Expected Goals

Happy New Year and welcome to Season Two of Expected Goals.

Because you've not heard from Maggie and Matt since before Christmas, in this first episode of the year they've got short and sharp analysis of all the news from the business of women’s football from the last month. Consider it a cheat sheet to bring you up to speed as you get cracking for 2025.

This includes:

And to round off they tackle a listener question about the impact inclusion of women’s teams and female players in EA Sports’ FC - formerly FIFA - video game franchise has had on the sport and the publisher.

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Expected Goals is an Unofficial Partner production.

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This week Matt and Maggie are joined by a special guest, Jonas Baer-Hoffmann, who is the former General Secretary of FIFPro, the representative body for more than 65,000 professional men’s and women’s football players.

So it's the perfect chance to answer all your questions on arguably the most important stakeholder in the women's football ecoystem: the players.

The podcasts focuses on three areas:

The power dynamic between players and clubs, leagues and governing bodies - where does that currently lie?

How much of a role female footballers should be playing outside of playing to promote the sport?

The tension between giving female footballers the compensation they deserve, and financial sustainability in the club game in particular.

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Expected Goals is an Unofficial Partner production.

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With reports that the second-tier league in England, the Championship, is set to be rebranded as the WSL2, Maggie and Matt take a look at the rationale behind it, whether branding experts believe it’s a good idea, and what can be learnt from women’s leagues and clubs who have changed their identity.

They also give an update on the Independent Review into women’s football chaired by Karen Carney following last week's ITV documentary, and answer a listener question about how fans can use their own pocket money to support the growth of women's football.

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Expected Goals is an Unofficial Partner production.

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Are we seeing a popularity and therefore commercial contest developing between the NWSL and WSL?

This was suggested in a recent article from Mike Darcey, the former COO of Sky in the UK, who compared the domestic broadcast deals for the two leagues.

Maggie and Matt are at hand to analyse.

They also look at why almost all the main women's fantasy football platforms are run by unofficial providers and not the official competitions themselves, and answer a listener question

about refereeing - how good the pathways and incentives are for people to become football referees, in particular women.

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Expected Goals is an Unofficial Partner production.

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This week's episode of Expected Goals was recorded live at Edgbaston, home of Warwickshire County Cricket Club, at the launch of Bears Women on November 20.

Bears Women will be one of eight professional women's cricket teams competing in new regional "tier one" competitions from 2025, meaning for the first time, a professional Warwickshire women’s team will compete alongside the men’s.

Maggie and Matt took the chance to see what football can learn from the approach Warwickshire are taking to the new Bears Women side - covering everything from branding, fan experience, merchandising, leadership and culture.

If you're enjoying the podcast, please give us a like and a review! It will help us become more discoverable.

Expected Goals is an Unofficial Partner production.

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Twitter, now known as X, has played an important role in the promotion and growth of women's football across the last decade.

So what would an exodus of accounts and users mean for the game? Matt and Maggie take a detailed look, with the help of a Mary Earps social media case study.

They also look at attendances in the Women's Super League and Championship for the weekend just gone, with both leagues playing all games in club's "main stadia" for the first time.

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Expected Goals is an Unofficial Partner production.

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With Arsenal having to move their women’s Champions League game against Bayern Munich at the Emirates to make way for a men’s Carabao Cup game, Matt and Maggie ask the question: are clubs being too ambitious about playing games in “main” stadia?

They also look at the pros and cons of bundling and unbundling commercial rights for women's football properties, and answer a fantastic question about how they would spend a hypothetical cheque for £10 million.

If you're enjoying the podcast, please give us a like and a review! It will help us become more discoverable.

Expected Goals is an Unofficial Partner production.

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Wrexham's Hollywood owners want its women's team to become "the best in the world". But if they are serious about achieving that lofty ambition, it's going to cause some serious headaches at a league, national association and international federation level.

Matt and Maggie explain why. They also dissect the new broadcast deal for the Women’s Super League, and look at the women's football strategies released by UEFA and The Football Association - why they’ve been so public, what they're planning, and who's going to be holding them accountable.

If you're enjoying the podcast, please give us a like and a review! It will help us become more discoverable.

Expected Goals is an Unofficial Partner production.

Get in touch by emailing [email protected]

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This week Maggie and Matt are joined this week by their first ever guest, Polly Bancroft.

Polly is currently CEO of Grimsby Town - whose men’s team are in League 2, and whose women’s team play regionally in the sixth tier - and spent several years heading up women’s club football at the highest level, including Manchester Utd and Brighton.

And they are only taking listener questions, which include how far off clubs are from player trading being a viable revenue stream, and whether clubs in the Championship really don’t want to get promoted to the WSL.

Expected Goals is an Unofficial Partner production.

Get in touch by emailing [email protected]

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With the WPL last week saying they are going to test the waters of dropping the booze ban in the Championship, Maggie and Matt look at whether it’s a process driven by revenue or fan growth, and what it might tell us about the audience women’s football in the UK is going after.

They also look at why “Hollywood” investors have come in for part-time, third-tier Watford Women, and the best way to structure a team off the pitch - should it be with dedicated football and business staff for the women’s team?

Expected Goals is an Unofficial Partner production.

Get in touch by emailing [email protected]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices