Bloomberg Audio Studios, Podcasts, radio News. This is the business of sports.

Bloomberg Audio Studios, Podcasts, radio News. This is the business of sports.

The business of sports can be intimidating or hard for a start to break into.

The business of sports can be intimidating or hard for a start to break into.

We really appreciate when our owners are actually there, you know, with us through the journey.

We really appreciate when our owners are actually there, you know, with us through the journey.

Teams ours especially have been very intentional to diversify at all levels of the company. I think we're in bolden years for the NFL and college football. Our demographic reach has continued to explode.

Teams ours especially have been very intentional to diversify at all levels of the company. I think we're in bolden years for the NFL and college football. Our demographic reach has continued to explode.

This is going to be really unlocking the streaming platform for sports fans, sports evaluations arising.

This is going to be really unlocking the streaming platform for sports fans, sports evaluations arising.

We'll see you when they peak.

We'll see you when they peak.

You don't have to be the best in your sport to make a whole ton of money.

You don't have to be the best in your sport to make a whole ton of money.

Bloomberg Business of Sports from Bloomberg Radio.

Bloomberg Business of Sports from Bloomberg Radio.

This is the Bloomberg Business of Sports, where we explore all of the big money issues in the world of sports. I'm Damian Sasauer. Michael barr is off this week and joining me in his stead is Bloomberg Business a sports reporter none other than Vanessa Perdomo. Hi, Vanessa, Heydamen.

This is the Bloomberg Business of Sports, where we explore all of the big money issues in the world of sports. I'm Damian Sasauer. Michael barr is off this week and joining me in his stead is Bloomberg Business a sports reporter none other than Vanessa Perdomo. Hi, Vanessa, Heydamen.

Great to me in the studio.

Great to me in the studio.

Well, coming up, we talk a sport in your wheelhouse. We are talking soccer, Major League soccer. In fact, it's kicking off its thirtieth season this weekend by debuting their thirtieth franchise, San Diego FC, and later this hour we speak with Tom Penn, CEO of San Diego on their process of putting together a major sports soccer franchise.

Well, coming up, we talk a sport in your wheelhouse. We are talking soccer, Major League soccer. In fact, it's kicking off its thirtieth season this weekend by debuting their thirtieth franchise, San Diego FC, and later this hour we speak with Tom Penn, CEO of San Diego on their process of putting together a major sports soccer franchise.

We come into a new stadium in the market with excellent premium offerings. We added more premium on the pitch. We innovated, and we put what we're calling pitch boxes, these little eight seat race cars right down on the field where your feet are on the grass. That's how you generate the local revenue that makes you sustainable.

We come into a new stadium in the market with excellent premium offerings. We added more premium on the pitch. We innovated, and we put what we're calling pitch boxes, these little eight seat race cars right down on the field where your feet are on the grass. That's how you generate the local revenue that makes you sustainable.

We also have some of my favorite conversations I had with sports legends down in New Orleans when we were there for the Super Bowl, including a tennis great and one well known saint.

We also have some of my favorite conversations I had with sports legends down in New Orleans when we were there for the Super Bowl, including a tennis great and one well known saint.

How all that and more is on the way on the Bloomberg business of sports. But first, the Los Angeles Olympics are right around the corner, and I'm just kidding there a few years away, but it's never too early to think about the business side of the Olympics and Paralympic Games and its vision here.

How all that and more is on the way on the Bloomberg business of sports. But first, the Los Angeles Olympics are right around the corner, and I'm just kidding there a few years away, but it's never too early to think about the business side of the Olympics and Paralympic Games and its vision here.

To take us through that.

To take us through that.

Sebastian co He's the President of World Athletics. He's also a two time gold medalist winning distance runner, former chairman of the London twenty twelve Games and a former member of the UK Parliament. So actually it's Lord Sebastian Co joining us as well as Bloomberg News reporter Hugo Miller. Sebastian Welcome to the Bloomberg Business of Sports podcast.

Sebastian co He's the President of World Athletics. He's also a two time gold medalist winning distance runner, former chairman of the London twenty twelve Games and a former member of the UK Parliament. So actually it's Lord Sebastian Co joining us as well as Bloomberg News reporter Hugo Miller. Sebastian Welcome to the Bloomberg Business of Sports podcast.

Thank you very much, great to be on.

Thank you very much, great to be on.

Well, let's crack into it. I mean we're looking ahead to Los Angeles in twenty twenty eight, right, I mean, it's a city you're very familiar with. And if we look out just a month from now, if I'm not mistaken, there's going to be a little bit of a vote for the next president of the IOC, and that individual is going to handle the LA Olympics. And from what I hear, Lord Co, you are one of the front runners. Tell us a little bit about the upcoming Olympics, the up coming vote, and you know where you stand with all that.

Well, let's crack into it. I mean we're looking ahead to Los Angeles in twenty twenty eight, right, I mean, it's a city you're very familiar with. And if we look out just a month from now, if I'm not mistaken, there's going to be a little bit of a vote for the next president of the IOC, and that individual is going to handle the LA Olympics. And from what I hear, Lord Co, you are one of the front runners. Tell us a little bit about the upcoming Olympics, the up coming vote, and you know where you stand with all that.

This is obviously a big moment and actually, when you look at the nature of an election, it does provide the organization the sector you're in, whether it's sport obviously politics, and we've had a mega year of elections. It does give the organization an opportunity and I'm going to mix my sporting metaphysire to put their foot on the ball and actually just think things through and have the global debate. And I think that this has been an important process because the Olympic Movement is a phenomenal movement. It has achieved extraordinary things both on the field of play and off the field of play. It's been at the epicenter. It's been at the crossroads of all the big moral and political decisions of the last century. And it has to remain there. But it also has to modernize. It has to recognize that the world, well we say the world is changing. It in many respects has changed, and it's vital that the movement keeps up its relentless recognition that the holy grail is to maintain the excitement, the salience, the relevance of what we're doing, particularly to young people. So yes, it's a huge moment and Los Angeles twenty twenty eight is an extraordinary glide path for the movement because the American market is a hugely important market. Many of our top sponsors come from there, many of our broadcast rights that are really up for a discussion and debate at the moment reside there and those changes both in terms of the way we address commercial partnerships. We've got to change them from being transactional sponsorships to collaborative partnerships. And we've got to look at broadcast in not a new way, but in the way that the world recognizes that broadcast has fundamentally altered, and an audience first approach here is going to be vital. So we've got to listen to what the audience is telling us, what they want, when they want it, and critically where they want it. And that's why an audience first approach turbocharged by AI will really unlock new and fresh markets and particularly help in the leveling up process that I'm very keen to establish between the large, well heeled, well structured national Olympic committees and the smaller national Olympic committees that are also trying to keep up and run abreast of these developments.

