The Soccer Business Podcast

Sam Mewis signed her first pro contract for $15,000. Ten years later, the league she came up in has free agency, purpose-built stadiums and a wave of brands that had never touched sport before.  In this episode, I spoke to two USWNT world champions, Emily Sonnett and Sam Mewis. We discussed how they turned a sport that barely had a league into a career, what it takes to build a team around you as...

Como's rise from Serie D to Serie A is one of the most unlikely stories in modern football — but what's happening off the pitch might be even more interesting than what's happening on it. In this episode, I sit down by Lake Como with club President Mirwan Suwarso to break down how the club engineered its climb through Italian football, and the innovative commercial strategy powering its next chapt...

Kay Cossington spent 20 years building women's football from the inside at England's FA — then walked straight into private equity. Now she's CEO of Bay Collective and Head of Global Women's Football at Sixth Street, running a multi-club ownership platform with no ceiling on ambition. She talks through the FA's "What It Takes to Win" model that led to hiring Sarina Wiegman, why England never tried...

Robert Faulkner, Chief Marketing Officer of Wrexham, joins the pod to break down how the club, backed by Hollywood actors Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney, have managed their extraordinary rise through the divisions, their new American fan base and the global impact of the Welcome to Wrexham documentary. This episode was recorded on-site at the World Football Summit in Madrid.

Women’s soccer is no longer just a game on the field - it’s an emerging asset class, and Chelsea Washington knows exactly why that matters. From becoming the first player drafted from her college into the NWSL to working in sports finance and investment today, she breaks down the business side of the women’s game that most fans never see. Simon Evans and Vnciane Ngomsi sit down with Chelsea Washin...

Zavier Gozo from Salt Lake to Premier League Crystal Palace, Sebastian Berhalter and Max Arfsten to Middlesbrough, even two USL strikers moving to Scotland. Why are British and European clubs suddenly buying players from MLS and USL? And can MLS and USL grow by being 'selling leagues'? Tom Bogert of The Athletic, America's number one journalist on soccer's transfer market, joins The Soccer Busines...

Jennifer Levine, Vice President of Communications and Public Relations with the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) joins the pod to talk about the growth of the league, their core and target audiences, how the league is story telling and whether there is competition with other women's sports league such as the WNBA. This is the first of our new series 'The Women's Soccer Business Podcast'.

Clubs are paying for mountains of player data — and using as little as 15% of it. Dean Bracha, founder of Marquee, joins the launch episode of The Stack to explain how his Tel Aviv-based platform is using AI to close that gap, and why he thinks most recruitment departments are still making multi-million-pound decisions on a fraction of the information available to them. Simon Evans and André Da Co...

In the first of our new series on investment topics 'The Deal Room' we take a look at reports that Amazon owner Jeff Bezos is part of a consortium looking to acquire a sizable chunk of Liverpool FC. With the club's valuation reported to be somewhere between $6 billion and $8 billion, what would this investment mean for the club? Does Fenway Sports Group have an exit strategy and what kind of prese...

MLS is banking on it's partnership with Liga MX in the Leagues Cup, which got underway this week, to deliver growth across all areas of the business. On Wednesday the competition held its first game on Mexican soil with a packed crowd in Toluca witnessing the clash with the Seattle Sounders. Tom Mayo, Executive Director of Leagues Cup, joined the pod to outline MLS's thinking about the tournament...

Larry Berg is the new MLS Commissioner having been chosen to replace Don Garber in the top seat at the league. But what to expect from the former private equity executive and LAFC co-owner? What will be at the top of his agenda. Brian Anderson from Sheppard Mullin, an analyst of American soccer business, joins the pod to talk to Andre and Simon about the big new appointment.    

Simon Evans is joined by Andre Da Costa and Sports Business Journal's Alex Silverman for a wrap-up review of the World Cup — breaking down the tournament's biggest business winners and losers. From Erling Haaland to Cristiano Ronaldo - beer sales to hydration break revenue - it's all covered as the pod looks back on a memorable five weeks.

