SportsPro Podcast

As tennis star Peng Shuai’s generates headlines worldwide, SportsPro editor at large Eoin Connolly is joined by China Sports Insider’s Mark Dreyer and Professor Simon Chadwick, global professor of sport at Emlyon Business School. They discuss local reaction to Peng Shuai’s sexual assault allegations against former vice premier Zhang Goali and consider the WTA’s response. With a US-led diplomatic boycott of Beijing 2022 possible, they ask whether sport’s relationship with China is changing. Then SportsPro staff writer Rory Jones talks to Danish Football Union (DBU) chief executive Jakob Jensen about its promotional boycott of the Qatar 2022 Fifa World Cup.

SportsPro editor at large Eoin Connolly revisits another session from the Fan Conference, where he is joined by Tottenham Hotspur head of partnerships Fran Jones, Huddersfield Town commercial director Sean Jarvis, and Sponsor.Online managing partner Maximillian von Portatius to talk about disruption in soccer sponsorship.
On the agenda: Spurs' search for a naming rights partner at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, getting Beavertown beer in that new ground, Huddersfield's mischievous activation of their shirt sponsorship deal with bookmaker Paddy Power, what brings brands and teams together, and plenty more besides.

Esports has entranced many within the traditional sports industry and is a fast-moving, fast-growing category in its own right. Now, Texas-based Infinite Esports & Entertainment is among a handful of groups looking to establish a presence across the competitive video games sector, with teams playing in a broad range of leagues and titles, new initiatives launched as far away as India and a permanent sports venue in the works back in Arlington.

Chris Chaney, the group's founder, president and owner, and strategic partnerships director Joe Hills join SportsPro editor-at-large Eoin Connolly to discuss all of that, as well as a first season for the Houston Outlaws in the franchise-based Overwatch League, which has attracted considerable investment from within the sporting mainstream. They also discuss finding the right gaming content for the right partners, the role of players and their existing audiences, making sense of the Fortnite phenomenon, working with publishers and understanding what titles will be a hit.

In February 2021, Hollywood superstars Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney surprised the world by completing a takeover of small National League football club Wrexham AFC. Alongside Strategic Advisor, Shaun Harvey, and Executive Director, Humphrey Ker, we lift the lid on the story behind the takeover and how the club has come to embody an innovative and bold approach, including:

• The impact of the Disney+ Welcome to Wrexham docuseries and the explosion of Wrexham fans in North America and globally
• How Wrexham have transformed the streaming landscape of the National League
• What does the future hold for Wrexham and their Hollywood superstar owners?