THE BREAKDOWN: Should the Olympics Pay Athletes, The Problem Facing Women’s Football, & F1 Lands Another Mega Deal (E22)

THE BREAKDOWN: Should the Olympics Pay Athletes, The Problem Facing Women’s Football, & F1 Lands Another Mega Deal (E22)

From Business of Sport by Charlie and Harry Stebbings

June 5, 2026 · 1h 28m

About this episode

The episode discusses athlete pay at the Olympics, the challenges facing women's football, and recent developments in F1 sponsorship.

It’s a huge week so let’s go. Athlete pay. We haven’t been able to escape it in recent weeks and with IOC President Kirsty Coventry’s recent comments suggesting there would be no change to her stance on athletes earning money at the Olympics, we go head first into the why and what should happen when an organisation that generation generates €8 billion euros in revenue per cycle and doesn’t pay the key contributors. Add to that a long awaited venture in to the health of women’s football, and a commercial deep dive into the incredible world of F1 sponsorship after Gucci’s announcement as Alpine’s title sponsor, and we have ourselves a breakdown. Disclaimer: The content of this podcast is intended as commentary and opinion on matters of public interest in the sports industry. While we make every effort to ensure accuracy, figures, statistics, and financial data referenced may be based on publicly available estimates and could be subject to error or change. Nothing in this podcast should be taken as a statement of fact. If you believe any information is inaccurate, please contact us at ⁠charlie@20vc.com⁠ and we will endeavour to correct the record promptly. We’re delighted to partner…

People in this episode

Hosts: Charlie Stebbings, Harry Stebbings

Topics covered

  • Athlete pay
  • Women's football
  • F1 sponsorship
  • Olympics
  • Sports industry commentary

Keywords

  • Olympics
  • athlete compensation
  • women's football
  • F1 sponsorship
  • Kirsty Coventry
  • Gucci
  • Alpine
  • sports revenue

Sponsors

Obelisk Sports Agency, Global Institute Of Sport

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: IOC, Gucci, Alpine

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