This is obviously a big moment and actually, when you look at the nature of an election, it does provide the organization the sector you're in, whether it's sport obviously politics, and we've had a mega year of elections. It does give the organization an opportunity and I'm going to mix my sporting metaphysire to put their foot on the ball and actually just think things through and have the global debate. And I think that this has been an important process because the Olympic Movement is a phenomenal movement. It has achieved extraordinary things both on the field of play and off the field of play. It's been at the epicenter. It's been at the crossroads of all the big moral and political decisions of the last century. And it has to remain there. But it also has to modernize. It has to recognize that the world, well we say the world is changing. It in many respects has changed, and it's vital that the movement keeps up its relentless recognition that the holy grail is to maintain the excitement, the salience, the relevance of what we're doing, particularly to young people. So yes, it's a huge moment and Los Angeles twenty twenty eight is an extraordinary glide path for the movement because the American market is a hugely important market. Many of our top sponsors come from there, many of our broadcast rights that are really up for a discussion and debate at the moment reside there and those changes both in terms of the way we address commercial partnerships. We've got to change them from being transactional sponsorships to collaborative partnerships. And we've got to look at broadcast in not a new way, but in the way that the world recognizes that broadcast has fundamentally altered, and an audience first approach here is going to be vital. So we've got to listen to what the audience is telling us, what they want, when they want it, and critically where they want it. And that's why an audience first approach turbocharged by AI will really unlock new and fresh markets and particularly help in the leveling up process that I'm very keen to establish between the large, well heeled, well structured national Olympic committees and the smaller national Olympic committees that are also trying to keep up and run abreast of these developments.

You know, Seb, you talked a lot a lot there, and I think it really interesting. I think one of the things, obviously, me and Hugo were together last year in Paris for the Games, and it was really it felt like it was back in that heyday, like you were talking about a lot of great things happening. Everyone was was locked in when you look at that. Obviously, then also you headed the twenty twelve Olympics in London.

You know, Seb, you talked a lot a lot there, and I think it really interesting. I think one of the things, obviously, me and Hugo were together last year in Paris for the Games, and it was really it felt like it was back in that heyday, like you were talking about a lot of great things happening. Everyone was was locked in when you look at that. Obviously, then also you headed the twenty twelve Olympics in London.

So when you're looking at everything you've been a part of over.

So when you're looking at everything you've been a part of over.

The last you know, a few decades or so, how does that influence you going into this election, what you want to work on specifically and what you think you can laser focus in on to you know, help the games even even further.

The last you know, a few decades or so, how does that influence you going into this election, what you want to work on specifically and what you think you can laser focus in on to you know, help the games even even further.

Well, one slightly pedantry point if I may, I was president of the organizing committee in London at the Olympics and critically the Paralympic Games, and that was that was a very very serious moment for me because the legacy of the Paralympic Games, particularly in my own, a reimagining of disability in the workplace, in families, in educational establishments. It is something that I look back with great pride. But more broadly, what do I recognize, Well, in a way I guess the task that lies ahead of me in a few weeks time, and my tilt to become a leadership figure in the Olympic movement. It is something that I've devoted in large part most of my life to ever since I got my first pair of running shoes and joined an athletics club at the age of eleven, which then took me from my career into a political career both domestically and internationally. I've chaired a national Olympic committee, I've bid for a Games successfully and being part of that leadership team that also successfully delivered the Games. And of course the experience of being the president of a central plank of the Olympic movement track and field as you would describe it athletics for most of us, has, I guess, been the type of CV and the type of experiences that I probably wouldn't have recognized in a way that were coming together. But they came together in a way that I think leaves me very comfortable that I can do this role. What did I learn from London? I learned the importance of building teams, the importance of maintaining political impartiality, particularly in those delivery phases, critically making sure that your organization, in our case, the London Organizing Committee looked like the world that we lived in and live in, and that's critical because young people don't look at your organization as being a political party or a non governmental organization or the International Olympic Committee or World Athletics. They look at you and ask and sometimes it's probably a subconscious question, but they're asking themselves a fundamental question. Do you look like the world we live in? Do you believe in the things that we believe in? And that is critical for the movement to re engage with young people the next Generation In London, mantra was to inspire a generation and to inspire a generation through sport, but not necessarily and only in sport. So if you have an organizing committee that is responsible for delivering a big cultural piece of the Olympic movement, which is important, then you really also want a legacy afterwards, so not just people joining athletics clubs or swim clubs, but taking up the violin wanting to be in the artistic and cultural landscape. And I think we achieved that. And critical to all that is, don't allow other people to define your legacy for you. You really have to be in control of that. And for me, very very critically, what is it that I want the movement to reset around. It's the extraordinary nature of sport, the catalytic impact that that has, the transformational impact that has on young lives.

Well, one slightly pedantry point if I may, I was president of the organizing committee in London at the Olympics and critically the Paralympic Games, and that was that was a very very serious moment for me because the legacy of the Paralympic Games, particularly in my own, a reimagining of disability in the workplace, in families, in educational establishments. It is something that I look back with great pride. But more broadly, what do I recognize, Well, in a way I guess the task that lies ahead of me in a few weeks time, and my tilt to become a leadership figure in the Olympic movement. It is something that I've devoted in large part most of my life to ever since I got my first pair of running shoes and joined an athletics club at the age of eleven, which then took me from my career into a political career both domestically and internationally. I've chaired a national Olympic committee, I've bid for a Games successfully and being part of that leadership team that also successfully delivered the Games. And of course the experience of being the president of a central plank of the Olympic movement track and field as you would describe it athletics for most of us, has, I guess, been the type of CV and the type of experiences that I probably wouldn't have recognized in a way that were coming together. But they came together in a way that I think leaves me very comfortable that I can do this role. What did I learn from London? I learned the importance of building teams, the importance of maintaining political impartiality, particularly in those delivery phases, critically making sure that your organization, in our case, the London Organizing Committee looked like the world that we lived in and live in, and that's critical because young people don't look at your organization as being a political party or a non governmental organization or the International Olympic Committee or World Athletics. They look at you and ask and sometimes it's probably a subconscious question, but they're asking themselves a fundamental question. Do you look like the world we live in? Do you believe in the things that we believe in? And that is critical for the movement to re engage with young people the next Generation In London, mantra was to inspire a generation and to inspire a generation through sport, but not necessarily and only in sport. So if you have an organizing committee that is responsible for delivering a big cultural piece of the Olympic movement, which is important, then you really also want a legacy afterwards, so not just people joining athletics clubs or swim clubs, but taking up the violin wanting to be in the artistic and cultural landscape. And I think we achieved that. And critical to all that is, don't allow other people to define your legacy for you. You really have to be in control of that. And for me, very very critically, what is it that I want the movement to reset around. It's the extraordinary nature of sport, the catalytic impact that that has, the transformational impact that has on young lives.

Can I see a quick question about you as a candidate. I mean, what you've just described explains why you're such a strong candidate. But at the same time, some people have said you're you're a bit of an You're an insider in the world of global sport and an outsider to the IOC. And obviously your decision last year to announce the award of cash prizes to track and field gold medalists in Paris ruffled some IOC feathers. I struggled to understand why that is given the amount of money slashing around the Olympic sponsorship deals, broadcasting rights, and the fact that so many athletes already when you're talking about professional athletes like Novak Djokovic, to you know, world famous gymnasts like Simon Wiles, they're already making tens of millions from endorsements or prize money. Why do you feel the IOC is so uncomfortable with this proposition you've brought and has that given you any pause or do you really much stand by.

Can I see a quick question about you as a candidate. I mean, what you've just described explains why you're such a strong candidate. But at the same time, some people have said you're you're a bit of an You're an insider in the world of global sport and an outsider to the IOC. And obviously your decision last year to announce the award of cash prizes to track and field gold medalists in Paris ruffled some IOC feathers. I struggled to understand why that is given the amount of money slashing around the Olympic sponsorship deals, broadcasting rights, and the fact that so many athletes already when you're talking about professional athletes like Novak Djokovic, to you know, world famous gymnasts like Simon Wiles, they're already making tens of millions from endorsements or prize money. Why do you feel the IOC is so uncomfortable with this proposition you've brought and has that given you any pause or do you really much stand by.

By that decision.

