Build the Invisible with Guillem Balagué

In this jam-packed second episode of The One Game, Bex, Omar and Dan discuss: ⚽ Spotlight on Sporting Directors: How data is reshaping recruitment and leadership in football—what clubs like Liverpool and Manchester City are doing to stay ahead. 👩‍🎓 Women's Game Revolution: From Chloe Kelly’s rising value to the Women's Champions League expansion, we explore the future of women's football and why clubs need a separate strategy. 🤔 Salah’s Next Steps: The contract conundrum—what Liverpool and Salah are weighing in terms of loyalty, business, and legacy. 💼 Transfer Talk & Player Contracts: Navigating image rights, sponsorships, and the evolving dynamics of player negotiations across the men's and women's game. 🌍 Global Football Dynamics: Why Americanization of football governance could benefit European leagues, and vice versa. 🔮 Exclusive insights into how competition formats like the Women's Champions League revamp are set to reshape the sport—creating better opportunities for growth, investment, and excitement! 🎧 Don’t miss this engaging episode filled with fresh perspectives, expert analysis, and festive vibes! Available now on your favorite platforms. 💡✨ 🔥 Subscribe, rate, and review! Your feedback keeps us growing and delivering top-tier football content! 🚀

In this episode, Nii Anteson and I explore the pressures facing football in today’s digital age. With younger audiences spending hours on platforms like YouTube, Fortnite, and TikTok, is football’s traditional broadcasting model losing its edge? We examine the Premier League’s broadcasting strategies, the 3pm blackout rule, and the potential for direct-to-consumer innovations like “Premflix.” Topics include: Why football competes with gaming, streaming, and social media for attention. The parallels between football’s paywall challenges and music’s Napster moment. The rise of multi-screening and shifting fan habits. What the future holds for broadcasting rights and monetisation in a global attention economy. Perfect for football enthusiasts, industry professionals, and digital innovators, this episode dives deep into the intersection of sports, media, and technology. This is a critical look at football’s next big challenge. This is piece is based on a blog previously written that you can read here. It has been transcribed using ChatGPT.

The first One Game podcast with Daniel Geey, Bex Smith, and Omar Chaudhuri explores the key themes across the men's and women's game. The discussion includes in-depth analysis on: ⚽️ Women's football development 🤕 Workload and injuries 💶 Media rights and revenue distribution 🚀 Transfer fees and market growth 🎯 Long-term sustainability vs short-term wins 📊 Data-driven performance and recovery 📈 Evolving commercial strategies in football This first episode unpacks some of the most pressing issues shaping modern football, across both the men's and women's games. You can follow Omar here https://twitter.com/OmarChaudhuri You can follow Bex here https://twitter.com/bexsmithkiwi You can follow Daniel here https://bio.site/danielgeey

In this episode, Jonny Madill, Zoe Bennett and I dive into the world of boot deals for female footballers, exploring whether they are truly beneficial for players in the modern game. As women’s football continues to rise, so do commercial opportunities, but are the restrictions imposed by major boot brands like Nike, Adidas, and Puma limiting players’ ability to capitalize on wider brand partnerships? We break down how boot deals go beyond just wearing a specific brand’s boots and extend into broader lifestyle, fashion, and entertainment categories, creating conflicts with other potential sponsorships. With many elite female footballers now making a significant portion of their income from off-field endorsements, is the exclusivity of a boot deal worth the trade-offs? Tune in as we discuss the legal and commercial considerations, the rise of female-focused brands, and how agents can help players navigate the complexities of modern endorsement deals to maximise their earning potential. This is a series of the most popular blogs we have published that have been converted to podcasts via Runway AI. The original blog can be found here

Omar and I talk about whether EPL games in the USA make sense, whether US broadcasters are pushing for such an approach and football's uneasy relationship with the Olympics. Omar is the Chief Intelligence Officer at 21st Group, working alongside clubs, leagues and stakeholders from across the sporting landscape, helping them use analytics to drive better decision making. Daniel is a sports lawyer mainly working in the football space helping players, agents and clubs with their transfer, commercial contract and regulatory issues.

📚 + ⏳ + 🧠 + 🎯 = 📈 The idea for the 'Build the Invisible' documentary was to translate my book into a more visual narrative. With the expert help of Ashli Moses, the founder of Carcosa Film, we explored the concept of building 'invisible foundations' — a vital, yet often overlooked, metaphor for nurturing personal skills and development as the cornerstone for long-term career success. The documentary addresses key questions faced by those aspiring to make their mark in their chosen industries. The aim was to provide pragmatic insights into standing out in a competitive environment, effective communication and navigating professional challenges. Interwoven with the narrative is the 'Build the Invisible Journal,' a practical complement to the book, designed to help readers and viewers translate theory into practice. This tool is aimed at supporting individuals, from students to professionals seeking a career pivot, wanting a side hustle or just doing more of the thing they love. The documentary aims to blend a touch of wisdom with guidance and practical strategy. This documentary, now available on YouTube, will hopefully offer a valuable perspective for those wanting to make their ideal career a reality. Change the trajectory of your life. Put yourself on the path to the career you've always wanted. You can buy the book, watch the interviews, and listen to the podcasts here https://bio.site/danielgeey You can watch the documentary here.

Omar and Daniel talk on Twitter Spaces about: ⚽️ what the Super League Court really means;  🏆 FIFA's changes to the agent rules; and 📺 the benefits (and downsides) of winter window buys. ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Omar⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ is the ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Chief Intelligence Officer⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠21st Group⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, working alongside clubs, leagues and stakeholders from across the sporting landscape, helping them use analytics to drive better decision making. ⁠⁠Daniel ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠is a sports lawyer mainly working in the football space helping players, agents and clubs with their transfer, commercial contract and regulatory issues. You can ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠follow⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Daniel across his social channels and buy his Done Deal and Build the Invisible books.

Omar and Daniel talk on Twitter Spaces about: ⚽️ the record breaking EPL broadcasting deal;  🏆 more games for Sky across the weekend; and 📺 the implications for the 3pm blackout rule. ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Omar⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ is the ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Chief Intelligence Officer⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠21st Group⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, working alongside clubs, leagues and stakeholders from across the sporting landscape, helping them use analytics to drive better decision making. ⁠Daniel ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠is a sports lawyer mainly working in the football space helping players, agents and clubs with their transfer, commercial contract and regulatory issues. You can ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠follow⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Daniel across his social channels and buy his Done Deal and Build the Invisible books.

"Being afraid to fail before experiencing failure will stop you from trying something new. So take those chances, make the mistakes, and see where they lead you." I had a fantastic chat with renowned, best selling author Dan Freedman. We talked about: 💡Building Foundations 🎯 Playing the Long Game ➕ Looking for the Positives You can read more about Dan on his excellent website too.

I had the opportunity to chat with the fantastic Guillem Balagué on a recent UCFB careers talk. We discussed: ⚽️ how I got into the football industry; 📚 why I decided to write a career book; and 💡some practical tips for building relationships and gaining knowledge about the industry. You can buy Build the Invisible here.