About this episode
Stefan Szymanski discusses the financial challenges faced by professional soccer teams despite their global popularity.
Soccer has a massive following around the world. So why do teams lose money? Stefan Szymanski is professor of sport management at the University of Michigan and a leading sports economist. He joins host Krys Boyd to discuss why, with all the money and sponsorships and hype around professional soccer teams, they operate on thin margin and how “moneyball” style analytics could change the game. His book, written with co-author Simon Kuper, is “ Soccernomics (2026 World Cup Edition): Why European Men and American Women Usually Winand American Men Don’t (Yet) .” Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices
People in this episode
Host: Krys Boyd
Guest: Stefan Szymanski
Topics covered
- soccer economics
- sports management
- moneyball analytics
- professional sports
- team finances
Keywords
- soccer
- economics
- sports
- analytics
- team finances
- Soccernomics
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: University of Michigan
Books & works: Soccernomics (2026 World Cup Edition): Why European Men and American Women Usually Win and American Men Don’t (Yet)
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