By that decision.

Look, I'm not sure that the IOC per se or the body politics is body politic, is that diametrically opposed to prize money. And look, I published a speech that I gave in nineteen eighty one. I was one of the first athletes to address the International Olympic Committee to Congress. It is extraordinary, even in nineteen eighty one that no athlete had actually been invited to contribute to the movement. And I spent four minutes talking about the welfare of the athlete and the welfare of the athlete for me, and I don't dissent from a word that I used in nineteen eighty one, and I still think it's pertinent. The welfare of the athlete for me is not just their physical and mental welfare, critical as that is. I think it is also the ability to provide where possible and in a way that doesn't damage the values of the movement, which we all hold deer, but where possible gives some financial comfort. And I say that because the world has changed. If you are a young competitor that graduates, maybe in a scientific technical skill, then to then spend twelve years dedicating your life to the furtherance of Olympic sport and then to have to come back into the marketplace, often ten years off the place means that a return to hire or further education may well be necessary, that financial welfare may be critical in doing that. That financial welfare may also allow an athlete to remain in the sport for another Olympic cycle. So I'm not the prize money. In fact, understandably was the headline, but it's only a very small part of what I mean when I say we don't just want to listen to the athletes. We need to share with them, and we need to make them our commercial partners. And how do I mean that we hold a lot of data. Giving athletes datas we have actually done in World Athletics allows them to raise their profile, maybe to be very much more specific about how they pitch themselves to partners and sponsors, giving them more flexibility around their content. I'll give you a really good example.

Look, I'm not sure that the IOC per se or the body politics is body politic, is that diametrically opposed to prize money. And look, I published a speech that I gave in nineteen eighty one. I was one of the first athletes to address the International Olympic Committee to Congress. It is extraordinary, even in nineteen eighty one that no athlete had actually been invited to contribute to the movement. And I spent four minutes talking about the welfare of the athlete and the welfare of the athlete for me, and I don't dissent from a word that I used in nineteen eighty one, and I still think it's pertinent. The welfare of the athlete for me is not just their physical and mental welfare, critical as that is. I think it is also the ability to provide where possible and in a way that doesn't damage the values of the movement, which we all hold deer, but where possible gives some financial comfort. And I say that because the world has changed. If you are a young competitor that graduates, maybe in a scientific technical skill, then to then spend twelve years dedicating your life to the furtherance of Olympic sport and then to have to come back into the marketplace, often ten years off the place means that a return to hire or further education may well be necessary, that financial welfare may be critical in doing that. That financial welfare may also allow an athlete to remain in the sport for another Olympic cycle. So I'm not the prize money. In fact, understandably was the headline, but it's only a very small part of what I mean when I say we don't just want to listen to the athletes. We need to share with them, and we need to make them our commercial partners. And how do I mean that we hold a lot of data. Giving athletes datas we have actually done in World Athletics allows them to raise their profile, maybe to be very much more specific about how they pitch themselves to partners and sponsors, giving them more flexibility around their content. I'll give you a really good example.

So you want the IOC to monetize, I want the hammer throwers, not just the sprinters.

So you want the IOC to monetize, I want the hammer throwers, not just the sprinters.

I want the athletes in every Olympic sport to have more flexibility, to be able to access their own data, their own content. Let me give you a good concrete example of that. Next year in twenty twenty six, we have something called the World Athletics Ultimate Championships Unashamed. It's a three night, three night championship aimed specifically at TV three nights, three hours, sixteen of the top track app athletes, eight of the top field of ent athletes. That's the format. But critically, we've created a new model, particularly for the athletes. So we're going to fly the athletes and their social media teams. We will give them video content that allows them to promote themselves and their own partners. We're making it apparel neutral so that we're not freezing out an athlete that doesn't want to be there because they're on a night contract or a Puma contract or an added ask contract, and we have to give them. We have to give the athletes more flexibility in this space, and we need to give them the opportunity to build their profiles and actually tell their own stories, because they tell their stories far better than we tell their stories on their behalf. Those are the things that I've been talking about in liberalizing the landscape for them so that they are actually able to monetize away from the field of play, which is as just as critical as it is when we come to discuss prize money, and I wouldn't want people to run away with the misconception here. The prize money issue in athletics was to address a very specific vulnerability that my executive board, my council, and my commissions, and it was a unanimous view, a very specific vulnerability that athletes and athletics faces. When I go to the Caribbean Championships, the carrifta games which I would advise anybody to go to because you see some of the most extraordinarily talented young athletes. When I'm standing trackside watching it, I'm surrounded by more recruiters and agents from NFL, basketball, baseball, even netball in some parts of the world, and we need to make sure that we retain that talent and creating an opportunity for them to have that financial security around prize money that we create within our own World Championships and the opportunity that we provided with them for prize money in Paris. But if I may, but if this is a very important point, if I may finish it, if I am successful in a few weeks time. It isn't a one size fits all. Do not assume, nor would I suddenly say well, we did it for athletics. So it pertains to every international federation, large or small, that I would have a completely different mandate, a completely different remit. And at that point you have the discussion which I would actively encourage. And there is absolutely this is not a fat to comp because we did it in athletics.

I want the athletes in every Olympic sport to have more flexibility, to be able to access their own data, their own content. Let me give you a good concrete example of that. Next year in twenty twenty six, we have something called the World Athletics Ultimate Championships Unashamed. It's a three night, three night championship aimed specifically at TV three nights, three hours, sixteen of the top track app athletes, eight of the top field of ent athletes. That's the format. But critically, we've created a new model, particularly for the athletes. So we're going to fly the athletes and their social media teams. We will give them video content that allows them to promote themselves and their own partners. We're making it apparel neutral so that we're not freezing out an athlete that doesn't want to be there because they're on a night contract or a Puma contract or an added ask contract, and we have to give them. We have to give the athletes more flexibility in this space, and we need to give them the opportunity to build their profiles and actually tell their own stories, because they tell their stories far better than we tell their stories on their behalf. Those are the things that I've been talking about in liberalizing the landscape for them so that they are actually able to monetize away from the field of play, which is as just as critical as it is when we come to discuss prize money, and I wouldn't want people to run away with the misconception here. The prize money issue in athletics was to address a very specific vulnerability that my executive board, my council, and my commissions, and it was a unanimous view, a very specific vulnerability that athletes and athletics faces. When I go to the Caribbean Championships, the carrifta games which I would advise anybody to go to because you see some of the most extraordinarily talented young athletes. When I'm standing trackside watching it, I'm surrounded by more recruiters and agents from NFL, basketball, baseball, even netball in some parts of the world, and we need to make sure that we retain that talent and creating an opportunity for them to have that financial security around prize money that we create within our own World Championships and the opportunity that we provided with them for prize money in Paris. But if I may, but if this is a very important point, if I may finish it, if I am successful in a few weeks time. It isn't a one size fits all. Do not assume, nor would I suddenly say well, we did it for athletics. So it pertains to every international federation, large or small, that I would have a completely different mandate, a completely different remit. And at that point you have the discussion which I would actively encourage. And there is absolutely this is not a fat to comp because we did it in athletics.

We do not.

We do not.

I would simply not sit there and say, well we did in an athletic except for we it's something we will just force upon everybody. No, there would be a collaborative discussion about it, and maybe we decide it isn't the route to go.

I would simply not sit there and say, well we did in an athletic except for we it's something we will just force upon everybody. No, there would be a collaborative discussion about it, and maybe we decide it isn't the route to go.

