1) What’s the sports industry’s favourite branded merch?
What does the half-on-half-off-duty senior sports media exec choose to wear on a chilly evening at an industry retreat in the Cotswolds? The answer, judging by the subtle-but-very-definitely-there logos on view at the IMG x RedBird Summit last week is a branded gilet or polo from your favourite client. Most coveted item (by unscientific straw poll): the Augusta National quarter zip. The third iteration of the annual gathering was another barnstormer. Big props to IMG President Adam Kelly - and Henni Bateman-Williams and Lily Carpenter on his team in particular - for being consistently grade-A hosts. I’ve told most of my stories (apart from the NSFW one about Frank Sinatra) on our podcast this week, which includes fun conversations with WWE President Nick Khan, bodybuilder-businesswoman Dany Garcia, and IMG President Adam Kelly; as well as on Richard Gillis’s show last week. Martin Ross and Jon Rest, and John Ourand have some good gear from here as well.
2) What are the top nine things you’re looking forward to at Leaders Week and in what order would you rank them?
Glad you asked. And you should know I use a lettering system to rank things.
a) The NFL out in force. Fresh from the Guinness factory in Dublin (maybe) and his suggestion that the league could go to market early with their media rights, Commissioner Roger Goodell leads an all-star cast of NFL execs and owners who’ll be with us at the Allianz Stadium.
b) It’s a bit crass, but the collective net worth of the room will – at certain points – reach something along the lines of $19 billion. I won’t show you my workings, but I can reveal that I’ve just Googled Mark Wilf, the Haslams, Tom Wagner, and Ted Leonsis.
c) The sports sponsorship conversation gets an injection of fresh thinking: established sports sponsors like Heineken, Unilever, and Aviva will be joined by a wave of – dare we say – disruptors who have cottoned on to the value of sport. D Louise, Revolut and Stanley 1913 among them.
d) Fashion and its intersection with sport (and its intersection with sports business). It’ll be a central theme of sessions with Hugo Boss and Labrum, but I’m also personally fascinated by the state of flux dress codes at business events are currently in. Ours is ‘business casual’ by the way. But what that means is very much open to poetic licence. I’m looking out for perennial snappy dressers Nikki Doucet and Richard Conway; and I hate to say it but I’m also looking forward to our own Cameron Macdonald pulling out his Tiger-Woods-on-the-final-day-red-shirt pink suit.
e) Pete Radovich. The single greatest storyteller currently operating in sport. In my opinion. But also the opinion of all the judges that have awarded him a total of 45 Emmys. Lots of them for this. He’s presenting on Thursday and if you fancy your spine getting tingled, you should go.
f) The all-new Women’s Sport Lounge and – hopefully - another rung on the ladder of progress in sport.
g) All-new forums; focused, fun – and you’ll meet everyone in the room. I’ll be running the Media & Broadcast one on the Wednesday.
h) Matt and Maggie are getting the band back together for a live Expected Goals podcast with NWSL Commissioner Jess Berman at our Leaders Club get-together on the Tuesday.
i) Having the beginning of about 100 conversations. It’s always a bit of a blur, this week. But come out the other side, and you’ve got a to-do list of follow-ups longer than a deep dive on The Athletic.
3) Who is the Cherno Samba of women’s football?
I don’t know, but now that the WSL and WSL 2 will feature on the Football Manager game from next year, I’m excited to find out.
