The Sports Governance Podcast

#16 Can Sport Really Change the World? A Critical Look at Sport for Development (w/ Ben Farai Sanders)

In this episode, I’m joined by Dr. Ben Sanders, Executive Director of sportanddev, to explore the realities of Sport for Development. We discuss how sport is used to promote education, inclusion, peace, and sustainable development, why positive impact is never automatic, and how governance, accountability, and local ownership determine whether sport truly creates social change.

#15 Why Do We Care About Sports? Understanding How Games Become Culture

In this episode, we explore sport beyond competition, business, and governance — as a cultural and social phenomenon. Through concepts such as Homo Ludens, rituals, collective identity, and tradition, we examine how simple games become powerful symbols that connect communities, nations, and generations. Because sport is not only about what happens on the field — it is about the meaning we create around it.

#14 The FIFA World Cup: A Sports Economics Perspective (w/ Simon Chadwick)

The FIFA World Cup is more than the biggest football tournament on the planet. It is a global business ecosystem shaped by economics, politics and power.vIn this episode, I am joined by Professor Simon Chadwick, one of the leading experts in the business and geopolitics of sport, and co-author of the upcoming second edition of The Business of the FIFA World Cup. Together, we explore how the World Cup evolved into the most valuable sporting properties in the world, FIFA’s business model, the role of sponsors, broadcasters and host nations, the expansion to 48 teams, and what the future holds for football’s biggest event.

#13 Psychological Safety and Athlete Protection in Times of Crisis (w/ Andrea Marcela Castaño Rodríguez)

In this episode, we explore the psychological impact of political pressure, institutional silence and athlete vulnerability in global sport. Together with sports psychologist and researcher Andrea Marcela Castaño Rodriguez, we discuss moral injury, identity conflicts, neutrality, safeguarding and the human cost athletes face when performance collides with conscience.

#12 Introduction to the Sports Economy: Understanding the System

This episode introduces the sports economy as a complex system of stakeholders shaping how global sport operates. From governing bodies and athletes to media, sponsors, and agents, it explains how value is created, distributed, and coordinated—and why sport functions through interaction rather than isolated decisions.