Business of Sport
Sport, Structured podcast launches to add fresh conversations to the business of sport
Leonard Curtis is extending its Business of Sport campaign with a new podcast series called Sport, Structured, a show dedicated to demystifying the financial, commercial and structural forces shaping professional sport today.
Sport, Structured is hosted by broadcaster James Cooper, formerly with Sky Sports, now teaching sports journalism at University Campus of Football Business (UCFB), where the podcast was recorded.
It features experts from the world of restructuring, sport finance, leaders of sports organisations and former elite professionals offering listeners insightful, engaging, and authentic conversations.
The first two episodes of Sport, Structured premier today on 24th June 2026 and will be available on major streaming platforms including Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and YouTube.
Created for business leaders and their advisers with a keen interest in sport finances the podcast explores topics such as why so many sporting organisations – leagues and clubs - continue to experience financial fragility, blending expert insight with real-world stories and actionable takeaways.
Each episode aims to help listeners understand the complexities of sporting structures and what makes a sustainable model.
The first episode includes a conversation with Leonard Curtis Director and former professional rugby player Alex Cadwallader and Professor Rob Wilson, a Dean of UCFB, and one of the world's leading sports finance academics, to explore the financial health of professional sport in the UK.
Drawing on the Business of Sport research by Leonard Curtis over the last two years, the pair examine why so many professional clubs are spending beyond their means, what that indicates for the future of sport as a business, and why the industry may need a fundamental reality check.
In episode two Alex and Rob are joined by Sky commentator Simon Holmes, who has coached over 80 professional golfers, to discuss the findings of the first Leonard Curtis Golf Finance Report, launched in May.
The conversation examines the future for the professional game following the decision by the Saudi sovereign wealth fund PIF to end its funding for LIV Golf at the end of the 2026 season. It considers the potential impact of the latest developments on player earnings, the PGA Tour’s dominance and the wider golf eco-system – from fans and sponsors to women’s golf.
The first two episodes of Sport, Structured will be followed by four more in an initial six-part series to be broadcast over the summer.
Host James Cooper commented: “What makes this podcast different and so exciting is having the raw data and the information that Leonard Curtis has so thoroughly gathered around elite sport, then having experts who know what they’re talking about to disseminate and discuss the findings.
“But it’s not just a chance to spotlight compelling data,” he continued. “We’re looking to take it on another level, to influence and inform the behaviour of those making the big decisions in some of the most popular sports. We want this to be a pod with teeth.”
Alex Cadwallader commented: “This is a natural extension of a campaign that has driven debate and conversation from the start and underpins our day to day as a business.
“As James says it aims to add value to much broader discussions around building more sustainable sports organisations across the UK.”
Not only recorded at a new world class studio facility owned by UCFB in Salford, Sport, Structured was directed, filmed and edited by a talented team of broadcast and media students at the college.
“We are grateful to Leonard Curtis for trusting us with this important first step into podcasting. For us it is learning with real life outcomes which is so beneficial for students,” said Prof Rob Wilson.
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