SportsPro Podcast

As tennis star Peng Shuai’s generates headlines worldwide, SportsPro editor at large Eoin Connolly is joined by China Sports Insider’s Mark Dreyer and Professor Simon Chadwick, global professor of sport at Emlyon Business School. They discuss local reaction to Peng Shuai’s sexual assault allegations against former vice premier Zhang Goali and consider the WTA’s response. With a US-led diplomatic boycott of Beijing 2022 possible, they ask whether sport’s relationship with China is changing. Then SportsPro staff writer Rory Jones talks to Danish Football Union (DBU) chief executive Jakob Jensen about its promotional boycott of the Qatar 2022 Fifa World Cup.

SportsPro senior contributor Matt Rogan talks to Emma Barraclough, product owner at Blue Fuel. Emma leads elite sports nutrition company Blue Fuel, launched in 2020 within Chelsea Digital Ventures - a ‘digital-first, consumer product business spun out from Chelsea Football Club.’ Rather than narrowing the conversation to a single area, this conversation covers the expanse of responsibilities undertaken by a business leader - in particular ones in a fast growth sector. From launching during a pandemic to scaling both a B2B and B2C business simultaneously, this is a fascinating look inside a fast growth business and a really candid reflection on the highs and lows of leading and juggling divergent priorities.

With a racism scandal rocking English cricket, SportsPro editor at large Eoin Connolly talks to Chris Grant, an independent Sport England board member and expert in change management, to ask how organisations can respond properly to reports of discrimination and protect people from abuse. Chris outlines the structural reforms sports bodies and businesses should embrace and explains why an honest dialogue is vital to the industry’s future, culturally and commercially. Meanwhile, SportsPro staff writer Rory Jones dials in from the Smart Cities and Sport Summit in Copenhagen to relay the key trends in event hosting and urban development.

SportsPro editor at large Eoin Connolly talks to Tom Beahon, chief executive of fast-emerging sportswear brand Castore. They discuss Castore’s growth from a premium-focused startup to a company serving the likes of Rangers, McLaren, Newcastle United and the England cricket team and consider the challenges and scrutiny that come with meeting fans’ needs in those sports. Tom also talks about how he and co-founder brother Phil have adapted to investment from backers such as British retail entrepreneurs Mohsin and Zuber Issa, the influence of early partner Sir Andy Murray and finding a sustainable route to international expansion.  

To bring the SportsPro OTT Summit to a close at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, SportsPro editor at large Eoin Connolly gathers a panel of expert guests to tackle some big questions and preconceptions in digital sports media. Dan Porter, CEO of youth-focused sports media company Overtime, Ampere Analysis consumer lead Minal Modha, Albachiara’s Roger Mitchell and Anthony Arena, chief executive of videogame-styled sports broadcast platform Aura, take on the real significance of social media audiences, the viability of subscription-led streaming services and whether new channels can survive without premium rights.

SportsPro senior contributor Matt Rogan talks to Adam Fraser, chief executive of the Laureus Sport for Good Foundation. Adam talks about how to put purpose and social impact at the centre of a sports business, explaining how Laureus works through projects around the world and also laying guiding principles for any organisation.  He also reflects on his transition to a CEO role, exercising global leadership through the limitations of the pandemic, and where a generational shift will take the cause of sport for good in the future. 

As the COP 26 Summit draws to a close, SportsPro editor at large Eoin Connolly speaks to commercial director Paul Guest, freshly returned from the Sport@COP event in Glasgow. They discuss whether sports bodies can move beyond pledges to lasting action on climate change, prioritising a sustainability agenda and the industry’s storytelling power and networked influence as a buyer. They also talk about holistic responses to the threat of extreme weather and Paul draws on some brand lessons from the Laureus Sport for Good Index, which launched this week.

To coincide with the launch of the Laureus Sport for Good Index, SportsPro editor at large Eoin Connolly is joined by Laureus managing director Ned Wills and Baroness Grey-Thompson, the decorated Paralympian who is now a crossbench member of the UK’s House of Lords and a leading voice in using sport for positive social change. They discuss the purpose of the Index project and its benchmarking potential, as well as the wider value of sports organisations as agents of tangible progress. They also take on the practicalities of working with partners and public authorities in making a meaningful, lasting difference.

For SportsPro’s Women’s Sport Week, editor at large Eoin Connolly is joined by The Space Between co-founder Lisa Parfitt and Sue Anstiss, a trustee at the Women's Sport Trust and author of Game On: The Unstoppable Rise of Women’s Sport. They consider recent research about the visibility and fanbase of women’s sport, and what that could mean for the models powering events like The Hundred, the Women’s Super League and the Uefa Women’s Champions League.   Then editorial director Michael Long discusses storytelling in women’s sport with Jessica Robertson, chief content officer at Togethxr, a media and commerce company co-founded by Alex Morgan, Chloe Kim, Simone Manuel and Sue Bird.

As COP26 arrives, SportsPro senior contributor Matt Rogan talks to SOAS’s Dr Tom Tanner centre director and programme director at the Centre for Development, Environment and Policy about how sports bodies can respond to the climate emergency.  Dr Tanner helps to define some of the central challenges facing sport and how concepts like ‘resilience’ will give structure to the fightback. He also discusses which sports are making progress and which need to take their response more seriously, how major events and sports seasons could change, and the tangible steps organisations can make that have a real, sustainable impact.