Well, well, lord co I mean, the prize money is obviously a very big, a very big point, but you know there's also eight billion dollars of sponsorship and broadcast deals that are going to be on tap for the LA Olympics, you know, and as president of the IOC, you know you're going to be able to control that narrative, you know. And so you know, I have only two words to kind of share with you, and they are flag football. I mean, talk to me. I mean, we have tennis, we have basketball, we have soccer, track and field, swimming, gymnastics, but we're going to get flag football. We all know the Super Bowl, the impact that has on marketing and advertising and the like. I mean, what are your thoughts on flag football at LA twenty eight.

Well, well, lord co I mean, the prize money is obviously a very big, a very big point, but you know there's also eight billion dollars of sponsorship and broadcast deals that are going to be on tap for the LA Olympics, you know, and as president of the IOC, you know you're going to be able to control that narrative, you know. And so you know, I have only two words to kind of share with you, and they are flag football. I mean, talk to me. I mean, we have tennis, we have basketball, we have soccer, track and field, swimming, gymnastics, but we're going to get flag football. We all know the Super Bowl, the impact that has on marketing and advertising and the like. I mean, what are your thoughts on flag football at LA twenty eight.

Look, I'm not going to get in to the individual discussions about a particular sport, a new addition to a particular sport. We're all trying to make sure that we appeal to new and younger and fresher audiences and to really push the envelope there. I remember as president of the organizing committee in London, I would love to have had Rugby sentence in the stadium for the three or three days after the opening ceremony. It would have set the huge party apps. We created the party atmosphere anyway. So look, every organizing committee has to have the flexibility to be able to bring new and fresh ideas. I'm discussing already with Los Angeles twenty eight our ability maybe to take some of our offense out of the stadium. We have an out of stadium policy strategy now World Athletics. So I'm never going to be the one stifling innovation and creativity here. The real challenge, of course, is to harvest creative thinking but have executable delivery, and we've got to make sure that we're not putting pressure, undue pressure on National Olympic committees to introduce new sports that may only survive a four year cycle. That puts them under pressure in terms of investing in those sports selection processes only for that sport maybe not to have a life cycle beyond. So there is a balance here. But look, we need to we need to be creative, We need to be innovative. Above all, we need to really address what our audiences want. You don't frame everything around it, but you have to be data driven and understanding what they're saying to you, what they want, where they wanted, and critically when they wanted, and in formats stand. You know, I look at some of the Olympic broadcast channel. It's long format, it's expensive, and it's really only getting to a small marketplace. We have the ability to be very much more flexible and creative in how we create our broadcast partnerships, particularly regionally, in a way that allows smaller National Olympic committees to view at the critical moment the work at an Olympic Games that they are involved in for four years. Kenya is a really good example of this. Go to Kenya and you will realize that running is not just a passion, it's a religion. It's front page, it's back page. It dominates broadcast broadcast time on virtually any platform you choose to name. But when it gets to the Olympic Games, those broadcast rights are very, very expensive, and you've suddenly got National Olympic Committee who work four years to help build the profile of their sport and then are really struggling at that critical moment to have a population that may love that Olympic sport that is in some cases being priced out of it. And that's why we need to be We really need to free up what I describe as the brand equity around the rings and give more people greater access to it. And my fear at the moment is that it becomes more of a policing exercise than it does an ability to create accessibility to something that we are all passionate about and moves global populations in the way that very few other things do.

Look, I'm not going to get in to the individual discussions about a particular sport, a new addition to a particular sport. We're all trying to make sure that we appeal to new and younger and fresher audiences and to really push the envelope there. I remember as president of the organizing committee in London, I would love to have had Rugby sentence in the stadium for the three or three days after the opening ceremony. It would have set the huge party apps. We created the party atmosphere anyway. So look, every organizing committee has to have the flexibility to be able to bring new and fresh ideas. I'm discussing already with Los Angeles twenty eight our ability maybe to take some of our offense out of the stadium. We have an out of stadium policy strategy now World Athletics. So I'm never going to be the one stifling innovation and creativity here. The real challenge, of course, is to harvest creative thinking but have executable delivery, and we've got to make sure that we're not putting pressure, undue pressure on National Olympic committees to introduce new sports that may only survive a four year cycle. That puts them under pressure in terms of investing in those sports selection processes only for that sport maybe not to have a life cycle beyond. So there is a balance here. But look, we need to we need to be creative, We need to be innovative. Above all, we need to really address what our audiences want. You don't frame everything around it, but you have to be data driven and understanding what they're saying to you, what they want, where they wanted, and critically when they wanted, and in formats stand. You know, I look at some of the Olympic broadcast channel. It's long format, it's expensive, and it's really only getting to a small marketplace. We have the ability to be very much more flexible and creative in how we create our broadcast partnerships, particularly regionally, in a way that allows smaller National Olympic committees to view at the critical moment the work at an Olympic Games that they are involved in for four years. Kenya is a really good example of this. Go to Kenya and you will realize that running is not just a passion, it's a religion. It's front page, it's back page. It dominates broadcast broadcast time on virtually any platform you choose to name. But when it gets to the Olympic Games, those broadcast rights are very, very expensive, and you've suddenly got National Olympic Committee who work four years to help build the profile of their sport and then are really struggling at that critical moment to have a population that may love that Olympic sport that is in some cases being priced out of it. And that's why we need to be We really need to free up what I describe as the brand equity around the rings and give more people greater access to it. And my fear at the moment is that it becomes more of a policing exercise than it does an ability to create accessibility to something that we are all passionate about and moves global populations in the way that very few other things do.

Our Thanks to Sebastian co President of World Athletics and to Bloomberg News reporter Hugo Miller, up next Major League Soccer season is officially upon US we welcome the CEO of their newest expansion franchise, San Diego FC. I'm Damien Sasauur along with Vanessa Perdomo. You're listening to the Bloomberg Business of Sports from Bloomberg Radio around the world.

Our Thanks to Sebastian co President of World Athletics and to Bloomberg News reporter Hugo Miller, up next Major League Soccer season is officially upon US we welcome the CEO of their newest expansion franchise, San Diego FC. I'm Damien Sasauur along with Vanessa Perdomo. You're listening to the Bloomberg Business of Sports from Bloomberg Radio around the world.

This is Bloomberg Business of Sports from Bloomberg Radio.

This is Bloomberg Business of Sports from Bloomberg Radio.

This is the Bloomberg Business of Sports where we explore the big money issues in the world of sports. I'm Damien Sassauer along with Vanessa Perdomo. Michael Barr is off this week.

This is the Bloomberg Business of Sports where we explore the big money issues in the world of sports. I'm Damien Sassauer along with Vanessa Perdomo. Michael Barr is off this week.

The twenty twenty five MLS regular season kicks off this weekend, having reached an impressive milestone it's thirtieth season, and to celebrate this incredible and truthfully resilient feat, Major League Soccer will debut their thirtieth franchise in league history in their thirtieth season, San Diego FC.

The twenty twenty five MLS regular season kicks off this weekend, having reached an impressive milestone it's thirtieth season, and to celebrate this incredible and truthfully resilient feat, Major League Soccer will debut their thirtieth franchise in league history in their thirtieth season, San Diego FC.

But it really is no easy feat for the newest expansion team, with their first game this Sunday against the defending champs, the Los Angeles Galaxy. Here to discuss the process of launching a nascent franchise in Major League Soccer in a city like San Diego is the CEO of San Diego FC, Tom Pen Tom, Welcome to the Bloomberg Business of sports.

