Highlight Reel: Como 1907’s Tourism Arm Takes Off ✈️
Plus, a story about new Spurs boss Thomas Frank and SailGP embrace augmented reality with Tabletop iOS Viewer...
This week saw the launch of the Sports Pundit Performance Podcast, featuring a brilliant conversation with Rich Buchanan and James Young on building high-performing environments in elite sport 🎧
As I’ve been on the move, in London for SEG3 (great job, Joe!) and up in Manchester, I decided to hold off on releasing my next episode until next week. That one will be with Vansa Chatikavanij, co-founder and partner at Present Ventures, and I’m really looking forward to sharing it.
I’ve also now locked in the next Sports Pundit London Meetup for July 3rd, with co-working happening beforehand. Over in New York, Dan McInerney has organised a meet-up near the Barclays Center ahead of a Liberty game. I hope everyone heading there has a great time! 🏀
I’ve also included an upcoming LALIGA event in Stockholm for anyone local or travelling as well as a Women’s EuroBasket Watch Party in London with Sneaker Sisterhood on the Sports Pundit Events Calendar 📆
Now, on to this week’s stories:
Como get into the tourism business ✈️
A story about Thomas Frank… 🐝
SailGP embrace Augmented Reality ⛵️
Let’s get into it:
A FRESH LAKE
Como 1907’s Tourism Arm Takes Off, Blending Luxury Travel with Matchday Magic 🇮🇹
Como 1907 has launched SENT Tourism, a new in-house luxury travel arm that packages football, culture, and lifestyle into bespoke experiences on and around Lake Como and other top-tier Italian locations.
Grounded in the club’s unique identity and designed to deepen emotional resonance with fans, partners, and global visitors, SENT extends Como’s brand into the realm of elite travel.
Experiences range from platinum matchday hospitality to private seaplane tours, Olympic tie-ins, and curated corporate retreats, positioning Como as a gateway to luxury Italian tourism.
The club is also building its own IP, with a signature events calendar that includes family-friendly packages tied to summer camps and the soon-to-launch Como Cup this July.
Every SENT experience blends the intensity of football with the hospitality, nature, and culinary artistry of Italy, offering more than a matchday, but a full-sensory, place-based experience.
Why It Matters:
Lake Como’s rise as a luxury travel hotspot has been well-documented and Como 1907, with its stadium actually on the lakeside, is uniquely placed to own that intersection between sport and destination.
As Mirwan Suwarso, President of Como 1907, put it:
“We’re not just hosting fans—we’re inviting the world to live football through the lens of Como: stylish, soulful, and uniquely Italian.”
Rather than sub-letting its brand to a third party operator or to a sponsor, the club is choosing to own the vertical, a sign of operational confidence and a move that unlocks much greater long-term upside.
This is especially important to acknowledge as traditional revenue pillars like media rights become more volatile. This kind of vertically integrated play offers a more defensible and differentiated path forward.
As clubs everywhere search for new ways to commercialise what makes them special, Como is demonstrating what that looks like in practice.
📺 Further Watching: Giusy Meloni interviews Pablo Longoria and Mirwan Suwarso at Social Football Summit ⚽️
🎥 SPONSORED HIGHLIGHT | Brought to you by WSC Sports
🗣️ Maurits Schön: 50% of purchases of OneFootball’s OTT Offering are made During the Match ⚽️📲
Most young fans engage with sports content on platforms that leagues and teams don’t control like TikTok, YouTube, or search. That means fragmented journeys, no first-party data, and missed opportunities for monetisation.
To win back attention, sports organisations need to meet fans where they are and guide them back to owned platforms like apps or websites. That starts with consistent, branded content across every touchpoint and then building pathways back to home turf.
It’s already working elsewhere.
“In-game clips drive conversions to our OTT offering,” said Maurits Schön, COO at OneFootball (and a previous Sports Pundit Podcast guest). “Between 40% and 50% of purchases are made during the match.”
To replicate that success, sports properties need the right tech: AI-powered tools that can create, automate, and distribute content in real-time. That’s how to turn fleeting moments into lasting relationships and to unlock the next wave of growth.
P.S. This is a sponsored link. Clicking it helps me show the lovely people at WSC Sports how great the Sports Pundit readership is.
OPINION: BEING FRANK
🗣️ James Young: All Too Often All Roads Lead to Wins and Losses ⚽️
“I think all too often, all roads lead to wins and losses,” explained Genius Sports’ James Young on the Sports Pundit Performance Podcast with Rich Buchanan. “We try to quantify how impactful changes in process, technology, or data have led to more wins and fewer losses.
“But I would argue that might be too big of a leap. There should be clearer steps between what’s happening on the ground and that ultimate goal of winning more games.”
Young pointed to Brentford as a prime example.
“When they brought in Thomas Frank, they had a really clear idea of what they wanted to accomplish,” he said. “They had outlined specific KPIs and a framework to measure success that went beyond results on the pitch.”
“In his first 10 games, he wins one, draws one, and loses eight. At most clubs, I’d suggest he would be in serious trouble—if not sacked, then certainly close to it—because too much emphasis is placed on immediate results.
“But at Brentford, because they had those KPIs in place and he was meeting them, they stuck with him. They didn’t put all their eggs in the win-loss basket. And the rest is history—we all know how well Brentford have done in the years since.”
Somewhat ironically, Ange Postecoglu, the man that Frank has now replaced at Spurs, famously started his tenure with a winning streak, going unbeaten in his first 10 matches in charge. He was also released 16 days after ending a 17 year trophy drought. Perhaps, and only time will tell, this demonstrates that the same can be true to the other extreme also.
