#206 “Why Soccer in the US Is Already Huge" - John Parker, CEO of Kickback Soccer Media
Release Date: 08/25/2025
#217 50 Years of Sports Broadcasting: From NBC Sports to the Olympics | Joe Michaels
Sports Management Podcast
Welcome to episode 217 of Sports Management Podcast. Today’s guest is Joe Michaels – the former Director of NBC’s Today Show and a veteran television production leader. In this episode we get to look behind the scenes of sports media productions together with an 8x Emmy winner. We spoke about: Why sports media is a young man’s business Giving back through teaching and mentorship The future of the media industry If AI will take jobs from the media industry But also how it was like broadcasting the 9/11 tragedy in New York This and much more, in this episode with Joe Michaels....
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#216 How Data is Changing College Football | Danny Davis, CEO of Recon Sports
Sports Management Podcast
Welcome to episode 216 of Sports Management Podcast. Today's guest is Danny Davis, founder & CEO of Recon Sports - a platform helping college football teams use data and AI to build smarter rosters and develop elite athletes. We spoke about: The use of athlete data in sports The risks of operating in college sports How military experience shaped his entrepreneurial mindset The mindset shift from Army officer to entrepreneur How he invested 10,000 hours to master his craft And much more! Time stamps: 00:01 Intro 00:26 What Recon Sports does - syncing...
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#215 The $1.7 Trillion Sports Experience Economy | Jordy Leiser
Sports Management Podcast
Welcome to episode 215 of Sports Management Podcast. Today's guest is Jordy Leiser - the CEO of Jump, a platform which is redefining the fan experience, from AI-driven personalization to direct-to-consumer fan engagement. We spoke about: Why teams need to own their fan relationships How AI personalizes the sports experience The story behind Jump’s $25M raise Working with Alexis Ohanian, Alex Rodriguez & Mark Lore The future of global fan engagement And much more! Time stamps: 00:01 Intro 00:30 Jump - connects the full fan experience 01:23 Partnering with North Carolina Courage and...
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#214 Chelmsford City FC: Premier League by 2038 | Spencer Gore
Sports Management Podcast
Welcome to episode 214 of Sports Management Podcast. Today’s guest is Spencer Gore – founder and CEO of Gorely Group and the owner & chairman of Chelmsford City Football Club. He is also the founder and CEO of EMJ (European Medical Journal) & AMJ (American Medical Journal) and EMJ Learnings. We spoke about: The power of daily visualization Why process = freedom How Chelmsford City plans to reach the Premier League by 2038 Lessons in leadership, failure, and mindset And much more! Time stamps: 00:01 Intro 00:33 How he manages multiple companies & leadership structure...
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#213 How Sporty Group Is Transforming Sports Media | Elias Gallego, VP
Sports Management Podcast
Welcome to episode 213 of Sports Management Podcast. Todays guest is Elias Gallego – the VP of Business Development, Marketing and Media at Sporty Group and Football.com We spoke about: The sports media landscape Expanding to Latin America, Africa and more Balancing brand consistency across media, betting, entertainment and tech Elias’ journey through sports And much more! Time stamps: 00:54 Sporty Group vision 01:59 Building SportyTV Nigeria in 4 months 06:13 Free-to-air model & European rights 08:12 Brazil strategy: Serie C rights + YouTube access 10:17 “Curated content is...
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#212 Future of Sports Hospitality & Global Fan Experiences | Ed Horne - COO, On Location
Sports Management Podcast
Welcome to episode 212 of Sports Management Podcast. Today’s guest is Ed Horne – the Chief Operating Officer at On Location – a sports hospitality company set to deliver premium experiences. Ed has a long background in sports industry and he has worked for organizations like the NHL, NFL, 160over90 before joining On Location. Ed has been instrumental in getting NHL players to play in the Olympics as well as being part of organizing the first ever Super Bowl half time show. It was great speaking with Ed and learning from his wisdom. We spoke about: Key components for a successful event...
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#211 How Playtomic Became the World’s #1 Padel App | Pablo Carro on Scaling Sports Tech
Sports Management Podcast
Welcome to episode 211 of Sports Management Podcast. Today’s guest is Pablo Carro. The co-founder and Chief Commercial Officer of Playtomic - the world's leading app for racket sport players and clubs. We spoke about: Why he started Playtomic How to avoid the Swedish example The benefits of competition Becoming the leading company in the field Their US expansion plans And much more! Time stamps: 00:01 Intro 00:47 Playtomic Origin story 03:19 Social DNA of Padel & how tech mirrors it 05:13 Scaling globally – passion & persistence 10:27 Sweden’s rise & fall –...
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#210 Szymon Szemberg: NBA Europe, NHL Expansion & the Future of Global Leagues
Sports Management Podcast
Welcome to episode 210 of Sports Management Podcast. Today’s guest is Szymon Szemberg, a reoccurring guest who first appeared on episode 5, almost 5 years ago – and a lot have happened since. Szymon recently wrote an article about the NBA closing in on a league in Europe and if this could lead to an NHL-driven ice hockey league in Europe as well. This topic became even more relevant when NBA commissioner Adam Silver recently stated that such a league could start already in 2027 or 2028. Szymon is the perfect person to discuss this topic. He has been a player, coach and later sports...
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#209 Building Authentic Sports Brands | Maike Wellmann on Swimming, Entrepreneurship & Athlete Identity
Sports Management Podcast
Welcome to episode 209 of Sports Management Podcast. Today’s guest is Maike Wellmann - a brand specialist, entrepreneur, and founder of Swim & Move Academy. Maike went from regional swimmer to building a thriving swim school and helping athletes and federations shape authentic brands. ' We spoke about: Why authenticity beats copy-paste branding How Swim & Move grew from 5 → 50+ classes in 2 years Branding workshops for federations & athletes Why hard skills can be taught, but passion can’t Lessons in consistency, self-care & scaling a business And much more! Time...
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#208 How to Build High-Performance Cultures | James Kerr, Author of Legacy
Sports Management Podcast
Welcome to epsiode 108 of Sports Management Podcast. James Kerr is bestselling author of Legacy, the book that revealed the leadership principles behind the legendary All Blacks. We spoke about: What truly defines high performance Why humility and accountability matter How culture can be designed and delivered in any team Transferable skills from sports to business And much more! Time stamps: 00:01 Intro 04:03 Defining High Performance 07:25 All Blacks Principles 09:10 Purpose explained through “day makers” 11:22 How to build culture 15:45 Toxic people & the “no dickheads”...
info_outlineWelcome to episode 206 of Sports Management Podcast.
Today’s guest is John Parker – the CEO of Kickback Soccer Media.
John is clear: Soccer in the US is not an up and coming sport anymore.
In this episode you can expect to learn:
- Why the media narrative around soccer is often wrong
- The building up to the Men’s World Cup
- The Beckham rule
- The legacy after World Cup 2026
And much more!
Time stamps:
01:36 Soccer's Current State in America
03:05 Company Overview & Mission
05:46 World Cup 2026 Concerns & Opportunities
06:56 Youth Development Evolution
19:53 Media & Fan Engagement Strategy
21:09 Player Quality & League Evolution
24:56 Future Predictions & Infrastructure
27:42 Career Journey & Industry Challenges
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