How to Lead a Premier League Football Club: Paul Barber OBE on Leadership, Governance, and Growing the Women's Game

This week's guest is Paul Barber OBE, Chief Executive and Deputy Chairman of Brighton & Hove Albion and non-executive director at Women in Football.

Paul has spent over 30 years in the game, working across the FA, EFL, Premier League clubs, and MLS with Vancouver Whitecaps. In this conversation, he opens up about what it actually takes to lead a modern football club – from managing pressure and making hundreds of decisions a month, to building culture across two sites and being visible to every member of staff.

This is a grounded, honest masterclass on leadership, governance, allyship, and long-term thinking in football.

1. Why football clubs are small businesses with huge impact
   Behind the Premier League spotlight, most clubs run with relatively small off-field teams, working seven days a week across stadium and training ground.
2. How corporate skills transfer to elite sport
   Paul's years at Barclays gave him rigorous training in planning, budgeting, management, and people development.

3. Composure, pressure and the 'acting skills' of a Football CEO
   Results swing, league tables change, pressure intensifies. Paul explains how he's learned to stay calm externally even when he feels exactly like the fans internally — and why consistency, perspective, and responsibility to his staff shape how he shows up on matchday and in crisis.

4. Building Europe's first purpose-built women's stadium
   Paul unpacks Brighton's bold plan to invest £75–80 million in a purpose-built stadium for their women's team — designed through a female performance lens and a different audience profile. He explains why this is both the right thing for athletes and a long-term business play, and how it can set a standard for other clubs.

5. Humour as a strategic leadership tool (with Jeff Mostyn)
   Through stories of former AFC Bournemouth chairman Jeff Mostyn — including hiding under a boardroom table and cutting tension in Premier League meetings — Paul shows how humour can defuse conflict, build relationships, and keep people going through intense periods like COVID.

6. Paul shares three practical tips for building a career in football
   Paul closes with three simple, powerful principles for anyone who wants to work in football and much more!

Link: https://www.linkedin.com/in/paul-barber-obe-164552a/

From Street Football to the Saudi Pro League: Lina Boussaha on Identity, Ubuntu, and What It Really Takes To be a Professional Footballer

This week's guest is professional footballer Lina Boussaha, currently playing for Al Ittihad in the Saudi Women's Professional League and representing the Algerian national team.

Lina opens up about a journey that began on the streets, playing alongside boys, and led to competing at the highest level of the women's game. She reflects on how those early years — unstructured, joyful, relentless — quietly built the technical ability, mental toughness, and identity that define her today.

This is a conversation about resilience, faith, curiosity, and what it really means to grow as both an athlete and a person. Lina's story is grounded, honest, and full of lessons that go well beyond football.

What You'll Discover

1. Why street football builds world-class players Playing for hours without a clock, without a coach, and without consequence gave Lina something structured training rarely can — close control, creativity, and an instinct for the game that became second nature.

2. How resilience is built before you know you're training Doing it "again and again and again" wasn't a regime. It was just football. But that repetition laid the mental foundations Lina would rely on at every level of her career.

3. Ubuntu and the Al Ittihad way I am because we are. How the spirit of Ubuntu and Al Ittihad's culture of unity shape Lina's understanding of teamwork and leadership — and why no player ever succeeds alone.

4. Keeping joy alive under pressure The shift from carefree street football to the demands of elite competition is real. Lina talks honestly about how to hold onto the love of the game when the stakes get higher.

5. Principles you can take into your own career From embracing discomfort to using your everyday environment as a training ground — practical, transferable lessons for anyone building a career in sport.

Connect with Lina:

Instagram: instagram.com/lina.boussaha

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Image Credit: @ittihadladiesclub

The Mind Behind the Game: Lili Iskandar's Journey to Professional Football

This week's podcast special guest is Lili Iskandar, professional football player, who plays as a forward for French club En Avant Guingamp and the Lebanon National Team.

1. What it takes to be a female professional football player

2.Why research matters in the development of women's football

3.Lili shares how getting out of her comfort zone was key to her football development

4. Lili explains the difference between being an amateur and professional football playe

5. You will learn Lili's passion for psychology and her latest football psychology research project

6. Lili shares the power of dreaming big with positive habits and much more

From Carli Lloyd To Rutgers: Glenn Crooks' 50 Years In Women's Football

This week's podcast special guest is with Glenn Crooks, soccer coach, broadcaster, and host of SiriusXM's The Coaching Academy.

With over 50 years in the game as a player, coach, and analyst, Glenn has seen the women's game transform from the ground up.

From calling NYCFC matches to building Rutgers University's Women's Football Programme over 14 years, and coaching the likes of Carli Lloyd and Tobin Heath, his insights are as rich as his career.