But it really is no easy feat for the newest expansion team, with their first game this Sunday against the defending champs, the Los Angeles Galaxy. Here to discuss the process of launching a nascent franchise in Major League Soccer in a city like San Diego is the CEO of San Diego FC, Tom Pen Tom, Welcome to the Bloomberg Business of sports.

Amy and Vanessa happy to be here.

Amy and Vanessa happy to be here.

Talk to us a little bit about you know, not today, but you know, go looking ahead, you know what's the future, not just for you know SDFC, but you know San Diego sports more broadly speaking, I mean, are you looking at perhaps getting your own stadium? You know, new arena's, new ballparks, that sort of thing. I mean, is the sports buzz hopping in San Diego the way it is in most other cities across the country.

Talk to us a little bit about you know, not today, but you know, go looking ahead, you know what's the future, not just for you know SDFC, but you know San Diego sports more broadly speaking, I mean, are you looking at perhaps getting your own stadium? You know, new arena's, new ballparks, that sort of thing. I mean, is the sports buzz hopping in San Diego the way it is in most other cities across the country.

Yeah, we won't be building our own stadium because snap Dragon is virtually brand new, and it's right sized for the current MLS. It's upsized. You know, many of the successful MLS markets with soccer specific stadiums are in the low twenty thousands. We're in the upper low thirty thousands. We're at thirty two, six hundred seats with some more standing room. So it's a bigger building. In fact, it's the biggest soccer specific venue if you take away the NFL shared buildings. So we see this as a competitive advantage when we fill the place up, because it's going to first of all, be an economic engine because we've got a lot of premium inventory we can sell at higher prices, and then we've got all low inventory and a lot of the masses or the lower price points. So you put those two things together, you get thirty plus thousand people on any given night, all whearing chrome and azul Are colors, and all intensely engaged in the game. It should be a competitive advantage. You know. The other competitive advantage long term in San Diego is just the quality of player in this region. Disproportionate amount of National team players come from San Diego. There's always been just this pipeline of talent. And then when you throw in across the border in Mexico, which is also our territory. With the way the rules work, we have this catchment area of excellence and it's our job to developed that excellence and over time that can feed our first team and be a real competitive advantage along with the size of the building. So back to your original question, things are rolling in San Diego, all this opportunity for greatness, and we're just really excited to get it going.

Yeah, we won't be building our own stadium because snap Dragon is virtually brand new, and it's right sized for the current MLS. It's upsized. You know, many of the successful MLS markets with soccer specific stadiums are in the low twenty thousands. We're in the upper low thirty thousands. We're at thirty two, six hundred seats with some more standing room. So it's a bigger building. In fact, it's the biggest soccer specific venue if you take away the NFL shared buildings. So we see this as a competitive advantage when we fill the place up, because it's going to first of all, be an economic engine because we've got a lot of premium inventory we can sell at higher prices, and then we've got all low inventory and a lot of the masses or the lower price points. So you put those two things together, you get thirty plus thousand people on any given night, all whearing chrome and azul Are colors, and all intensely engaged in the game. It should be a competitive advantage. You know. The other competitive advantage long term in San Diego is just the quality of player in this region. Disproportionate amount of National team players come from San Diego. There's always been just this pipeline of talent. And then when you throw in across the border in Mexico, which is also our territory. With the way the rules work, we have this catchment area of excellence and it's our job to developed that excellence and over time that can feed our first team and be a real competitive advantage along with the size of the building. So back to your original question, things are rolling in San Diego, all this opportunity for greatness, and we're just really excited to get it going.

You know, Tom, you were talking there about playing in Snapdragon, and I've actually been there, but I went there for San Diego Wave game. How I'm curious, you know, how has it been working with the San Diego Wave and the NWSL, you know, to bring in another soccer team there and you know, to grow the fever for soccer in the city.

You know, Tom, you were talking there about playing in Snapdragon, and I've actually been there, but I went there for San Diego Wave game. How I'm curious, you know, how has it been working with the San Diego Wave and the NWSL, you know, to bring in another soccer team there and you know, to grow the fever for soccer in the city.

Yeah, it's interesting. San Diego State University owns and operates the building, so they're the landlord and that's who we've dealt with mostly as it relates to Snapdragon Stadium. The Wave and us are similar in that we're both tenants in that building and we'll share that building and we're really just getting started with figuring out how to do that. We've done a good job with scheduling, for example, where we find alternate weekends to play. But then we do have some soccer weekends where they play Friday, we play Saturday, you know, and there's a little bit of this back to back. It's San Diego against the world. We're all together. So we look forward to you know, rising tide lifts all boats, just amplifying soccer, amplifying the love of football in this community because football thrives here, you know, it's in the DNA of this community. You know, we really look forward then to winning, right, we both want to win We especially want to win. We want to compete, we want to be immediately relevant competitive. We've signed some really significant players, including the best player in Mexico, Chucky Lozano. So I'm in this personal phase of we've been trying to sell what this is going to be and explain what it's going to be, and we're about to express it for real. So then you pivot to sort of selling what we are and that's the part that's going to be fun and dynamic.

Yeah, it's interesting. San Diego State University owns and operates the building, so they're the landlord and that's who we've dealt with mostly as it relates to Snapdragon Stadium. The Wave and us are similar in that we're both tenants in that building and we'll share that building and we're really just getting started with figuring out how to do that. We've done a good job with scheduling, for example, where we find alternate weekends to play. But then we do have some soccer weekends where they play Friday, we play Saturday, you know, and there's a little bit of this back to back. It's San Diego against the world. We're all together. So we look forward to you know, rising tide lifts all boats, just amplifying soccer, amplifying the love of football in this community because football thrives here, you know, it's in the DNA of this community. You know, we really look forward then to winning, right, we both want to win We especially want to win. We want to compete, we want to be immediately relevant competitive. We've signed some really significant players, including the best player in Mexico, Chucky Lozano. So I'm in this personal phase of we've been trying to sell what this is going to be and explain what it's going to be, and we're about to express it for real. So then you pivot to sort of selling what we are and that's the part that's going to be fun and dynamic.

Well, Tom, you know, I mean the reason I ask about stadiums is this. You know, I live in New York City. You know NYCFC they're playing in Yankee Stadium, but my goodness, they would love to be playing in their own stadium. And then you look at Inter Miami they play in Chase what I think, LAFC they play at Bimo. I mean, talk to me a little bit. I mean those are teams that are valued at over a billion dollars, right, and I believe the collective worth of all MLS clubs is now approaching world It's over twenty billions. So does having your own stadium, you know, you know, obviously it must add to the valuation of your franchise. But just how much value does it add is my real question here. I mean, where are you getting the bulk your revenue from?

Well, Tom, you know, I mean the reason I ask about stadiums is this. You know, I live in New York City. You know NYCFC they're playing in Yankee Stadium, but my goodness, they would love to be playing in their own stadium. And then you look at Inter Miami they play in Chase what I think, LAFC they play at Bimo. I mean, talk to me a little bit. I mean those are teams that are valued at over a billion dollars, right, and I believe the collective worth of all MLS clubs is now approaching world It's over twenty billions. So does having your own stadium, you know, you know, obviously it must add to the valuation of your franchise. But just how much value does it add is my real question here. I mean, where are you getting the bulk your revenue from?

Is it?

Is it?

Is it broadcast rights? Is it is it you know, you know?

Is it broadcast rights? Is it is it you know, you know?

Is it?

Is it?

Is it the games themselves.

Is it the games themselves.

I'm just curious to hear your thoughts on that.