Every four years the same debate resurfaces after a US World Cup exit: pay-to-play, access, and why the world's most inclusive sport still has a class problem in America. Ed Foster-Simeon, CEO of the US Soccer Foundation, has heard it all before — and argues the industry keeps asking the wrong question. Instead of fixating on elite player development, he makes the case that talent identification i...

'Pay to Play' youth soccer is being blamed for the USMNT under-performing. But is there another way for kids to be given access to coaching? Amir Lowery is a coach and former MLS and USL player who is now head of the Open Goal Project at DCFC in Washington, DC - a free to play program. He joins Simon to explain the problems with pay-to-play and how the alternative he has built actually works.

Simon and André break down the USA's 4-1 collapse against Belgium in the Round of 16 — and why the manner of the exit, not the result itself, has triggered a wave of hot takes across social and sports media. They unpack the noise around player development, arguing that most of the criticism misses what's actually working and what is really in need of reform. They also tackle the Pulisic scapegoati...

A significant, first of a kind, new investment in an MLS club. LAFC sell their Swiss club and a USL purchase are among the issues discussed in our new review before Bruno Costa, head of the international office for the Brazilian Football Federation (CBF) talks to us about the World Cup magic of the yellow jersey and their North American strategy.

Simon and Andre dive into the opening two weeks of the World Cup - beyond the extraordinary attendances and record-breaking ratings, the tournament has captured the imagination in lots of unexpected ways. With the extra ad revenue generated, are hydration breaks here to stay? What's behind the hate campaign against Alexi Lalas and will the people who are spending thousands of dollars on the World...

While the USMNT make their bid for glory at the FIFA World Cup. the U.S. Soccer Federation is breaking revenue records with over $1.3 billion in contracted revenue. Chief Commercial Officer Dave Wright reveals the business behind the national team and why they say no to so many potential deals.

Former top Coca Cola and Visa sports sponsorship executive Ricardo Fort joins the pod to reveal the inner workings of the business, ambush marketing and why AI firms could be at the forefront of the next wave of mega-deals around the World Cup.

Don Garber visited Montreal on Thursday and made it very clear he wants to see changes to the stadium situation in the city. After Vancouver, is a second Canadian city facing the threat of relocation with Las Vegas waiting in the wings. What is going on with MLS and Canada? Journalist Manuel Veth joins us from Canada to go inside the issues.

There was plenty of criticism of MLS's broadcast deal with Apple TV - from both fans and within the industry. But the latest numbers out of MLS suggest that real growth is happening. Seth Bacon EVP Media with MLS joins the podcast to discuss the numbers. Plus we look ahead to the UEFA Champions League final.

After a weekend of promotion and relegation drama in Europe - what is happening with USL's plans for pro/rel? How would a true pyramid work in the USA? Plus the latest news including Netflix eyeing World Cup rights.

Drake's deal for Venezia in Serie A. FIFA-Fanatics collectibles deal, New Man United training kit sponsor, Liga MX dominating MLS again. Plus does Messi's attitude to media dilute his impact? Can USL be a hipster brand? And will MLS Next Pro's plans really work? All that and more in this week's Soccer Business News Review with Simon Evans and Andre Da Costa.

Tom Glick, CEO of Hometown Soccer Holdings, reveals how a groundbreaking partnership with Major League Soccer and private equity giant KKR is revolutionizing community football across the U. S. and creating a new model for sustainable soccer growth. This is the story of how small-town clubs will become the beating heart of local communities and a catalyst for the sport’s nationwide boom. From stra...

The U.S. soccer pyramid is about to change—overnight. A major global investment firm, KKR, just partnered with MLS to revolutionize how lower-division soccer operates in North America. This isn’t just about new teams or stadiums; it’s a strategic roll-up of the entire ecosystem that could challenge the USL’s dominance and reshape the future of American football. If you’ve wondered how private equi...