Zarah Al Kudcy: How Chelsea FC’s Women are Forging their own Commercial Path

Today’s episode I’m joined by Zarah Al Kudcy, the Commercial Director for Chelsea FC Women’s team, as well as a trustee of the Women’s Sports Trust.

Having previously held commercial roles in World Rugby, ECB, and most recently, Formula 1, Zarah joined Chelsea this summer tasked with building and growing commercial revenue related to the women’s team through sponsorship, ticketing, hospitality, and digital content.

Time Stamps:

1:00 - NWSL Final and learning from other sporting properties

2:00 - The Case for Women’s Football to be Standalone from the Men’s

5:00 - Engaging with fans of Chelsea’s Men’s and Women’s Teams

6:00 - The difference between International and Domestic Growth 

10:00 - Balancing Coverage Between Match Reports and Lifestyle Content

12:00 - Better Signposting Women’s Football 

15:00 - Including Women’s Players in EA Sports FC24

23:00 - Commercial Power of Female Fans and Breaking Down Women’s Football Audiences

27:00 - Sponsorship Case for Investing in Women’s Sport

34:00 - Not Becoming Reliant on Subsidies or Sponsors

36:00 - Lessons to Learn from Men’s Sport (Football and Rugby) 

38:00 - Keeping up with the Pace of Change On-and-Off the Pitch

41:00 - Extending the Legacy of the Lionesses Off the Pitch 

45:00 - Highlighting Female Leadership Off the Pitch with Angel City 

Additional Reading:

• In The Game: How Ultimate Team Inclusion is Driving Women’s Football Forward
• Female First: Kang Bets on Value of Women's Teams as Independent, Collective Assets  
• Perfect Stormz: Making Diversity and Inclusion in Football a lot less Merky
• The 'unbundling' of Women’s Football (Arsenal x Adidas x Stella McCartney)
• ⁠Finally, a Female Football Boot⁠ (Nike football boot launch)

Connect with Zarah on LinkedIn - here

Connect with Andy on LinkedIn - here