The Saudi Question permeates the global sports business conversation from top to bottom. Billions of pounds has been across multiple layers of the industry, including buying players, purchasing foreign clubs, developing domestic clubs and buying or developing tournaments at home and abroad. These deals have been pursued by the government itself, the PIF sove ... Show More
Oct 23
UP577 Spin Class: The Premier League, Man City and the battle over the story
The Premier League has won the facts. Manchester City were found guilty of 114 of 115 charges, with £830m of revenue inflated through sham sponsorships. Now the fight is over the story, and everyone has a different audience.Dan Johnson, the Premier League’s former director of com ... Show More
45m 59s
Oct 20
UP576 World Rugby Chief on Private Equity, Disruptor Leagues and Following FIFA in to the US
Alan Gilpin is chief executive of World Rugby. He spent nine years at IMG negotiating the commercial rights to the 2003, 2007 and 2011 Rugby World Cups. So when he says next year’s tournament in Australia brings him full circle, he means it literally: he’s selling the same tourna ... Show More
1h 1m
Aug 2023
#194 Why Saudi Arabia Wants To Own World Football
Cristiano Ronaldo, Karim Benzema, and Neymar have all joined the Saudi Pro League on nine-figure annual contracts. And the oil-rich league isn’t slowing down anytime soon, bidding to host marquee FIFA events and compete with Europe’s top football clubs. So today’s podcast examine ... Show More
25m 1s
Mar 2024
S2: Football in the House of Saud
Roger Bennet and Tommy Vietor are back for Season 2 of World Corrupt! And this time, Rog and Tommy are diving into how Saudi Arabia, the biggest exporter of oil in the world and a nation in the news for human rights abuses, became the latest geopolitical power player sweeping glo ... Show More
48m 2s
Nov 2024
Investing in Sports: The Next Trillion Dollar Market?
The sports ecosystem has exploded as an area of investment, with professional leagues loosening rules on private equity ownership, the value of media rights deals skyrocketing, and the many sports-adjacent businesses taking on new dimensions. In the first episode of a four-part s ... Show More
37m 36s