The Footballco Business Podcast

We're looking back at how video games have changed how fans engage with football and the titles that influenced the industry and our relationship with the sport. Our guest is Richard Moss, the author of the recently released 'A Tale of Two Halves—the History of Football Video Games 1982-2010'.

Richard goes back to discuss the creation of these iconic games, what made them so groundbreaking and their influence on football itself.

Getting discussed on the show are...

'A Tale of Two Halves' is available to buy now direct from Bitmap Books:

Standard Hardback: https://www.bitmapbooks.com/collections/by-genre/products/a-tale-of-two-halves

Collector’s Edition: https://www.bitmapbooks.com/collections/by-genre/products/a-tale-of-two-halves-captains-edition

On this show, we’re discussing Saudi Arabia’s bid to host the 2034 FIFA World Cup with Hammad Albalawi, Head of the Saudi Arabian Football Federation FIFA World Cup 2034 bid unit.

With the Kingdom expected to soon be named as the host country for the 2034 FIFA World Cup, we talk to Hammad about his love of football, the role it plays in Saudi Arabia and the importance of the World Cup in how Saudi Arabia markets itself to the world.

We also discuss the upcoming Netflix documentary, “Saudi Pro League: Kickoff” and the Kingdom’s wider football strategy.

From the New York Yankees to Pleasures and Off-White - we speak to AC Milan's CMO, Tania Moreno, about the club's football and fashion strategy and what made Business of Fashion call AC Milan 'The football team that finally got fashion right'.

Including:

How the club chooses its fashion partners

The role of fashion in growing the club in the US

Who is really buying AC Milan clothing

On this show, we're joined by SportsPro's Ed Dixon and Sam Carp to examine SportsPro's latest 50 Most Marketable Athletes list, which ranks athletes from across the world and across sports. With a focus on football, we find out who the most marketable players in the world are and what makes them so valuable.

We also look at competition from outside of football, how the rise of women's sports has affected the list, and how the list might change next year.

This year’s ranking from SportsPro has been compiled in partnership with consulting firm NorthStar Solutions Group, which has developed an enhanced methodology and multi-faceted evaluation model to deliver the most comprehensive assessment of athlete marketability ever undertaken.

To view the list in full, visit https://50mm.sportspro.com/

On this episode of the Footballco Business Podcast, we’re talking about club-run podcasts. Alex is joined by Jim Salveson, director of sport at Sport Social, Europe’s largest dedicated sports podcast network, working with the likes of Manchester City, Aston Villa and Wolverhampton Wanderers. Jim is joined by Matt Tasker, executive producer for Sport Social and also the man behind getting Manchester United into podcasts back in 2019.

Our guest on this show is Emily Heath, global brand director for Rexona at Unilever. Emily joined us to discuss Rexona's work in women’s football, from their Breaking Limits program and barriers faced by girls trying to progress in sports to the brand’s UEFA and FIFA partnerships and their focus on young female players.

As Director of Global Sports, Media, and Entertainment Marketing for Google, Kate Johnson is one of the most influential people in sports marketing. On this show, she discusses Google's women's football strategy, partnerships with Arsenal, Liverpool, the NWSL, and the Frauen-Bundesliga, and her own experience as an Olympic medalist and a woman in sport.

Sitting on the US and Mexico border, Juarez is regarded by some as the most dangerous place in the world. On this episode, we're speaking with the president of FC Juarez, Luis Rodriguez, about the reality of managing and marketing a club in a city as unique as Juarez.

Luis talks to us about attracting players, how and why they're looking to grow in the US and what makes FC Juarez one of the most interesting clubs in soccer.

Acid FC have been responsible for some of the most creative kit and apparel designs in football over recent years, having worked with clubs including Leeds United, St Pauli, Oakland Roots and Red Star FC.

On this show, we're talking to Acid FC's founder, Ed Cowburn, about trends in kit design, the role of creatives in football, why smaller clubs are setting the creative benchmark, and what it's like designing the kit for your hometown club.

For more on Acid FC, head to https://www.acidfc.com/ or follow them on Instagram @weareacidfc

We're talking to Michael Yormark, the president of Roc Nation Sports International, about being part of Jay-Z's Roc Nation empire, how the agency differentiates itself and the importance of the Ballon d'Or for Vini Jr. 's career. Michael also talks to us about what got the agency into the football business, their goals for World Cup 2026 and his dream client.