Are You Not Entertained?

This week’s Goal Own Goal is a special World Cup edition that starts with Trump somehow picking a public fight with Giorgia Meloni and ends with England suddenly playing like a 1990s Premier League side under Tuchel instead of suffering through another Southgate straitjacket. Grant and Roger chew over England–Croatia, the weird thrill of not knowing which England will turn up, the fine art of not antagonising Italian women, and why “results merchants” on the touchline eventually get found out when the football stops being any fun. Brough to you by Lockeroom

In Season 3 of The Captain’s Table, the Captain is focusing on meetings the leaders of the international sports industry - to find out what their own passions for sport really are and the lessons in leadership they have learnt from working in the industry. In the first episode of the new Season, we are joined by Alan Gilpin - CEO of World Rugby. Brought to you by The Sponsorship Doctor and Fortnum & Mason.

Roger Mitchell: In this episode of The Confessional, Roger Mitchell sits down with Tal Brown — Israeli-born Silicon Valley AI entrepreneur, former army intelligence tech architect, and the man behind Zone7’s groundbreaking injury-prediction platform — for a deeply human conversation about integrity, sacrifice, and what it costs to chase your ambitions across continents. A true “third culture kid,” Tal reflects on leaving family behind to go build in the Bay Area, and the reality of being an Israeli and a Jew in 2026. Tal (and Roger) also reflect on selling B2B sportech into a sector that often doesn’t actually have the desire to change. This alone is essential listening for all those hoping to make a career in sport innovation. Raw, honest, principled, and quietly philosophical — this one stays with you. Brought to you by Lockroom.

Grant and Roger open with a heartfelt tribute to Matty Cutler, the quietly brilliant sports‑biz pioneer who helped spark this whole project. From there they dive into shadow banking and private equity creeping through sport’s finances, before landing on the U.S. Olympic hockey furore, media echo chambers, DEI rollbacks and a brutally honest question: has multicultural “integration” actually worked, or is sport just the latest battlefield in a culture war nobody’s winning? Brought to you by PEDL Labs.

Grant and Roger tackle declining NBA appeal and fractured sports media rights at breakneck speed. But the real meat: Why are we tanking fan engagement everywhere? VAR theatre, empty stadiums, ticket chaos, polarized discourse—all while missing the actual product. F1 drivers in revolt and Chelsea chant blowups creating the Streisand Effect. Then the Olympics hit different: women dominate (Brida, the skiers, curling drama with the Canadians), but one catastrophically unqualified Italian commentator reminds us that merit’s dead. And traffic betting—because why not? Short version: sport’s eating itself. Brought to you by PEDL Labs.

Grant and Roger kick off 2026 in chaos—Brooks returns to the PGA, Bryson demands are eye watering, and the golf majors are now the only game that matters. Football’s imploding: VAR’s still broken, Chelsea’s new manager’s already doomed, Tottenham can’t stop losing, and the MCO’s circling the drain. Scottish football hires a charity worker, tennis gets weird, Luke Littler turns heel, and Walter Payton breaks hearts. Classic GOG: here for the madness. Brought to you by PEDL Labs

In this episode of The Confessional, Roger Mitchell sits down with Eddie Pepperell, one of golf’s most thoughtful and unconventional voices, for a searching and challenging conversation about the game, and his own motivations within it. Both Roger and Eddie are known for speaking the truth without filter, and this comes out fully in what is a remarkable conversation, that will for sure polarise opinions. Sponsored by PEDL Labs

The legendary John Skipper enters the Confessional to address the six questions. The conversation is beautiful and controversial, and certainly not consistent-“Consistency is the hobgoblin of the small mind”. Much of the debate touches on American politics and Trump. Big Media and Big Tech are the bidders for sports rights and how they operate under this administration is key to the future of our industry. For example, the fate of WBD and who Trump will allow to own it. Sponsored by PEDL Labs.