I'm just curious to hear your thoughts on that.

The bulk of our operational cut revenue comes local, right, So your thing about stadiums is incredibly relevant local value. Now broadcast rights have been consolidated, all local, national, international rights are part of this big Apple TV deal, this historic deal with one place to go, high quality production, consistency of product. Plus you're partnered with the biggest company on the planet that can take this literally all around the world. So broadcast sits there. We're in charge of our own local business and that's local sponsorship, local ticket sales. What do we do at game day with all those ancillary sales? I mean those are the big three buckets. Talk about the middle one ticket sales, premium sales. All that comes from how your building is situated and what you can drive in terms of revenues. So do you have high quality premium areas? Do you have club seat areas that warrant multi year deals, can you get a good, solid average ticket price overall? When New York City goes into their brand new stadium that they're building right near to the Mets near City Field, that building is going to be an atm It's going to be a juggernaut because it's got such great offerings. When you see their premium offerings, they're amazing. Same down in Miami, they're building a brand new stadium out in Freedom Park. It will be a juggernaut. In our case, we come into a new stadium in the market with excellent premium offerings. We added more premium on the pitch. We innovated and we put what we're calling pitch boxes, these little eight seat race cars right down on the field where your feet are on the grass, and those are the hottest product we have. And then on the other side of the field where we're putting pitch suites. Nobody's ever done it this way, where you take the suite experience, the luxury suite experience and put it right down on the grass and have your suite where you're walking around on the actual pitch. Really cool premium offerings for our market. That's how you generate the local revenue. That makes you sustainable.

The bulk of our operational cut revenue comes local, right, So your thing about stadiums is incredibly relevant local value. Now broadcast rights have been consolidated, all local, national, international rights are part of this big Apple TV deal, this historic deal with one place to go, high quality production, consistency of product. Plus you're partnered with the biggest company on the planet that can take this literally all around the world. So broadcast sits there. We're in charge of our own local business and that's local sponsorship, local ticket sales. What do we do at game day with all those ancillary sales? I mean those are the big three buckets. Talk about the middle one ticket sales, premium sales. All that comes from how your building is situated and what you can drive in terms of revenues. So do you have high quality premium areas? Do you have club seat areas that warrant multi year deals, can you get a good, solid average ticket price overall? When New York City goes into their brand new stadium that they're building right near to the Mets near City Field, that building is going to be an atm It's going to be a juggernaut because it's got such great offerings. When you see their premium offerings, they're amazing. Same down in Miami, they're building a brand new stadium out in Freedom Park. It will be a juggernaut. In our case, we come into a new stadium in the market with excellent premium offerings. We added more premium on the pitch. We innovated and we put what we're calling pitch boxes, these little eight seat race cars right down on the field where your feet are on the grass, and those are the hottest product we have. And then on the other side of the field where we're putting pitch suites. Nobody's ever done it this way, where you take the suite experience, the luxury suite experience and put it right down on the grass and have your suite where you're walking around on the actual pitch. Really cool premium offerings for our market. That's how you generate the local revenue. That makes you sustainable.

Absolutely.

Absolutely.

I think you know, one of the other things that's really exciting for for San Diego. They're coming in as the thirtieth team and the thirtieth season of the MLS. You've worked now in the MLS for a while, but also you worked in the NBA for a long time. As the MLS stands in its thirtieth season, where do you think it is compared to you know, obviously other leagues that have been around longer, but like, as it stands in the thirtieth year, how do you think the business of the league is doing?

I think you know, one of the other things that's really exciting for for San Diego. They're coming in as the thirtieth team and the thirtieth season of the MLS. You've worked now in the MLS for a while, but also you worked in the NBA for a long time. As the MLS stands in its thirtieth season, where do you think it is compared to you know, obviously other leagues that have been around longer, but like, as it stands in the thirtieth year, how do you think the business of the league is doing?

Clearly major league clearly in the major league category of NFL, NBA, NHL, MLB, MLS. Right, there's five, the big five clearly on the rise. I mean the rise in valuations, the level of investors coming into MLS. Our chairman are our lead investors, a multi billionaire from Egypt, Sir Mohammad Mansour. He operates out of London. He instead of buying a Premier League team, wanted to buy an MLS team. He wanted to come into Major League soccer. So the world is seeing it. The quality of the product is continuing to improve, and then you get this double booster. That's happening. Messi arriving in the States is an amazing event. That's booster number one. The World Cup coming in twenty twenty six booster number two. You put those two together and the trajectory of where the league goes is clearly up into the right. We just don't know how far and how fast? Right. So that's the fun part is what is this World Cup going to mean to stack? On top of the fact that the world's best player has come here and is expressing his talents in our league, others want to follow. More will happen, But then how is this all going to play out? And what is the MLS look like on the other side. That's what's exciting and intriguing.

Clearly major league clearly in the major league category of NFL, NBA, NHL, MLB, MLS. Right, there's five, the big five clearly on the rise. I mean the rise in valuations, the level of investors coming into MLS. Our chairman are our lead investors, a multi billionaire from Egypt, Sir Mohammad Mansour. He operates out of London. He instead of buying a Premier League team, wanted to buy an MLS team. He wanted to come into Major League soccer. So the world is seeing it. The quality of the product is continuing to improve, and then you get this double booster. That's happening. Messi arriving in the States is an amazing event. That's booster number one. The World Cup coming in twenty twenty six booster number two. You put those two together and the trajectory of where the league goes is clearly up into the right. We just don't know how far and how fast? Right. So that's the fun part is what is this World Cup going to mean to stack? On top of the fact that the world's best player has come here and is expressing his talents in our league, others want to follow. More will happen, But then how is this all going to play out? And what is the MLS look like on the other side. That's what's exciting and intriguing.

Tom. I love that you brought up Leo Messi going into Miami, you know. And I love even more that you brought up Sir Mohammad Mansur, who we're very familiar with by the way over here at Bloomberg, And I want to ask you this, what are the chances of most Salah coming to San Diego by the time his career wraps up? I mean, come on, man, if anyone can get him over there, it's got to be Mansor.

Tom. I love that you brought up Leo Messi going into Miami, you know. And I love even more that you brought up Sir Mohammad Mansur, who we're very familiar with by the way over here at Bloomberg, And I want to ask you this, what are the chances of most Salah coming to San Diego by the time his career wraps up? I mean, come on, man, if anyone can get him over there, it's got to be Mansor.

No, how cool would that'd be. He might be the best player in the world today, right, he'd be got the best player of all time to come. But you know, look, a player like Mossallah is something everybody would dream of, right. He is a world class talent still producing at such a high level and then high high character. What's interesting with Moe is his trajectory, his path coming from Egypt and kind of coming from nothing, and that resonates with our enterprise. Right to Dream. Sir Mohammad Mansur is the chairman of Right to Dream. Right to Dream is one of the most unique and impressive soccer organizations on the planet. It's a family of youth academies that started in Ghana twenty five years ago and they provide opportunity to children that never would have it otherwise. They go village to village, find the best talent in Sub Saharan Africa, give that talent at age ten to eleven, a full scholarship to a school, a youth academy and a character development program. And it's a residential facility that's in Ghana. Then it went up to Scandinavia and expanded into Denmark. Mister Mansour made his investment and built one of these in Egypt and said take it to America. So we have four youth academies all training the best young ten eleven, twelve year old talent boys and girls. Put them all together. They're going to feed into our clubs, or they feed into the best prep schools and colleges in America. No child's ever left behind as they develop. That's a remarkable thing. So back to moss Law, he really had lived that trajectory, right. So there's all this opportunity for us with right to dream, to develop the future mosts laws of America and of Mexico. Mexico is part of our territory because we're within fifty kilometers of the border, so we can recruit the best Mexican kids, the best American kids, and then give them all this opportunity.

