Rio Ferdinand joins The Sports Agents to discuss the stigma around mental health in sports and a new campaign aimed at helping children to understand their emotions.  As more Premier League stars open up about their own mental health struggles, Gabby & Mark asked the former Manchester United defender if his old club has been equipped to help players like Marcus Rashford & Jadon Sancho. Later, we're joined by Sancho's mentor and former youth coach Sayce Holmes-Lewis to talk more about the mentality of a prodigious six-year-old Sancho, how Dortmund helped him to rediscover his confidence and the extreme pressures on young aspiring male and female players. Plus, a weather report from a leaky Old Trafford after Mark is soaked on TV duty and Gabby tells us about Phoebe Gill - the teenage runner who just shocked the Athletics world.  Executive Producer: Adonis Pratsides Producer: David Domb Video Producer: Rory Symon Social Media Editor: Rory Symon Tom Hughes is Editor for The News Agents podcast network Vicky Etchells is the Commissioning Editor for Global  You can listen to this episode on Alexa - just say "Alexa, ask Global Player to play The Sports Agents". And, the Sports Agents now have merch! Clips:  Wayne Rooney (Sky Sports)  Phoebe Gill (Team GB) 

Rio Ferdinand on Sancho, Rashford & the mental health crisis in football

Gabby Logan and Mark Chapman, two of the UK’s best sports broadcasters, host a brand new twice-weekly podcast exploring the stories behind the sports... 

Drawing on their wealth of experience and insight, with exclusive interviews and expert analysis, Gabby & Mark tackle the big issues and explain not just what’s happening, but why. They'll also bring a healthy dose of humour when needed too. 

And it's not just about the football, The Sports Agents will bring you inside the greatest sporting events from around the world in what promises to be a truly memorable year of sport. 

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Sports

This week on The Sports Agents,  The extraordinary story of Khalida Popal - the first ever captain of the Afghanistan Women's National Football Team - hounded out of her country by those who believed women have no right to play and who orchestrated her team's daring escape from Afghanistan, when the Taliban returned.  Then, as Manchester City announced legal action against the Premier League, Gabby & Mark found out if this new legal action could influence the outcome of their long-awaited hearing into 115 alleged breaches of the Premier League's financial rules - Sports lawyer Daniel Geey gave us his verdict.  And former footballer-turned-agent, Paul Dalglish, joined us to discuss the ethics and issues in football agency, their role in multi-million pound transfers and why the industry needs to evolve. Just scroll back through The Sports Agents feed to listen to these interviews in full.  New episodes every Tuesday and Thursday. 

Weekend Edition

As Manchester City go to war with Premier League over its financial rules - how crucial is next week's hearing to the Champions beating their 115 charges once and for all?  Sheridan's Sports lawyer Daniel Geey, explains the nuanced differences between the two cases involving Associated Party Transaction Rules, how 'fair market-value' is actually determined and why Man City will have more support from rival Premier League teams than you might think. Then, as the mother of all transfer sagas ended with Kylian Mbappe's 'free' transfer to Real Madrid, former footballer and coach, turned football agent, Paul Dalglish, joins Gabby & Mark to reflect on the evolving landscape for agents, address some of the stereotypes and explain what it's really like to put these multi-million pound deals together.  Running Order: Man City v Premier League (04:14) The evolution of football agents (25:00) Executive Producer: Adonis Pratsides Producers: David Domb & Sophie Penney Video Producer: Sam Trudgill  Social Media Editor: Georgia Foxwell Tom Hughes is Editor for The News Agents podcast network Vicky Etchells is the Commissioning Editor for Global  You can listen to this episode on Alexa - just say "Alexa, ask Global Player to play The Sports Agents". And, the Sports Agents now have merch!

Why Man City's legal action won't save them from 115 charges

When Afghanistan's capital city fell to the Taliban back in 2021, life for women across the country changed overnight… The national women's football team faced the real threat of execution, just for playing the game... Already in exile, the country's first ever female football captain Khalida Popal - our guest on The Sports Agents today - orchestrated a massive evacuation strategy to get the players out of Kabul and into safety in places like the UK, Portugal and Australia. Now, FIFA, the world's governing body for football, no longer recognises the team who is set to miss their second major tournament this summer.  *Trigger warning* Some of the themes explored within our interview contains mention of suicide and suicidal thoughts.  Plus, how Robert MacIntyre claimed his first ever win on the PGA tour, after his dad flew out to Canada to stand in as an emergency caddie for him, and a tribute to the life and legacy of Rugby League legend Rob Burrow.  Running order:  Rob MacIntyre & his dad Dougie the emergency caddie (07:35) Khalida Popal interview (13:20) Rob Burrow tribute (34:30) Executive Producer: Adonis Pratsides Producers: David Domb & Sophie Penney Video Producer: Sam Trudgill  Social Media Editor: Georgia Foxwell Tom Hughes is Editor for The News Agents podcast network Vicky Etchells is the Commissioning Editor for Global  You can listen to this episode on Alexa - just say "Alexa, ask Global Player to play The Sports Agents". And, the Sports Agents now have merch!

Should FIFA wait for Taliban to let girls play football?

This week on The Sports Agents,  UK cyclist Lizzy Banks joined Gabby & Mark in the studio, following her 10-month battle with UK Anti-Doping, for an insight into what actually happens when you fail a drugs test and the reality of trying to live as a 'clean' athlete under the current rules. The youngest executive in English football history, and current West Ham Director, Jack Sullivan, joined us later in the week to to help us find out how the big calls, like replacing the head coach, or voting on whether or not to scrap VAR, are actually made at Premier League clubs.  Just scroll back through The Sports Agents feed to listen to these interviews in full. New episodes every Tuesday and Thursday. 

Today on The Sports Agents - as Bayern Munich announce Vincent Kompany, Chelsea turn to Enzo Maresca and Barcelona appoint Hansi Flick - West Ham Director, Jack Sullivan, gives us an insight into how the big calls are really made at Premier League clubs. Jack reflects on how David Moyes exit was handled, the process of identifying his successor Julen Lopetegui, as well as, the due diligence involved in transfers, being a teenager in a Premier League boardroom and how clubs will work together ahead of next week's vote to decide on the future of VAR. Plus, Gabby & Mark explain the big shake-up in the Netball Super League, which has caused outrage on the south-coast and why it matters that Emma Hayes' replacement at Chelsea, is not a man.  Running order:  Jack Sullivan interview (06:40) Executive Producer: Adonis Pratsides Producer: Sophie Penney Video Producer: Sam Trudgill  Social Media Editor: Georgia Foxwell Tom Hughes is Editor for The News Agents podcast network Vicky Etchells is the Commissioning Editor for Global  You can listen to this episode on Alexa - just say "Alexa, ask Global Player to play The Sports Agents". And, the Sports Agents now have merch!

Rio Ferdinand on Sancho, Rashford & the mental health crisis in football

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