How Atlético Are Making Themselves at Home Outside Madrid ⚽️
Plus, the NFL backs new global flag football league with TMRW Sports and JPMorgan launches athlete council to tackle financial literacy...
Hello and welcome to the Sports Pundit Newsletter,
Yesterday we announced the final lineup for our first edition of Speakers Only in Miami. I’m super excited about the people joining us in the room, some of whom have been good friends of this newsletter for a long time. There’s even a few that have been past guests on the podcast.
Perhaps with my mind on Miami, and the idea of in-person events, I was destined to discover this story about Casa Atleti by Atletico Madrid (To make it even more full circle, I saw it thanks to a post shared by Felipe Formiga of the Miami Dolphins on Linkedin).
It’s another really compelling case for in-person events and activations, something which I’m so bullish on, whether it be PSG’s Run Clubs or Williams F1’s Fan Zones. Using digital to connect people in the physical is something I really want to champion.
Here’s what’s coming up:
Casa Atleti Comes to Miami ⚽️
NFL Backs New Global Flag Football League 🏈
JPMorgan launches Athlete Council 🏦
Let’s get into it!
HOME AWAY FROM HOME
Atlético de Madrid have staged the second edition of Casa Atleti, a dedicated fan experience held in Miami’s Wynwood Arts District across March 21-22, as part of their Red & White On Tour international engagement platform.
The two-day activation included an official club store, a historic memorabilia exhibition, live events and exclusive meet-and-greets with club legends Diego Ribas and Maxi Rodríguez.
The highlight of the weekend was a live watch party for the Madrid Derby, broadcast via ESPN, allowing fans in Florida to experience one of the season’s biggest fixtures together.
Casa Atleti follows a previous activation in Los Angeles during the Club World Cup, where Atlético partnered with local organisations including Saturday’s Football and Venice Beach FC to connect with the local soccer community.
The club has framed Red & White On Tour as a scalable platform for priority international markets throughout the season, not just during summer pre-season tours.
Access was free and open to all fans, with some activities requiring prior registration due to limited capacity. Priority access was given to Red & White members, the club’s €20/year international membership programme, launched during the FIFA Club World Cup last summer.
Why It Matters
International fan engagement has historically been anchored to fixtures. Pre-season tours, Champions League away legs, one-off matches staged in foreign markets (and like we saw with Atleti in LA).
With this event in Miami, they have cleverly removed that dependency. The platform, as it now stands, operates independently of the competition calendar, deployable in markets where the club may never play a competitive game.
What makes this worth watching closely is the flywheel that it could create between physical and digital engagement.
Casa Atleti is free to attend but offers tiered access with Red & White members getting priority entry, legend meet-and-greets, and first-in-the-door perks (the first 100 members through the door in Miami received a postcard signed by a first-team player).
The membership only costs €20 per year and actually includes a €20 store voucher, a welcome kit with first purchase, and entry into prize draws for trips to Madrid.
The physical activation becomes the acquisition engine for this membership, which, in turn, creates a reason to attend the next physical activation.
That loop is important because it addresses a core challenge every club faces in international markets around conversion.
Atlético has over 90 million social media followers and has been recognised as one of the fastest-growing clubs globally in terms of reach and engagement. But followers are not customers, and reach is not revenue.
The gap between a social media following and a commercially engaged international fanbase is where most clubs’ strategies stall. Red & White On Tour, paired with this low-cost membership tier, is a deliberate attempt to bridge that gap through physical presence.
Essentially it’s about building layered presences in international markets that touch retail, experiential, community and where the digital ecosystem and the physical moment reinforce each other.
SUPPORTED BY SUMMITLY 📆
This newsletter is proudly supported by Summitly, the conference and community calendar for the global sports industry.
Summitly makes it easier than ever to discover and plan for industry events, bringing together major conferences, curated communities, and fringe meetups, all in one convenient place.
Unlike traditional booking platforms, Summitly is a visibility and discovery layer, helping professionals find where to connect in real life without the hassle of spreadsheets, scattered invites, or missing out on important side events.
