern fan engagement with a leading voice in the football industry, Grant Russell. With a rich background spanning broadcasting, top-flight club media at Wes...

What does it take to turn a kickabout in the park with friends into a professional football club knocking on the door of the Football League?  We dive into one of the most extraordinary stories in British football with a true visionary, Marc White. From the 17th tier to the National League, Marc’s journey with Dorking Wanderers FC is a masterclass in ambition, grit, and the relentless pursuit of a...

What does it take to build a national sports league from the ground up? We dive into the world of sports innovation with a true pioneer, Paul Beirne. From launching the Toronto Raptors in the NBA to founding the Canadian Premier League, Paul’s journey is a masterclass in building sporting institutions. In this episode of Don't Forget Your Tickets , host Clare Kenny sits down with Paul to unco...

Are We Witnessing a Golden Era for the League of Ireland? As the 2026 League of Ireland season kicks off, we’re back at the heart of the action to explore the culture, commerce, and intense passion driving Irish football forward. In this episode of Don't Forget Your Tickets, host Clare Kenny continues the exploration of Irish football sparked in the previous conversation with James Callan, sh...

Are we witnessing a golden era for the League of Ireland? As the 2026 season kicks off this Friday, we’re diving deep into the culture, commerce, and passion driving Irish football forward. In this season premiere of Don't Forget Your Tickets , host Clare Kenny sits down with James Callan, one of the brightest young voices in sports journalism. At just 23, James has established himself as a k...

This episode of Don’t Forget Your Tickets is a special one. It’s a heartwarming and inspiring conversation that celebrates the magic of football fandom through the eyes of a true supporter. For the first time, we’re joined by a fan who has achieved something extraordinary – visiting all 92 Premier League and EFL stadiums. Ashley Lambell, a lifelong Northampton Town supporter and ground-hopping ent...

This episode of Don't Forget Your Tickets is a special one. It’s a deeply personal and honest conversation that explores both the triumphs and tribulations of a truly extraordinary career in football. We're joined by the first guest on our podcast to have excelled at the highest level both on and off the pitch, earning caps for Ireland as a player and then taking on a club co-owner and C...

How many sports industry professionals do you know who have subscribed to 800 different club newsletters to learn how clubs around the world communicate with their fans? Probably none, but Lukas Mikkel Hansen, a young talent making waves in the sports industry, has done exactly that. In this episode of Don't Forget Your Tickets, we sit down with the young co-founder of Playmakers to get a uni...

What is the real impact of American investment on English football, and how are clubs adapting to a changing sponsorship landscape? For answers, we turn to a man who has seen it all from the inside: Ian Dutton, UK Managing Director of Sporting Group International. In this episode, new co-host Clare Kenny sits down with the former Birmingham City FC Managing Director to discuss his 17-year journey...

What can a club-owned fan app do that social media can’t? A lot, especially when it comes to ticket sales, first-party data, and shifting fan behavior at scale, says Forza Clubs' CEO Adam Stighäll. In this season-opening episode, Adam explains why clubs and leagues are moving beyond algorithms to build their own “digital living rooms,” how ticketing becomes the killer utility that drives adop...

Don’t Forget Your Tickets — Podium Special with Morten Therkildsen What can a Japanese tea ceremony teach us about running safe football matches? Quite a lot, according to operational safety expert Morten Therkildsen . In this special episode, one of our most downloaded guests returns to share lessons from his work across UEFA tournaments — from the Europa League and Champions League finals to sta...

In this episode of Don’t Forget Your Tickets, we’re joined by James Wynne—founder of Playbook Sponsorship and a sponsorship leader whose work has spanned the Caribbean Premier League, Digicel, Guinness under Diageo, and powerhouse football brands like Chelsea and Manchester United. James shares his personal journey from working with global giants to launching his own consultancy—and along the way,...

To celebrate the 50-episode milestone of Don’t Forget Your Tickets , we’re revisiting our most downloaded guests in a special mini-series: the Podium Specials . First up is Brooke Arthur —a ticketing expert whose journey spans from her early days at Vancouver 2010 to her role in hospitality ticketing at Paris 2024 . Throughout her career, Brooke has worked at some of the most high-profile global e...

What does it take to go from zero experience in ticketing to leading one of Europe’s largest stadium operations? In this live rooftop conversation from Manchester, we catch up with Daniel Cook, newly appointed Head of Ticketing at Principality Stadium and Welsh Rugby Union (WRU). One year after his first appearance on the podcast, Daniel shares how he worked his way up, the challenges of balancing...

What does it take to land a top job in Sports? We're live with a new season of Don't Forget Your Tickets, and in this opening episode of season seven, James Gershfield, Head of Sports & Entertainment at Forsyth Barnes, reveals the key traits that separate candidates who apply from those who get hired. With experience recruiting for Manchester United, Real Madrid, ATP Tour, and the PG...

How Can EFL Clubs Build a Sustainable Financial Future? Tight margins, rising costs, and unpredictable revenue streams can make or break a football club’s future. So how can EFL clubs create a financial model that balances ambition with long-term stability? At Don’t Forget Your Tickets at Emirates Stadium, Steve Kavanagh, former Millwall CEO and Non-Executive Director of the EFL, sat down with Gre...

What Will Buying a Match Ticket Look Like in the Future? As ticketing technology evolves and fan behaviors shift, how will clubs adapt to keep stadiums full and fans engaged? For the final episode from Don’t Forget Your Tickets at Emirates Stadium, Professor Dominik Schreyer from WHU – Otto Beisheim School of Management sat down with Thom Airs to explore the future of ticketing, spectator behavior...

How Can Clubs and Tech Providers Shape the Future of Ticketing—Together? The best innovations in football rarely happen in isolation—they thrive when clubs and technology providers work hand in hand. But what does that kind of partnership actually look like in practice? At Don’t Forget Your Tickets at Emirates Stadium, Mads Liabø, Marketing Manager at SK Brann, and Carl-Erik Michalsen Moberg, CEO...

How Are Mobile Apps Transforming Fan Engagement in Football? In an era where fans expect a constant connection with their clubs, mobile apps have become more than just digital hubs—they're powerful tools for engagement, loyalty, and revenue generation. But how can clubs make the most of them? At Don’t Forget Your Tickets at Emirates Stadium, Martin Dunford, CTO at Urban Zoo , sat down with Al...