This episode of The Women’s Football Finance Podcast focuses on women’s professional football in France, with the help of our guest Pedro Iriondo, former Deputy General Manager of Olympique de Marseille and General Manager of the women’s football section.

Hosts Valerie Goldstein, Dave Powell and Steve Estes talk with Pedro about the constraints women’s professional teams face in France, the various obstacles suppressing growth and how parent-clubs and the French Football Association can be both a help and a hindrance. They also discuss disparities in team operating budgets and player pay and Pedro offers insight into the tricky decision-making process around where a women’s team plays its matches.

The team also analyses the new £65M Sky / BBC broadcasting deal for the Women’s Super League and Women’s Championship in England, and provides some background on the development of women’s professional football in France and how it’s currently performing on key growth metrics such as attendance and broadcast revenue.

This episode of The Women’s Football Finance Podcast delves into the world of sports broadcasting with the help of Hannah Brown, Co-CEO of Women’s Sport at global sports-media giant, DAZN. 

The team provide a peak into the world of broadcast "rights deals" and speak with Hannah on a wide range of topics, including DAZN’s bold strategy to be the first to build a large portfolio of women’s football properties globally. She shares perspectives on the challenges and opportunities for broadcasters who are first to buy rights to a new sport or competition, how a broadcaster can reinforce clubs' efforts to grow their fanbase, being the first broadcaster to provide media visibility to the UEFA Women’s Champion’s League and the importance of leagues, broadcasters, sponsors, clubs and players all pulling in the same direction to build a great fan experience. 

And whilst on a frolic of their own, co-hosts Valerie Goldstein, Dave Powell and Steve Estes spar over the new naming of NWSL Club "BOS Nation FC", and offer some free brand advice...

In this episode of The Women’s Football Finance Podcast, Paul Barber OBE, Chief Executive Officer of Brighton and Hove Albion Football Club, joins the pod.

We talk about his club's journey of investing in its women’s team, from its decision in 2017 to apply for a club license and fully professionalise its women’s team to its plans to build the first ever purpose-built women’s football stadium in Europe. Paul describes the rationale behind Brighton's financial commitment to its women’s team, including investing millions “ahead of the revenue curve”, and their path to financial sustainability. He also shared thoughts on the need for cost controls, lessons from North American sports leagues, the financial challenges of competing with the top teams in the WSL, and much else. Come for the pros and cons of playing in Crawley, stay for the discussion of changing-room toilets.

Hosts Valerie Goldstein, Dave Powell and Steve Estes also discuss the merits of possible solidarity payments between men’s and women’s football, and how that could work.

In this episode the Women's Football Finance Podcast team chats with Kelly Simmons OBE, who from 2018-2024 was Director of the Women's Professional Game in England. Capping her 30-year career at the FA, Kelly led the transformation of the Women's Super League from a largely semi-professional and amateur structure to arguably the best women’s football league in the world.

Kelly shares the insider's view on how the BBC-Sky broadcast deal got done, including the "reach vs revenue" debate, and the evolution of women’s professional football from being a large cost centre for The FA to what is now an independently owned and operated company that generates significant centralised revenue. She also offers her opinions on the impact of promotion and relegation on the bottom line, the controversial Saturday 3 PM blackout spot, and the lack of solidarity payments between men’s and women’s football.

Also in this episode, the team offers a short recap of the history of women's football in England, and an overview of the key structural differences between the top women's leagues in England vs the United States, while kicking around their takes on salary caps and the glittering prize that could be a main attraction for capital investment in women's teams across Europe: the UEFA Women's Champions League.

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The Women's Football Finance Podcast is a Pure Gold Projects production.

In this episode of The Women's Football Finance podcast, hosts Valerie Goldstein, Dave Powell, and Steve Estes discuss the current financial landscape of women's professional football. With our guest, Kieran Maguire, we explore the key metrics for measuring the success of a women's professional football league - such as revenue, attendance, level of professionalisation, player wages and the value of broadcast deals. The conversation also highlights the impressive but uneven growth of the Women's Super League and Women's Championship in England, and notes the parallels between the women's professional game and a start-up business.

Be sure to like, comment and subscribe!

Follow The Women's Football Finance Podcast on:

LinkedIn

Youtube

Twitter

Facebook

The Women's Football Finance Podcast is a Pure Gold Projects production.