From stadium-sized summits to intimate after-hours gatherings, Summitly ensures that no opportunity for connection slips through the cracks.
We’ve added 350+ events in 60+ cities from 100+ organisers and continue to add more in our mission to become the definitive source for sports execs that want to meet IRL.
HIGHLIGHTS
NFL backs new global flag football league with TMRW Sports 🏈
The NFL is partnering with TMRW Sports to launch a new professional flag football league for both men and women.
The league will be backed by a broad investor group including NFL teams, institutional capital and current and former players. It’s TMRW Sports’ second venture alongside an established sports property, having launched TGL with the PGA Tour.
House of Highlights teams up with Baller League for US expansion ⚽
House of Highlights has secured a global partnership with Baller League for its inaugural US season.
The deal includes highlight rights, original content and distribution across Bleacher Report’s social network targeting Gen Z audiences.
Whoop hits $10bn valuation with athlete-backed funding round 💰
Whoop has raised $500m+ in a new funding round valuing the wearable tech company at $10.1bn.
Investors include major institutions and athletes such as LeBron James, Rory McIlroy and Cristiano Ronaldo.
JPMorgan launches athlete council to tackle financial literacy 🏦
JPMorganChase has launched an Athlete Council to help guide financial education programmes for athletes.
The initiative aims to support athletes from early career through retirement, addressing gaps in financial literacy.
Uniqlo secures naming rights at Dodger Stadium 🏟️
Uniqlo has become the first brand to attach its name to the field at Dodger Stadium.
The partnership includes broader collaboration across retail, community and fan engagement initiatives.
Harvey becomes PSG’s official legal AI platform ⚖️
Legal AI company Harvey has been named the Official Legal AI Platform of Paris Saint-Germain.
The partnership signals growing adoption of AI tools within elite sports organisations beyond performance and fan engagement. Harvey also recently partnered with Fulham.
MEDIA PODCAST
Chris Sice [#85]: Bringing together Golf, Culture, and Engagement ⛳️
On today’s episode of the Sports Pundit Media Podcast, Jo and Michael are joined by Chris Sice, Chief Content Officer at ICONS Series.
ICONS Series is a disruptive experiential sports and entertainment brand that brings together the biggest, boldest cross-section of world class athletes and fans.
This conversation, which took place off the back of their most recent event in Bangkok, explores the series’ disruptive approach to golf, both on the course and in the ways that they approach media.
Timestamps
2:00 - ICONS Series Origin Story
12:30 - Broadcast and YouTube Hybrid
17:00 - Players as Media Channels
23:00 - Live Vs Edited Storytelling
30:00 - Audience Data And Surprises
34:00 - Building Cultural Resonance
37:00 - Monetising Cultural Currency
🔍 Search ‘Sports Pundit Podcast’ wherever you listen, available on Spotify, Apple, and YouTube 🎧
About The Hosts
Jo Redfern is a digital and youth media specialist who has spent the last five years at the forefront of platforms such as YouTube, Roblox, and TikTok. With a background in traditional broadcast and kids media, Jo is known for turning generational media behaviours into commercial opportunities. Through her consultancy firm, Futrhood, she helps IP owners and rights holders scale engagement and monetisation by leveraging content, platforms, community, and emerging tech.
Michael Cohen has spent the last decade building at the intersection of sport, media, and the creator economy. As former CEO of Whistle, he scaled the company into a $100M multi-platform media business, driving organic growth and strategic M&A before leading its exit to Eleven Sports and later DAZN. Today, through his new venture Disruptive Play, Michael partners with companies and creators to shape the next wave of sports and media IP, challenging the status quo and architecting business models for the next era of sport.
Produced by OH SIX
The Sports Pundit Podcast is proudly produced by OH SIX, a content marketing agency specialising in producing digital and social-first content that connects. Trusted by Premier League clubs, F1 teams, and top brands, OH SIX deliver premium content end-to-end, from ideation, working with talent during production and platform specific content to reach audiences on screen.