In this episode, we explore:

• What 50 years in soccer teaches you about the women's game
• Why language is the key to becoming a great soccer coach
• How Glenn built Rutgers University's women's programme over 14 years
• Glenn's passion for journalism and media in women's football
• What Tobin Heath and Carli Lloyd had in common that made them great football players
• Glenn's new book Put It On Frame — Volume 2 and much more.

• How to break into the football industry — with clarity, confidence, and a strategy that works
• The blog that started it all — how a simple online presence created real opportunities in football media
• From media to football management — the career transition that shaped her path to the boardroom
• Leadership in the spotlight — how Anush's leadership style has evolved as she steps into her role as CEO
• The growth mindset — why cultivating one isn't optional if you want to thrive at the top

Unlocking the Future of Sports Investing with Tommy Nordam Jensen

Why is women's sports the most exciting investment frontier right now?

This week, we sit down with Tommy Nordam Jensen, former professional volleyball player turned CEO of Pitch15, a purpose-built investment platform dedicated to unlocking the massive value in women's sports.

Inside the episode, we discuss:

• From Court to Boardroom: How a career in pro volleyball laid the perfect foundation for business success.

• The Next Big Wave: Why women's sports is the ultimate future of investment, and how Pitch15 is driving that change.

• Breaking In: Actionable advice on how to pursue a successful career in the women's sports ecosystem.

• The "Can-Do" Mindset: Why attitude and resilience are the ultimate keys to thriving in this fast-growing industry.

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tommyje/
• Website: https://pitch15.net/

She Played With the Boys in Lagos, Now Super Falcons Captain: The Rasheedat Ajibade OON Football Story

This week's podcast is with Rasheedat Ajibade OON, a powerhouse in Nigerian and world football. Captain of the Super Falcons, forward for PSG Féminines, and one of the most exciting players in the women's game today.

From playing street football with boys in Lagos to lifting trophies in Europe and leading Nigeria to a record 10th WAFCON title in 2025, Rasheedat brings an extraordinary first-hand perspective on what it truly takes to make it as a female professional footballer in Nigeria.

From the realities of growing up in Lagos with big dreams and limited pathways, to the mindset and resilience required to captain your country on the world's biggest stages, Rasheedat breaks down the roadmap for the next generation of Nigerian football stars.

Inside the Episode:

The Lagos Streets: How Rasheedat fell in love with football playing with boys in her neighbourhood and found her path to the professional game.

The Youth Journey: Representing Nigeria's U17 and U20 teams as captain, and what those formative years taught her about leadership and sacrifice.

The Leap to Europe: Securing her first professional contract in Norway and the courage it took to leave home and build a career abroad.

Rising Through the Game: From Spain's Copa de la Reina to PSG — how Rasheedat kept raising her own bar at every level.

Captaining Nigeria: Leading the Super Falcons at the 2024 Paris Olympics and to a historic 2025 WAFCON title, where she was named Player of the Competition.

What It Really Takes: The mindset, faith, and resilience needed to rise from street football in Lagos to the pinnacle of world football, and what that means for young girls in Nigeria today.

"Leadership, for me, is about selflessness. It's about putting myself on the line, prioritising the team's needs above my own. It's about service." -Rasheedat Ajibade OON

Connect with Rasheedat Ajibade:
🌐 Website: https://www.rasheedatajibade.com/
📋 Newsletter: https://super-falcons-mission-x.kit.com/
📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rasheedatt10/
▶ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@rasheedatajibade

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This week's podcast, is with Sarah Solémalé, a powerhouse in the world of sports law and international affairs.

With over 15 years of experience at FIFA, CAF, and European Football Clubs, Sarah brings an unparalleled insider's perspective on what it takes to govern the world's most popular sport.

From the technicalities of legal strategy to the "leap of faith" required to break into the Football Industry, Sarah breaks down the roadmap for the next generation of football leaders.

• The Lawyer's Toolkit: The essential skills you need to thrive in the complex world of sports law.

• The Leap of Faith: How to navigate the early stages of a career in football and stay resilient.

• Policy meets Ethics: Sarah shares how robust sports policy and ethical leadership must work in tandem to evolve football governance.

• The Growth of the Women's Game: Why women's football represents the most exciting frontier for the sport's future.

• Empowering Women in Football: Practical advice for women looking to pursue their ambitions in the fotball industry with confidence and much more.

• LinkedIn: Sarah Solémalé

• Instagram: @sf_solemale

"Football governance isn't just about rules; it's about the ethical leadership behind them."

Subscribe and listen now on your favorite platform!