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In this episode of The Business Behind, Sport Jonny Gray is joined by “the most powerful woman in African football” Abi Ijasanmi, former Chief Operating Officer of the Confederation of African Football (CAF). 

This conversation ranges over the landscape of football on the continent, looking closely at integrity and good governance as well as the improvement of infrastructure, the growth of the women’s game, and the emerging global appeal of CAF’s blue-ribbon events such as the African Cup of Nations; both the male and female editions. 

Padel is one of the fastest-growing sports in the world, with much of its growth being driven bottom-up by investors. 

One of those investors, Houman Ashrafzadeh, Founder of Padium, joins Jonny Gray on this episode of #TheBusinessBehindSport to discuss the rise and growth of padel in the UK and worldwide over recent years. Together they discuss: 

• What makes padel different from other racket sports 
• The development of the governance of the sport 
• The commercial opportunities with padel 

Sports are still a very male-dominated space, especially in the boardroom.

In this episode of The Business Behind Sport, Jonathan Brown speaks to two female leaders in the sports industry, Monique Choudhuri Board Director at Women in Football and Rowena Samarasinhe, Managing Director at GENSport.

During this episode, they explore the progress female sports have made over the years, the challenges they face in their careers, the role diversity, equity, and inclusion plays within the industry, and the future of women’s sports as a whole.

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Snooker has always been a popular sport, particularly in the UK, but its rapid growth worldwide has led to a potential global audience of 1.8 billion viewers.

In this episode of The Business Behind Sport podcast, Jonny Gray speaks to Jason Ferguson, Group Chairman & CEO of The World Professional Billiards & Snooker Association (WPBSA) and Director of the World Snooker Tour to discuss Jason’s journey from a player to running the sport worldwide, including his hopes for entry as an Olympic sport in Los Angeles 2028.

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Disputes and investigations expert, Jacqui Record, construction expert, Sena Gbedemah, and cybersecurity specialist, Kajen Subramoney, are joined by Bevan Farmer, Construction and Engineering Partner at Addleshaw in this latest episode to discuss the role of AI and its impact on expert evidence, cost implications in construction disputes, and their views on future trends.

Following the previous The Business Behind Sport episode, we continue our conversation on the club acquisition process, but this month we explore the investment and legal considerations.
Jonny Gray is joined by Tom Sheldon, Director at Ovation Corporate Finance, and Ben Hanglin, Partner at Onside Law to look at the deal structure, the legal contemplations throughout the process, and how to deal with any issues that may occur post-acquisition.

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