No, how cool would that'd be. He might be the best player in the world today, right, he'd be got the best player of all time to come. But you know, look, a player like Mossallah is something everybody would dream of, right. He is a world class talent still producing at such a high level and then high high character. What's interesting with Moe is his trajectory, his path coming from Egypt and kind of coming from nothing, and that resonates with our enterprise. Right to Dream. Sir Mohammad Mansur is the chairman of Right to Dream. Right to Dream is one of the most unique and impressive soccer organizations on the planet. It's a family of youth academies that started in Ghana twenty five years ago and they provide opportunity to children that never would have it otherwise. They go village to village, find the best talent in Sub Saharan Africa, give that talent at age ten to eleven, a full scholarship to a school, a youth academy and a character development program. And it's a residential facility that's in Ghana. Then it went up to Scandinavia and expanded into Denmark. Mister Mansour made his investment and built one of these in Egypt and said take it to America. So we have four youth academies all training the best young ten eleven, twelve year old talent boys and girls. Put them all together. They're going to feed into our clubs, or they feed into the best prep schools and colleges in America. No child's ever left behind as they develop. That's a remarkable thing. So back to moss Law, he really had lived that trajectory, right. So there's all this opportunity for us with right to dream, to develop the future mosts laws of America and of Mexico. Mexico is part of our territory because we're within fifty kilometers of the border, so we can recruit the best Mexican kids, the best American kids, and then give them all this opportunity.

That was San Diego FC CEO Tom penn Up next, Tennis legend icon Billy Jean King on encouraging more girls to get involved in sports and New Orleans Saints' legendary quarterback Drew Brees on the future of pickleball.

That was San Diego FC CEO Tom penn Up next, Tennis legend icon Billy Jean King on encouraging more girls to get involved in sports and New Orleans Saints' legendary quarterback Drew Brees on the future of pickleball.

Ohoa, that's straight ahead. On the Bloomberg business of sports. I'm Damian Sasaur along with Winnessa Prodomo. You're listening to the Bloomberg Busy This of Sports from Bloomberg Radio around the world.

Ohoa, that's straight ahead. On the Bloomberg business of sports. I'm Damian Sasaur along with Winnessa Prodomo. You're listening to the Bloomberg Busy This of Sports from Bloomberg Radio around the world.

This is Bloomberg Business of Sports from Bloomberg Radio.

This is Bloomberg Business of Sports from Bloomberg Radio.

Thanks for joining us on the Bloomberg Business of Sports, where we explore the big money issues in the world of sports. I am Damian sas Hour along with Vanessa Perdomo. Michael Barr is off this week. Now that the confetti has been swept off Broad Street in Philadelphia, the NFL off season officially commences, and this past week we got some big news. The San Francisco forty nine Ers are reportedly exploring selling a ten percent stake at evaluation of more than nine billion dollars, potentially making it one of the world's most expensive sports teams.

Thanks for joining us on the Bloomberg Business of Sports, where we explore the big money issues in the world of sports. I am Damian sas Hour along with Vanessa Perdomo. Michael Barr is off this week. Now that the confetti has been swept off Broad Street in Philadelphia, the NFL off season officially commences, and this past week we got some big news. The San Francisco forty nine Ers are reportedly exploring selling a ten percent stake at evaluation of more than nine billion dollars, potentially making it one of the world's most expensive sports teams.

We should note it's unclear if the forty nine ers will choose to seek a private equity firm to buy the stake or other investors such as wealthy individuals or family office. Deliberations are ongoing. For the latest go to Bloomberg dot com.

We should note it's unclear if the forty nine ers will choose to seek a private equity firm to buy the stake or other investors such as wealthy individuals or family office. Deliberations are ongoing. For the latest go to Bloomberg dot com.

For now, we pivot our attention to pre Super Bowl as Vanessa down in New Orleans for Super Bowl fifty nine just a few weeks back, and had the opportunity to speak with some legendary athletes.

For now, we pivot our attention to pre Super Bowl as Vanessa down in New Orleans for Super Bowl fifty nine just a few weeks back, and had the opportunity to speak with some legendary athletes.

Yeah, and one of those was tennis legend Billy Jean King. I mean speaking with her was truly a dream come true. As a female athlete myself. It really felt like staring into the eyes of the godmother who gave us women's sports. So we spoke with the importance of empowering girls through sports and what it takes to get there.

Yeah, and one of those was tennis legend Billy Jean King. I mean speaking with her was truly a dream come true. As a female athlete myself. It really felt like staring into the eyes of the godmother who gave us women's sports. So we spoke with the importance of empowering girls through sports and what it takes to get there.

Take a listen, leadership.

Take a listen, leadership.

They've done so much research now that we know if you put a girl in sports, she's got a much better chance to be a leader. And also ninety four percent of C suite women ninety four percent identify with.

They've done so much research now that we know if you put a girl in sports, she's got a much better chance to be a leader. And also ninety four percent of C suite women ninety four percent identify with.

Being an athlete.

Being an athlete.

Yeah, and so in half of those women played D one.

Yeah, and so in half of those women played D one.

Yeah, I know what. People don't realize what sports did.

Yeah, I know what. People don't realize what sports did.

That's an interesting part of the stat that I haven't actually heard before.

That's an interesting part of the stat that I haven't actually heard before.

Fifty percent played D one. Oh, it's amazing.

Fifty percent played D one. Oh, it's amazing.

They are athletes, and I know of when I'm hiring someone, I asked them, have you ever And I don't care how good they were, I asked, were you ever a captain?

They are athletes, and I know of when I'm hiring someone, I asked them, have you ever And I don't care how good they were, I asked, were you ever a captain?

Captain?

Captain?

Captain, you don't have to be You don't have to be the best player, our best athlete, but you want to know their experiences and where they've kind of molded their lives and how they believe in themselves.

Captain, you don't have to be You don't have to be the best player, our best athlete, but you want to know their experiences and where they've kind of molded their lives and how they believe in themselves.

And I think that's something that's lost today in the youth system.

And I think that's something that's lost today in the youth system.

Actually, you know, we talked about forty five percent of girls kind of drop out of sports, but now actually they're not playing as many sports.

Actually, you know, we talked about forty five percent of girls kind of drop out of sports, but now actually they're not playing as many sports.

You know, what do you think about the landscape of youth sports right now?

You know, what do you think about the landscape of youth sports right now?

They have proven.

They have proven.

The best of whatever they are usually played other sports. I would have my children playing sports, and I don't care how good they are, but different sports because you learn different things in each sport. You've learned different techniques, you learn how to maybe perceive things a little differently, so it helps your real life and that is real life. I mean, I'm a jock, come on, give me the vault. Yeah, but no, it teaches you so many things. Is and if you want to be even the best in the sport when they're young, you want to play. They've done recent search the players who did many sports, are a few sports at least, and then decided to be number the best or professional in one sport. They did better than the kids who always specialize in one sport when they grew up. Because you want to.

The best of whatever they are usually played other sports. I would have my children playing sports, and I don't care how good they are, but different sports because you learn different things in each sport. You've learned different techniques, you learn how to maybe perceive things a little differently, so it helps your real life and that is real life. I mean, I'm a jock, come on, give me the vault. Yeah, but no, it teaches you so many things. Is and if you want to be even the best in the sport when they're young, you want to play. They've done recent search the players who did many sports, are a few sports at least, and then decided to be number the best or professional in one sport. They did better than the kids who always specialize in one sport when they grew up. Because you want to.

