The Business Behind Sport Podcast

As we hit the halfway point in the international cricket season for 2023 and as the Ashes series is currently underway, Jonathan Brown speaks to Simon Taufel, Former International Cricket Umpire and 5-time International Cricket Council Umpire of the year, in the latest episode of #TheBusinessBehindSport.

Listen to the full episode to hear more Simon reflect on his journey in cricket and his expert insights on:

•How to achieve excellence
•Maintaining focus as an umpire and in general
•Dealing with the pressures from players, crowds, TV audiences, officials, and yourself
•How sport can fix issues around ethics and integrity

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In this episode, Jonny Gray talks to Simon Hallett, majority owner and Chairman of Plymouth Argyle Football Club who, at the time of recording, had been recently promoted into The Championship League. 

Simon openly discusses everything around owning an English Football League Club and how he and his team managed to take Plymouth Argyle from being a loss-making League 2 (4th Tier) team to one of the most well-run clubs by challenging the "football way" of ownership at every turn. 

He also speaks about lessons he’s learned along the way, and what follows is a masterclass for existing and future investors in English Football and how they can create a beneficial club for the fans, sponsors, and community stakeholders.

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Our guest on this episode is Lloyd Thomas, General Counsel at Brighton & Hove Albion Football Club. In this conversation, Lloyd shares his career journey working in-house at football clubs, as well as some of the hot topics and challenges in football including; increases in sponsorships and the reputational risks associated with them, the upcoming initiative to bring in an independent regulator for football, and the idea of introducing a European super-league.

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In this episode, we hear from Jonny Gray, who has recently joined Ankura as a Senior Managing Director and key member of the Sports Advisory business.

Prior to joining, Jonny served as the founding CEO of The International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA).  Jonny discusses his involvement and reflections on the ITIA's three year project transforming integrity in tennis worldwide, and the importance and value of investing in sports integrity.

He also offers insight into lessons for other sports when approaching integrity and governance and the role that technology plays in supporting this area. Finally, we hear from Jonny as to what exactly has attracted him back into the world of consulting and the areas he’ll be focusing on in his new role at Ankura.

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In this episode, we hear from James Kitching, FIFA’s former Director of Football Regulatory and now an independent consultant advising the global sports industry on regulation, governance, integrity, and strategy matters. 

James reflects on how he established a career in the sports industry and the challenges and successes of his time with FIFA, including shaping the regulatory response to the Covid Pandemic when football ground to a halt. As the launch of the much-heralded FIFA Clearing House draws nearer, James also discusses his current role on its Supervisory Board and how it will revolutionise the mechanism for football transfers in the years to come.

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