Sports Pundit

THAT'S A WRAP! 🥳 🍾 2024 has been an incredible year for Sports Pundit, where our content was devoured like never before, and our community showed up in full force — online, in-person, and everywhere in between. Here’s a little “Sports Pundit Wrapped” to celebrate the year that was: 👀 267,733 views on our newsletter ❤️ Top 10 podcast for 227 loyal fans 💬 15,003 messages exchanged in our buzzing community (yes, we counted them all!) 🍻 1,782 RSVPs for our in-person meetups None of this happens without YOU — the listeners, readers, sponsors, supporters, and friends. Thank you for being part of this journey. But we’re not done. 2025 is calling, and it’s going to be bigger, better, and bolder. See you there! 🚀 CC: Andy Reiss Fergus Ruari Mihir Alexander Paddy Drew Cherry Mike Michael Rich Nathan Windsor Craig Jo Mary Rohan Leanne

“We're launching a lot of initiatives which go beyond just the performance side… The product that we are building, it's a product on the pitch, but it's also a product off the pitch, both for our players [and our fans],” explained F.C. Como Women CEO, Elena Mirandola For instance, last month the club launched BEYOND, a program that recognises that players aren’t just footballers; they’re human beings with futures that stretch far beyond 90 minutes on a Saturday. BEYOND provides players with access to speakers and experts on topics not typically covered at a training ground: career development, financial education, fertility, and personal branding. Historically, responsibility for ‘life after sport’ has fallen on players themselves — or on luck. But FC Como Women is showing that there’s another way. Read More 👉 https://lnkd.in/eD4EzP9n CC: Martina Giuliano Michael Broughton Nancy Hensley Victoire H. Cogevina Reynal Cherry Beagles

🗣️ "The idea is you want to be wearing a Como Women's cap because this is a symbol that you are supporting what we are doing and you want to be associated with our story and our mission." New podcast is out now with Elena Mirandola, CEO of F.C. Como Women — the first club to be backed by Mercury/13, a pioneering women’s football consortium with bold ambitions to build a global multi-club network ⚽️ Elena and Andy discuss her unconventional path to CEO, addressing gender disparity through football, overcoming infrastructure challenges, speaking to a global audience, launching an educational program for their players, approach to merchandising & their high-profile Nike partnership, empowering female athletes as content creators, and so much more! Listen to the full podcast on Apple, Spotify, or where ever you get your podcasts by searching 'Sports Pundit Podcast' 🎧 CC: Martina Giuliano Michael Broughton Nancy Hensley Victoire H. Cogevina Reynal Cherry Beagles

There's a couple of newsletters I really enjoy every week from the world of sport. The work Andy Marston does at the Sports Pundit is one of them. Grab a coffee over the weekend and enjoy discovering what's going across the sporting landscape. From the big leagues to the start-ups Andy's got you covered.

What happened this week? 🤔 ⚽️ Bruin Capital is launching a new entity called AS1 Sports (As One), consolidating four agencies—Nomi Sports, Position Number, Promoesport, and Football Division Worldwide—into a single organisation focused on elite athlete support and aiming to generate commercial opportunities for players. 🏆 FIFA has confirmed sports streaming service DAZN as the exclusive global broadcaster of the 2025 Club World Cup, marking the start of a broader partnership between the two. 🏉 Ilona Maher, the most followed rugby player in the world on social media, has joined the Bristol Bears with hopes of making the US team for next year's Women's Rugby World Cup ⚽️ LALIGA has opened a workspace in the Saudi Pro League (SPL) headquarters in Riyadh, reinforcing its ties with the Kingdom and building on its recent commercial deal with Riyadh Season. 📺 From next season, all 132 Women's Championship matches will be streamed live on YouTube, significantly increasing coverage from the current single weekly fixture. 🏁 The FAT Karting League (FKL), launched by Ferdinand Porsche and Rob Smedley, aims to revolutionise motorsport by slashing participation costs by 96% to make the sport more accessible to racers from all backgrounds 🧑💻 Southampton FC has launched TURF, a creative design studio offering the club's in-house expertise to businesses, focusing on building standout brands and innovative campaigns 🇸🇦 FIFA has published a report evaluating Saudi Arabia's bid to host the 2034 World Cup, giving the country a higher score on bidding requirements than the winning bid for the 2026 edition 🏀 The WNBA announced Toronto Tempo as its new franchise, debuting in 2026, with a name inspired by the city's vibrant energy and chosen through input from over 10,000 participants ➕ Check out the newsletter to also see what Andy Marston has been reading and listening to this week, which includes posts by Roger Mitchell, Anna-Victoria Jones, Roger Hampel and Aaron Miller as well podcasts from Charlie Stebbings and Dan Runcie 📰 🎧 CC: Achille de Rauglaudre George Pyne Nick Meacham Chris Samson Rheann Engelke