Learn, like learn how to run, kick, throw.

Learn, like learn how to run, kick, throw.

Yeah, well you need.

Yeah, well you need.

All these different things.

All these different things.

There's so many different elements that work in different sports.

There's so many different elements that work in different sports.

Especially when a child's young. You want them to use their big muscle groups more not they're fine muscle groups. So you want them to kick, run, and throw, just basic stuff. And those are the types of things you want to do when a child young, and parents should think about that.

Especially when a child's young. You want them to use their big muscle groups more not they're fine muscle groups. So you want them to kick, run, and throw, just basic stuff. And those are the types of things you want to do when a child young, and parents should think about that.

Let them have fun.

Let them have fun.

Like my brother played twelve years of professional baseball. Randy Moffat's our birth name, and he's five years younger, and we played all sports together. We had so much fun. I love my baby brothers.

Like my brother played twelve years of professional baseball. Randy Moffat's our birth name, and he's five years younger, and we played all sports together. We had so much fun. I love my baby brothers.

Yes. One of the things that's interesting too about if you specialize, say in something like tennis at a young age. I was just recently talking with Sean White about this, and he told me him starting his company and getting things the newest thing for him in bus. It wasn't, you know, learning the business side. It was actually being part of a team, yes, because he wasn't he was an individual athlete.

Yes. One of the things that's interesting too about if you specialize, say in something like tennis at a young age. I was just recently talking with Sean White about this, and he told me him starting his company and getting things the newest thing for him in bus. It wasn't, you know, learning the business side. It was actually being part of a team, yes, because he wasn't he was an individual athlete.

No, But I was in team sports in my whole life. I was in basketball, first I played shortstop. Susan Williams in fifth grade said you want to play tennis, and I said, what's tennis? And we went to her country club to play and I said, well, I'm not playing tennis because my dad's a firefighter and we're barely making as as is. So but we also played on a softball team and she said to the coach Val hollerin oh, I took Billy to play tennis, and she says, oh, we have free instruction here every.

No, But I was in team sports in my whole life. I was in basketball, first I played shortstop. Susan Williams in fifth grade said you want to play tennis, and I said, what's tennis? And we went to her country club to play and I said, well, I'm not playing tennis because my dad's a firefighter and we're barely making as as is. So but we also played on a softball team and she said to the coach Val hollerin oh, I took Billy to play tennis, and she says, oh, we have free instruction here every.

Tuesday at Hopen Park.

Tuesday at Hopen Park.

Okay, that's how.

Okay, that's how.

That's why I became a tennis player. I went to the public park, free coaching free, you know, if the courts were free. And after the first day of tennis, I realized that I want to be number one in tennis. I found what I was going to do with my life. Yeah, and I was about ten, just before I turned eleven, and I knew that was it and I knew it was global. I realized global. I read the history. I'm big on history. The more you know about history, the more you know about yourself. But most importantly, it helps you shape the future.

That's why I became a tennis player. I went to the public park, free coaching free, you know, if the courts were free. And after the first day of tennis, I realized that I want to be number one in tennis. I found what I was going to do with my life. Yeah, and I was about ten, just before I turned eleven, and I knew that was it and I knew it was global. I realized global. I read the history. I'm big on history. The more you know about history, the more you know about yourself. But most importantly, it helps you shape the future.

How would that relate to you know, the landscape of women's sports today because now they're more you know, visible than ever. Last year is an amazing year for women's sports. But how would you categorize, you know, where we are right now, how they have to.

How would that relate to you know, the landscape of women's sports today because now they're more you know, visible than ever. Last year is an amazing year for women's sports. But how would you categorize, you know, where we are right now, how they have to.

We're the best place we've ever been. Yeah, but we still have so long to go. But all these you know, like Angel Rees and Caitlyn Clark getting into it, all those things, it shows and how many people are showing up and watching. And men do watch a lot of women's sports. It's like eighty five percent watch women's sports. People don't realize it's men and women who watch women's sports, and men and women who watch pro sports. In men's sports and football, we're here at the Super Bowl, yeah, and we're going to start the flag football, which I'm so into for the last four years. I was here four years ago, did the coin toss. And I just want them to have an association.

We're the best place we've ever been. Yeah, but we still have so long to go. But all these you know, like Angel Rees and Caitlyn Clark getting into it, all those things, it shows and how many people are showing up and watching. And men do watch a lot of women's sports. It's like eighty five percent watch women's sports. People don't realize it's men and women who watch women's sports, and men and women who watch pro sports. In men's sports and football, we're here at the Super Bowl, yeah, and we're going to start the flag football, which I'm so into for the last four years. I was here four years ago, did the coin toss. And I just want them to have an association.

I don't play football. Association.

I don't play football. Association.

Oh absolutely, Yeah, have the men and women together maybe.

Oh absolutely, Yeah, have the men and women together maybe.

Maybe it's really interesting though, because it is a great way for girls and women to start getting into football.

Maybe it's really interesting though, because it is a great way for girls and women to start getting into football.

Oh it's great. Oh I played football.

Oh it's great. Oh I played football.

I played flag when I was a kid. I played baseball, football, softball, I played you know, volleyball, track and field. I love I love them all. So I'm interested in everybody. But I want people to find their sport, whatever it is, love it. I think. Well, for me, I know that a lot of kids don't know about tennis. They really It's too bad because tennis is global.

I played flag when I was a kid. I played baseball, football, softball, I played you know, volleyball, track and field. I love I love them all. So I'm interested in everybody. But I want people to find their sport, whatever it is, love it. I think. Well, for me, I know that a lot of kids don't know about tennis. They really It's too bad because tennis is global.

Soccer's global. Yeah.

Soccer's global. Yeah.

I went to the World Cup of Soccer in Australia and met the Spanish players.

I went to the World Cup of Soccer in Australia and met the Spanish players.

Yeah, so no, it's.

Yeah, so no, it's.

No.

No.

I love sports. I love all of them.

I love sports. I love all of them.

And we went to the Women's World Cup of Cricket yeah, you know, in Melbourne, Australia not too long ago. So that was an amazing experience where the Australians beat the Indian women from India. But what was really wonderful is the men told the Australian women, if you should win, we will make you hold. We will get you as much as we got. And that's where the men are really really helpful. But people can help each other, you know, and the men the fathers, like my dad was fantastic on them. About your family, you said.

And we went to the Women's World Cup of Cricket yeah, you know, in Melbourne, Australia not too long ago. So that was an amazing experience where the Australians beat the Indian women from India. But what was really wonderful is the men told the Australian women, if you should win, we will make you hold. We will get you as much as we got. And that's where the men are really really helpful. But people can help each other, you know, and the men the fathers, like my dad was fantastic on them. About your family, you said.

Your dad, Yeah, my dad is the one who trained me.

Your dad, Yeah, my dad is the one who trained me.

I think fathers are fathers don't realize how important they are to girls. And my dad was amazing, and my dad believed in me as much as my brother, and that set the tone for me to go for it. And I just want to talk to all the fathers out there. You have no idea how important you are to your daughters, and I hope you'll step up if you don't, if you haven't already, and just include them and believe in them and get them into sports, get them into activities. Because girls are taught not to trust our bodies. Sports teach you to trust your body. Sports helped me so much to trust my body, to believe in it.