SportsPro Podcast

Former New Zealand captain Bex Smith spent much of her football career playing in Europe and came away convinced that the structures underpinning the women's game were holding it back.
 
Now, as the founder and chief executive of the Crux Football multi-club group, the former Fifa executive is implementing an ownership model built on carving women's teams out of the men's structure to run them as standalone businesses.
 
In this episode of the SportsPro Podcast, Smith joins Head of Editorial Sam Carp to discuss the launch of Crux, the criteria shaping acquisitions of clubs like Montpellier and FC Rosengård,
and where she sees the biggest opportunities for revenue growth.
 
Recorded at SportsPro London in April, the conversation also explores the growing role of MCOs in women’s football, how Fifa and Uefa could incentivise more investment in the game and Crux’s ambition to scale to five teams.

Prem Rugby CEO Simon Massie-Taylor talks SportsPro through plans to make league more financially sustainable, grow the audience and take advantage of sport’s rise as an asset class.

Brad Ross worked on four Fifa World Cups during more than a decade with Coca-Cola, but he likens the expanded 2026 edition to having 104 Super Bowls in five to six weeks. Now, as managing director of global marketing partnerships at Bank of America, he is overseeing the financial services giant’s first-ever sponsorship of soccer’s flagship international tournament.
 
In this episode of the SportsPro Podcast, Ross sits down with Head of Editorial Sam Carp to discuss the strategy underpinning Bank of America’s World Cup debut and what opportunities and challenges the expansion of the tournament creates for sponsors.
 
Recorded at SportsPro London, the conversation also explores how the bank will activate the partnership across its 100 US markets, what it takes to cut through in a noisy tournament environment, and how it is tracking ROI.
 
There’s also time for Ross to reveal what it’s really like to work on a World Cup and share his key piece of advice for sponsors.

Beth Barrett-Wild has fond memories of the 2017 ICC Women’s World Cup final, which England won on home soil. Nine years later, as the tournament director of the upcoming ICC Women’s T20 World Cup, she is leading the ECB’s efforts to ensure the event accelerates the long-term growth of women’s cricket in England and Wales.

In this episode of the SportsPro Podcast, Barrett-Wild sits down with Reporter Josh Sim to discuss the tournament’s revenue goals, the preparation work that's gone into the event and how the T20 Women’s World Cup can leave a lasting legacy.

Recorded at SportsPro London, the conversation also coversthe tournament’s broadcast and digital content strategies, and the audience insights emerging from the competition’s ticket sales.

The rapid commercial evolution of Formula 1 has been clear to see in recent years, but what makes the property so attractive to brands?

At last month's BlackBook Motorsport Forum, representatives from LVMH, Lego, Revolut and Heineken appeared on stage to answer exactly that question.

Moderated by the founder and CEO of Right Formula, Robin Fenwick, listen out for some best practice advice on how to bridge motorsport with fashion and culture, and also the big differences and opportunities between sponsoring a team and a series.

Mics Out is your inside track to the business of motorsport - part of the SportsPro podcast network. If you’re enjoying the show, explore more episodes here: https://open.spotify.com/show/3rOlbQh95rVJ16ZtqGkVsG?si=d9847e664e1e4900