The Economics of Sport is founded in basic theory of supply and demand. 

The course will apply theory to real life cases within the industry, where the globalisation and growth of sport as a business and an increased focus on revenue generation has led to the commercialisation of all areas of sport from the grassroots up.   

At the end of course you will have heard from thought leaders in the field; from academia, international sports federations, world class teams, emerging sports and technology innovators. All of these stakeholders are aiming to monetise existing fans, appeal to new audiences and implement new technologies, while maintaining competition integrity to ultimately drive their bottom line. 

The Economics of Sport

    1. Introduction to the Economics of Sport. Professor Rob Wilson, Academic at Sheffield Business School and Academic Director, InSport Education

    2. Module 1: The sports market proposition. Dan Plumley, Sport Finance lecturer, Sheffield University

    3. Module 2: The US v Europe; modelling the global heavyweights. Kevin Kane, Senior Direct Client Strategy, NAVIGATE

    4. Module 3: Show me the money! Ben Peppi, Head of Sport at Barn Door UK & JMW Solicitors LLP

    5. Module 4: Investment leverage. Sport as an attractive investment proposition. Shubham Gandhi, Assistant Manager, BDO

    6. Module 5: Time to get away; the rise of breakaway competitions. Tim Wigmore, Daily Telegraph Sports Writer

    7. Module 6: The new kid on the block; new competitions, new formats. Rob Hillman, Director of Operations, The England and Wales Cricket Board and Barney Barnett, VP Partnership Management, LIV Golf

    8. Module 7: What’s that coming over the hill? Esports is speeding up. Patrick Collins, Founder of Leapfox Consulting, and Former Head of Commercial at Excel Esports

    9. Module 8: Be more than a fan; fan tokens and engagement. James Newman, Chief Corporate Affairs Officer, Chilliz, Socios

    10. Summary of The Economics of Sport. Professor Rob Wilson, Academic at Sheffield Business School and Academic Director, InSport Education

About this course

  • £269.00
  • 10 lessons
  • 7.5 hours of video content

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Professor Rob Wilsion

Academic, Sheffield Business School, Academic Director InSport Education

Rob is Head of Department at Sheffield Business School and a leading sport finance expert and football business consultant. He has more than 20 years’ experience in the sport business sector and brings a wealth of experience as a creative educator. Rob specialises in financial reporting, management accounting and economic decision-making processes in sport organisations. Alongside his teaching interests, he has published 5 books and has a prolific media profile.

Dan Plumley

Sport Finance Lecturer, Sheffield Hallam University

Dan’s research area of expertise centres on the economics and finance of professional team sports. This stretches topics such as the financial health of sport teams, ownership structure, competitive balance of leagues and competitions, financial regulatory frameworks, and governance. He is a regular commentator in the media on such matters and actively consults in this space with professional sport teams and organisations.

Kevin Kane profile

Senior Director of Data Strategy, NAVIGATE

Kevin Kane leads Navigate’s football strategy unit having experience with dozens of engagements with MLS & Liga MX clubs, Chelsea FC, and advised 8-figure soccer investments for brands. He authored a whitepaper for MLS on the future growth of soccer in the U.S., which is the authoritative data-driven showcase for the trajectory of the league and sport. Kevin also specialises in the valuation of naming rights, jerseys, multimedia rights, social media, and all other commercial assets across pro and college sports. Beyond football, he has valued over $500M in sponsorships for premier clients, including Oracle, Toyota, Philadelphia Eagles, Formula E and many more. In 2020, Kevin was named to Front Office Sports’ Rising 25 list of young industry leaders. Born in Chicago, he received his B.A. in Marketing from Miami University.

Ben Peppi

Head of Sport at Barn Door UK and JMW Solicitors

Ben Peppi, Head of Sport at Barn Door UK and JMW solicitors. Ben has worked in sport over the last decade and started his career at Base Soccer Agency (now CAA Base) where he became one of the youngest FA Licensed Agents in the UK. He then moved to Lagardère Sports (SportFive) to work across their global commercial and sponsorship rights portfolio. He is now Head of Sport Services at leading national law firm, JMW Solicitors, where he provides commercial advisory services to clients. Within his role, Ben runs Barn Door UK, JMW’s award-winning online platform connecting over 200 athletes and investors, with consumer-facing new business and active commercial opportunities. Ben’s work in sport sees him keynote and comment in public for various media outlets, including Sky Sports, BBC, CNN and The Athletic.

Shubham Gandhi

Assistant Manager, BDO Professional Sport Group

Shubham Gandhi, Assistant manager at BDO in their Professional Sport Group, who provide a tailored service to meet the unique needs and challenges of the sports industry across a number of advisory services. His career started when he completed his Masters in Sports Business Management from Manchester Metropolitan University before moving to India to become a Chartered Accountant. He worked for Deloitte in India for three years before coming back to the UK to BDO. At BDO his focus has been on auditing, working with over 20 football clubs globally including the Premier League’s top six.

Tim Wigmore

Sportswriter, Daily Telegraph

Tim Wigmore is a sportswriter from the Telegraph and author of several books on sport with cricket taking a key focus. Tim’s latest book, Crickonomics, written with Stefan Symanski has already been shortlisted for the Sunday Times Sport Book of the Year and the Cricket Society and MCC book of the year. Tim blends a keen interest in economics with sport.

Barney Barnett

VP Partnerships, LIV Golf Investments

Barney started his career in sports at Fast Track, part of CSM, working with Lucozade Sport across the Premier League, England Rugby and the London Marathon. He then moved to Red Bull racing, where his last role was Head of Partnerships working with brands including TAG Heuer, PUMA, Pirelli, Mobil 1, Heineken and more, winning one world championship. He started at Liv Golf in 2022, at the beginning of their journey.

Rob Hillman

Director of Operations, England and Wales Cricket Board

Rob started his career at IMG, and as Events Director worked on the Indian Premier League the Mubadala World Tennis Championship, Abu Dhabi and The Masters Tennis at The Royal Albert Hall. He then moved to the role chief operating officer at the human race, the UK’s leading mass participation events company, putting on events each year in triathlon, cycling, and running. He has worked at the ECB since 2018 and is currently the Director of Operations.

Patrick Collins

Founder, Laapfox Consutling

Leapfox’s Founder, Patrick Collins, has worked within commercial development, strategy & partnerships for over 15 years. In this time, he has worked for three Premier League football clubs, a global sports marketing agency & the leading UK esports team. Patrick has worked with everyone from leading financial services brands such as Barclays & Santander to globally recognised apparel brands including Under Armour & Puma, & everyone in between. After a successful career in traditional sport, in 2019 Patrick had an incredible opportunity to join Excel Esports, one of the leading UK organisations, to create & lead the commercial & partnerships function. Having lived & breathed competitive gaming at Excel, Patrick saw the rise in popularity & interest from brands first-hand, & so in early 2022, he saw an opportunity to create a boutique agency where he can leverage his expertise & intricate knowledge of the commercial & gaming worlds to the benefit of all parties. Leapfox was born.

James Newman

Chief Corporate Affairs Officer, Chiliz

James joined the management team at sports web3 leader Chiliz in 2022 to lead and build a corporate affairs function as the blockchain industry moves towards broader adoption and regulation in the coming years. James has worked in strategic comms and stakeholder engagement for technology companies in gaming, social media, and online gambling for more than 15 years and is a board member for professional sports teams and a mental health charity.