HIGHLIGHTS
Finance
Velocity Capital Management has partnered with Elevate and the Texas Permanent School Fund Corporation to launch a $500 million fund, targeting commercial and infrastructure investments across U.S. college sports 🏟️
Football.Enterprises has launched a $150 million bond offering to support acquisitions and development of football-related businesses, with a focus on global club ownership and expansion ⚽️
Tropion Sports Partners has teamed up with Blue Owl Capital to invest in the NBA, starting with a $25 million tranche through the Blue Owl Home Court Fund and planning additional future rounds 🏀
Innovation
Son Heung-Min is set to appear in Fortnite’s next celebrity collaboration, with a full in-game skin and bundle launching June 21 as part of Epic Games’ expanding crossover strategy 🇰🇷
Serie A is in talks to stage Milan vs Como in Australia in February 2026, with the fixture potentially becoming the first official Italian league match played Down Under 🦘
Saudi Arabia’s SURJ says it will prioritise sports “requiring innovation”, following its deal with Kings League. CEO Danny Townsend emphasised a clear shift away from traditional sports unwilling to evolve 🇸🇦
Marketing
Style of Our Own (SOOO), a first-of-its-kind female sports concept store, has opened in London, running until October 2025. The pop-up features 20+ women-led sports brands and includes live screenings and a mini football pitch 💁♀️
Eileen Gu has become a global ambassador for The Snow League, a recently launched halfpipe competition series that will debut freeskiing in Beijing from December 4–6, 2025 🏂
Visa has announced rising star Lamine Yamal as a global ambassador for FIFA World Cup 26™, strengthening its youth-focused marketing push one year ahead of the tournament across North America ⚽️
Media
Apple has released a haptic trailer for the upcoming Brad Pitt F1 movie, using iPhone vibrations to mimic the sensation of revving engines, seatbelt clicks, and steering wheel interactions, blurring the line between content and tactile tech 📲
Warner Bros. Discovery has announced plans to split its business into separate units, decoupling its global networks (including TNT Sports and Bleacher Report) from its streaming and studio divisions 📺
Italy is preparing to lift its ban on Serie A selling domestic broadcast rights to a single buyer, according to a draft government bill — potentially reshaping the league’s future media landscape 🇮🇹
SMOOTH SAILING
SailGP Brings New Content Experience to the Table ⛵📱
SailGP has launched its most immersive fan experience to date: a real-time 3D Tabletop Viewer that transforms any flat surface into a live, interactive SailGP racecourse. Available now in the SailGP iOS app, the new feature brings the racing experience into your home in a completely new way.
Fans can pinch, zoom, and rotate to control the viewing angle, turning kitchen tables or coffee shops into their own personal command centre.
The experience includes real-time data overlays, showing boat speeds, wind shifts, and tactical decisions, using SailGP’s LiveLine augmented reality system.
The launch coincides with the upcoming Mubadala New York Sail Grand Prix (June 7–8), with full access also available for race replays.
Why It Matters:
Speaking previously on the Sports Pundit Podcast, SailGP Managing Director Andrew Thompson described LiveLine as an “absolute game changer” for making the sport fit-for-TV and unlocking new commercial opportunities.
The Tabletop Viewer builds on that legacy, offering an even deeper level of interactivity and helping fans follow the strategy in a more intuitive way. It also taps into the growing trend of second-screen viewing and gamified experiences, with plans already in motion to expand into full VR via Apple Vision Pro.
🎧 Further Listening: Leanne Bats interview with Lucy Trang Nguyen on the formation of the XR Sports Alliance 😎
GROUP CHAT
That’s a wrap for this week - huge thanks to everyone who’s part of our growing community.
A special shoutout to Dan McInerney for his contributions this week, notably for setting up the latest instalment of the Sports Pundit Social Club in New York, hosting Darcy Young and others for drinks before heading to a Liberty game. This earns him our title of Contributor of the Week 👑🙏
Welcome to all of our new members, too:
Gearoid Coyle (HEROIC)
Alex Hay (Glasshouse Venture Studio)
Clément Barouillet (SailGP)
Gaurav Sharma
Not part of the group yet? What are you waiting for? Apply to join us by filling out a simple form on the website. Feel free to share this link with (your favourite) colleagues.
P.S. You can see a full list of all the current members, here.
ON THE PODCAST
Performance #01 James Young: Bridging the Gap Between Performance, Technology and Business ⚽️
This week we launched the Sports Pundit Performance Podcast hosted by Rich Buchanan, a former Performance Director at Swansea City FC in the Premier League and Human Performance Consultant for DC United in the MLS.
On the first episode in this 5-part-series, Rich sits down with James Young, someone who has walked both sides of the line, from advising elite sports organizations at Deloitte, to living the daily pressures inside a football club like Sunderland AFC.
Now shaping strategy for rights holders around the world at Genius Sports, James isn't just a leader in the performance technology space, he's someone who understands the nuance of bridging performance insight with business strategy. This conversation isn't just about tech, it's about why sports organizations sometimes get it wrong. And what the best do differently to get it right.
So, whether you're a performance professional, an exec, or someone who's simply trying to understand how the future of sport is being shaped behind the scenes. This one's for you.
SPORTS BUSINESS CONFERENCES
What’s Coming up This Month? 🤔 And How to Get a Discount 🎟️
This month has plenty of major conferences, from SXSW, SEG3, and SportAccord
We’ve created a calendar featuring over 125+ industry events across the year that you can access for free here 📆
Even better, we’ve agreed discounts with many of these leading conference organisers if you book via the Sports Pundit website. For example, we’re offering 20% off SEG3 in London! Use the link below to view and book.
JOBS BOARD
We're not a recruitment agent, but we have created a custom search on LinkedIn to help to you to find some the most exciting job opportunities within the sports industry a little bit more easily…`