🗣️“Some of these future thinking technologies that are coming out [of the likes of Formula 1] are exciting from a sustainability point of view, because we won't solve the world's problems by doing less,” asserts Dr Susie Tomson 👩🏫 “We will through technology. We have to through technology. Essentially, we have to look at decarbonising and we realistically have to take the choice away from the individual [as] people always buy the cheaper product - and [that’s when] we're talking about people who can afford that choice. A lot of people can't, globally.” 🌎🌱 One promising avenue is sustainable fuels, which have the potential to reduce emissions in vehicles that cannot immediately transition to electric power, including commercial trucks and aviation 🚛 ✈️ This year’s F1 Miami Grand Prix marked a milestone: F1’s safety and medical cars used 40% sustainable fuel for the first time 🏎️ 🏁 By 2026, the series aims to power all its race cars with 100% sustainable fuel, paving the way for broader adoption in the transportation sector ♻️ Read More 👉 https://lnkd.in/gtg_tvQ8 CC: Andy Marston James Rigby Celina Wyatt Ben Pilbeam

🗣️ "In terms of the communications, I think that's where the environmental movement has not got it right in the past. It definitely needs to be around providing options and talking in a really positive light." 💡 "Typically, it's been like, 'Oh, don't do this, don't do that' and 'Use less this, and turn the heating down.' None of it feels like fun and then you're the 'fun sponge' or you the 'fun police.'" 👮 "We're not gonna solve these world's problems by doing less and people aren't going to change enough. But, what we do need to do, and I think the opportunity for sport is..." New podcast is out now with Dr Susie Tomson, one of the world’s leading proponents of sustainability in sport 🌍 Susie and Andy discuss the evolving motivations behind sustainability in sports, from working with innovative properties like SailGP, where sustainability is at the core, to supporting legacy rightsholders such as Liverpool Football Club in making meaningful environmental strides. As well as discussing the vital role and responsibilities of athletes, how the environmental movement can better communicate its message, the importance of understanding your supply chain, and so much more! Listen to the full podcast on Apple, Spotify, or where ever you get your podcasts by searching 'Sports Pundit Podcast' 🎧 CC: James Rigby Ben Pilbeam Radha Balani

What happened this week? 🤔 ⚽️ The Baller League, the six-a-side football sensation (which generated over 7.7 million Hours Watched during its inaugural season in Germany), is set to expand to the UK and US ⛳️ Bryson DeChambeau unmissable content series where he attempts to hit a hole-in-one over his multi-million dollar glass house led to a cumulative viewership of over 170m across TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube 🤯 (CC: Owen Clouting) 📲 Saudi Pro League (SPL) expands digital reach with OneFootball. Official video and editorial content covering the league will be featured across the digital platform ⚽️ DAZN has partnered with F.C. Como Women to bring you exclusive content and behind-the-scenes access, offering a closer look at FCCW’s thrilling season 🏉 Newcastle Falcons Rugby Club have been put up for sale by long-term owner Semore Kurdi citing ‘investor fatigue.’ The club has engaged external advisors to run sales process 🍻 Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) have announced a new partnership with BrewDog, who will serve as the official beer partner at Lord's Cricket Ground from January 2025 🏈 X (formerly Twitter) has added a new “NFL Portal” activation, which will make it easier for fans to track the latest news and chatter, while also contributing with their own thoughts and opinions 🛒 Over Thanksgiving, NBC's NFL coverage let fans shop while they watched, offering a QR code on-screen that linked directly to Walmart's online store for both linear and streaming viewers ➕ Check out the newsletter to also see what Andy Marston has been reading and listening to this week, which includes posts by Asli Pelit, Mark Oliver, and Subomi Odanye, as well podcasts from John Ourand and Unofficial Partner 📰 🎧 CC: Yannick Manuel Ramcke Murray Barnett Ben Peppi Daniel Donaldson Felix Starck Lasse Lehmann Michael Broughton

Despite the rise of player-centric models, the badge isn’t going away. Products that combine athlete and team rights—known as dual licensing—currently outperform those that focus solely on one. Video games like Madden and EA FC, for instance, leverage both the emotional resonance of players and the heritage of teams and leagues. The combination creates a richer, more valuable experience for fans. But, in today’s world, there’s room for experimentation... EA Sports’ Ultimate Team, for example, generates millions in revenue by letting players build fantasy teams using individual athlete licences, entirely separate from team or league affiliations. This model prioritises the individual athlete’s value and has become the dominant revenue stream in the game. According to Statista, almost half of the $4.46 billion net revenue that EA generates from extra content sales is now driven by the Ultimate Team mode in its sports games. Want to learn more? 🤔 Find a link to the latest 'Big Idea' newsletter by following the link in the comments 📰👇 CC: Andy Marston Ashwin Desai

🗣️ "I think Ultimate Team is a great case study in how you could build a hugely revenue generative game mode just using players with no team or league marks at all." "I think a lot of publishers are looking at that and saying, 'Why couldn't that just be the entire product?'" 🤔 New podcast is out tomorrow with Ashwin Desai, SVP Games & Experiences at OneTeam Partners 🎮 Ashwin and Andy discuss the founding story of OneTeam Partners, negotiating players rights for Electronic Arts (EA)'s College Football game, balancing individual vs collective power, competitive socialisation and fan experiences outside of the stadium, leveraging athlete data, utilising AI for new commercial opportunities, and much much more. Listen to the full podcast on Apple, Spotify, or where ever you get your podcasts by searching 'Sports Pundit Podcast' 🎧