Nothing to Lewes: Female Fund Looking to Score in the Women’s Football Space 🚀 ⚽️
Plus an 'endemic' problem plaguing the UK, and what sport might be able to take from Taylor Swift's record-breaking Eras Tour...
Welcome to Sports Pundit, the sports business newsletter that switches between disciplines as smoothly as Katarina Johnson-Thompson 🥇
In today’s email;
A new women’s MCO emerges ⚽️
What is the cost of piracy? 🏴☠️
Taylor Swift’s record breaking Eras Tour 🎤
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TOP STORY
Nothing to Lewes: Female-Led Fund Looking to Score in the Women’s Football Space 🚀 ⚽️
Victoire Cogevina Reynal, the founder behind Gloria, a football community acquired by OneFootball in 2022, has unveiled an ambitious new initiative—a $100 million investment fund aimed at acquiring women’s football clubs across Europe and South America.
The recently established Mercury 13, named as a tribute to a group of pioneering female aviators denied entry into NASA's astronaut program, is aiming to form a women's multi-club ownership (MCO) group, following in the footsteps of Washington Spirit’s owner, Michele Kang.
Kang’s acquisition of Olympique Lyonnais Féminin in May marked the creation of the first female-owned and female-centric MCO, and also broke new ground by spinning off the women’s team from the men’s.
It is believed Mercury 13’s first deal will be with Lewes FC, who currently play in The Women's Championship, the second-highest division of women's football in England.
Referred to as Equality FC, Lewes made headlines in 2017 when they became the first professional club to pay women and men equally. However, this investment, like with OL Féminin, is reported to focus solely on spinning out the women’s team.
There is anticipation that subsequent club acquisitions in Spain and Italy are likely to align with this same, independent model.
Sports Pundit says
🤔 The separation and distinct focus on women’s teams as a collective, not only in terms of on-field preparation but also off-field marketing, presents Mercury 13, as well as anyone else investing into women’s football clubs en-masse, a substantial opportunity for growth.
Building on the trend Kang has started, this announcement is another marker in the journey of women’s football - which has an unparalleled opportunity to construct its own vibrant community and establish a distinctive sporting identity, without the constraints of its male counterparts - particularly off the back of the massive success of the recent World Cup!
See Also: Talking of the World Cup, the Australian government has unveiled an AUS$200m women’s sports fund after the Matilda’s run to the semi-final 🇦🇺 🦘
Do you run, work for, or work with an exceptional business within the sports industry Tell me about it and get yourself free publicity in the process 👇
OPINION
What’s the Cost of Piracy to the Premier League? 🤔
A few weeks ago, it was all about Barstool Sports and the Pirate Ship, this week, it’s all eyes, and ears, on ‘The Pirates vs The Premier League,’ a new podcast series launched by Unofficial Partner.
As part of the podcast, YouGov research was commissioned by Unofficial Partner, which suggested piracy of live sport in the UK was ‘endemic’ with over eight million reported to be watching illegal streams, putting increasing levels of strain on media rights, which have been the core catalyst for the growth of team valuations over the past 30 years.
Speaking to The Athletic, Unofficial Partner’s Matt Cutler (you’re right, it does sound good), explained the following:
"Speaking to football fans up and down the country about why they pirate live content, there was a clear consensus: media subscriptions are too expensive, too fragmented, and don't offer the selection of live games fans want," said Cutler.
"Unless that changes soon, it has the potential to have a seismic deflationary impact on the revenue sport generates from broadcast rights sales."
Broadcast rights sales which have fuelled the up and up of sports team valuations, until now.
HIGHLIGHTS
NBA star James Harden sold out 10,000 bottles of his own-branded wine within 5 seconds on a livestream in China 🍷
Pakistan’s cricketers have chosen not to enter into long-term central contracts amid a dispute with the Pakistan Cricket Board over the share from the sale of their digital rights, including NFTs 🏏
The Professional Fighters League (PFL) is looking to court sovereign funds for new investments to help fuel the league’s continued growth globally 🥊
Atlanta has been announced as the third city to get a team in the new TGL Golf League, backed by AMB Sports & Entertainment (who also own NFL’s Atlanta Falcons and MLS’ Atlanta United) ⛳️
Offering record prize money, Saudi Arabia has made its first significant move into tennis, winning the bid to host the Next Gen ATP Finals 🎾
Masked Premier League rapper Dide marks his return to music with release of his second track, ‘Derby Day’ 🎤
RECORD-SHATTERING
Enchanted: The Not So Swift Rise of a Pop Icon 🎤
Taylor Swift recently finished the US leg of her Eras Tour, a tour which could gross $1.4 billion in less than half the time of Elton John’s farewell tour - currently the highest grossing tour ever ($939 million).
Undoubtably, the factors that have influenced this success are tenfold, from the music (obviously), the timing (16 years into releasing music and adored across multiple generations), and the environment (with a post-pandemic craving for shared experiences).
However, there are also some more nuanced points that have had their influence, which are eloquently described by The Free Press’ Evan Gardner, in his article ‘Taylor Swift Swift Unites America’:
“For starters, she is a walking mitzvah: giving Alicia Keys’s son a handwritten note, hugging Kobe’s daughter mid-song, and, most of all, giving $100,000 bonuses to the Eras tour’s crew—which cost her $55 million—with a handwritten note and her monogrammed wax seal.”
While some behaviours don’t scale or have a direct ROI, the value of these acts of kindness, something which Taylor has done throughout her entire career (from replying individually to fan messages on Tumblr, to making surprise appearances at weddings), have enabled her to create such a deep, emotional bond with her fans.
See: Australia’s Sam Kerr handing her match shirt to a young fan, after the team made it through to the World Cup semi-finals 🥲
“Then there’s the community. At a Taylor Swift show, the rituals include the “You Belong with Me” double clap, the “Shake It Off” triple clap, the lyric-inscribed friendship bracelet exchange. Fans make bracelets out of colorful beads that spell out Swift song titles, quotes, and inside jokes and trade them everywhere from the chicken tenders stand during openers to the New Jersey transit ride back home. One hand signals those available for barter, while the other hand is reserved for the treasured, off-limits keepsakes. Or there’s my personal favorite tradition: the surprise songs. Each night, Swift will play two songs unaccompanied and purely acoustic that aren’t on the setlist.”
Sports fandom is full of rituals and traditions. As rightsholders, it’s worth asking, what would Taylor do? what are these rituals for us? and are we leaning into them enough?
JOB BOARD
Senior Press Office Manager - Formula 1 (London, UK)
Director of Strategy & Projects, Sport Content & Production (12 month FTC) - WarnerBros Discovery (London, UK)
Head of Agency Partnerships - Guild Esports (London, UK)
Player Services Manager - National Women’s Soccer League (New York, US)
Commercial Finance Analyst - New Zealand Rugby (Auckland, NZ)
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ANSWERS
Well done to those that replied correctly to Tuesday’s Immaculate Grid. There were quite a few options for some (namely 5. Spurs and Portsmouth players) so here’s a non exclusive list of some popular choices:
Robert Prosinečki, Kevin-Prince Boateng
Lasana Diara, Robert Prosinečki,
Jimmy Greaves, Edgar Davids, Christian Ziege, Kevin-Prince Boateng
Jürgen Klinsmann, Harry Kane, Ivan Perisic, Pierre-Emile Højbjerg
Teddy Sheringham, Niko Kranjcar, Peter Crouch, Jermaine Defoe, Dane Scarlett, Pedro Mendes, Kevin-Prince Boateng (again)