Episodios

  • How smart is Gerard Pique?
    Aug 14 2025

    According to Google, that's the second most common question people ask in relation to the former FC Barcelona and Spanish international football legend.

    The answer may well be 'very'. Since retiring from playing in November 2022, Pique has launched himself whole-heartedly into the running of his Kosmos agency. A few short weeks after hanging up his boots, he launched Kings League, a seven-a-side football competition with unconventional rules designed to major on the entertainment side of the sport.

    Two and half years later, and Kings League has established itself as a new model for short-form football; it's expanded out of Spain and into new markets around Europe and South America, with the Middle East and the US now firmly on radar.

    Pique sat down to record with Leaders at the Cannes Festival of Marketing earlier in the summer. Fresh off a whirlwind few weeks of activity with Kings League - including signing a landmark deal with Saudi Arabian fund SURJ, and overseeing a successful finals event in Paris - Pique gave his thoughts on football's expansion into the US market, the Club World Cup, spawning competitor outfits like the Baller League, and the transition from the field to the boardroom.

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    24 m
  • What was it like on the inside of the Hundred auction?
    Aug 7 2025

    Raine Group Partner and Head of EMEA, Jason Schretter joins the show to explain how the England & Wales Cricket Board managed the sale of stakes in the eight Hundred franchises - which drew significant investment from the United States and India.

    Raine was the lead financial advisor to the ECB on the auction process, working closely with Deloitte to achieve an overall valuation of over £975 million across the eight franchises, and a £500 million windfall for the development of English cricket.

    In conversation with Leaders' Content Director David Cushnan, Schretter reflects on the process from start to finish, shares the rationale for such sizeable investments, identifies some of the lessons for other sports looking for investment and offers his assessment of the sports industry's current financial literacy.

    Look out for the Leaders Week London agenda, which is out next week - check out leadersinsport.com/leadersweek

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    34 m
  • How the DP World Tour became sport’s funniest rights holder
    Jul 31 2025

    Tom Jackson, Group Director, Content at the DP World Tour - once known as the European Tour - joins the podcast to share the organisation’s approach to content creation and in particular its run of viral videos featuring challenges and players.

    In conversation with Leaders’ Content Director David Cushnan, Jackson explains the critical planning and process required to bring a comprehensive content strategy to life; how his team convinced players to take part; the risk and reward of humour in content; and how the DP World Tour’s approach to branded content has become more sophisticated.

    Join leading creatives, digital and content experts, and organisations including Ferrari, FIFA, Chicago Bulls, Snuggs, NASCAR and more, on the Creative Stage at Leaders Week London - 1st and 2nd October at Allianz Stadium, Twickenham. To find out more visit: www.leaders on sport.con/leadersweek

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    55 m
  • Does women’s football sponsorship work?
    Jul 25 2025

    Fresh from the Uefa Women’s Euros semi-finals, Rexona/Sure Global Brand Director Emily Heath joins Leaders’ Editorial Director James Emmett to examine whether women’s football sponsorship actually works.

    Heath shares her on-the-ground thoughts on the atmosphere around this week’s games and describes the mood in host country Switzerland, plus outlines how Unilever-brand Rexona (Sure in the UK) is approaching its Uefa and Fifa sponsorship activations across different markets.

    She also explains how and when Unilever will measure the success of the Euros - from sentiment to sales - and offers a few top tips to rights-holders about how to approach partnership conversations with the brand.

    Emily Heath will be one of a gaggle of senior, global brand-side executives speaking at Leaders Week London, on 1st and 2nd October at Allianz Stadium, Twickenham. To find out more visit: www.leaders on sport.con/leadersweek

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    38 m
  • REVEALED! Mark Goldbridge’s blueprint for fan-driven football content
    Jul 16 2025

    Mark Goldbridge, owner and frontman of The United Stand and That’s Football, joins the podcast to explain how he’s building the biggest football content brands on YouTube, and the truth behind the viral clips they spawn.

    Manchester United-focused The United Stand (19 million views in June) and That's Football (9.85 million views) were the top two YouTube football channels globally for long-form views in June.

    In conversation with Leaders’ Content Director David Cushnan, Goldbridge discusses how he turned a hobby into a business; his thoughts on mainstream football coverage and how it needs to change; the business model and how The United Stand and That’s Football are increasingly working with brand partners; and, naturally, his thoughts on the soap opera that is Manchester United, Sir Jim Ratcliffe, the Glazers and what he’d do first if he was club CEO Omar Berrada.

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    44 m
  • Sponsorship and Manchester United: conversations with Qualcomm CMO Don McGuire and Utd Chief Business Officer Marc Armstrong
    Jul 11 2025

    Manchester United have remained a market leading force in commercial activity despite a run of challenging seasons for onfield performance and results.

    Current front-of-shirt partner Snapdragon, a mobile phone chip manufacturing brand within the Qualcomm software empire, is entering the second year of a five-year deal worth a reported $375 million. It's a top-end fee for a position at a club that finished 15th last season.

    On the show this week, Qualcomm CMO Don McGuire and newly installed Manchester United Chief Business Officer Marc Armstrong join James Emmett to talk about how to make commercial and marketing impact through a challenging era of transition.

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    50 m
  • The reality of revamping rugby league with Warrington Wolves CEO Karl Fitzpatrick
    Jul 3 2025

    Warrington Wolves CEO Karl Fitzpatrick joins the podcast to discuss the ways in which his team and sport are attempting to widen their appeal.

    In conversation with Leaders' Content Director David Cushnan, he reflects on the realities of running a Super League team in the north west of England, surrounded by four Premier League football clubs; how the club - a mainstay of the Super League since its formation in 1996 - is evolving; and efforts to boost the sport's profile.

    As a former player, Fitzpatrick is also well-placed to consider IMG's impact on the sport since it signed a 12-year deal with the Rugby Football League and its commercial offshoot RL Commercial three years ago, with a mandate to transform the sport.

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    Fitzpatrick was speaking in Manchester at last month's Leaders summer drinks, to mark the launch of the Manchester chapter of Leaders Club, our community for tomorrow's sports industry leaders. For more information on the membership, visit leadersinsport.com.

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    34 m
  • Inside Wimbledon: Usama Al-Qassab on managing partners, maintaining the brand and mastering AI
    Jun 30 2025

    As The Championships begin, Wimbledon's Marketing and Commercial Director Usama Al-Qassab sets out what's new this year and how he's settled into his role over the past two years.

    In conversation with Leaders' Content Director, Al-Qassab discusses how the All England Lawn Tennis Club continues to balance history and tradition with innovation and technology; how conversations with brand and broadcast partners are changing; and how he's thinking about AI and its applications in and around The Championships.

    Plus he discusses the changes for the 2025 tournament, including line judging and the start time of the men's singles finals, plus Wimbledon's digital strategy and what his diary looks like during The Championships

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    30 m