Expected Goals

This week Matt and Maggie are joined by a special guest, Jonas Baer-Hoffmann, who is the former General Secretary of FIFPro, the representative body for more than 65,000 professional men’s and women’s football players. So it's the perfect chance to answer all your questions on arguably the most important stakeholder in the women's football ecoystem: the players. The podcasts focuses on three areas: The power dynamic between players and clubs, leagues and governing bodies - where does that currently lie? How much of a role female footballers should be playing outside of playing to promote the sport? The tension between giving female footballers the compensation they deserve, and financial sustainability in the club game in particular. If you're enjoying the podcast, please give us a like and a review! It will help us become more discoverable. Expected Goals is an Unofficial Partner production. Get in touch by emailing [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

With reports that the second-tier league in England, the Championship, is set to be rebranded as the WSL2, Maggie and Matt take a look at the rationale behind it, whether branding experts believe it’s a good idea, and what can be learnt from women’s leagues and clubs who have changed their identity. They also give an update on the Independent Review into women’s football chaired by Karen Carney following last week's ITV documentary, and answer a listener question about how fans can use their own pocket money to support the growth of women's football. If you're enjoying the podcast, please give us a like and a review! It will help us become more discoverable. Expected Goals is an Unofficial Partner production. Get in touch by emailing [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Are we seeing a popularity and therefore commercial contest developing between the NWSL and WSL? This was suggested in a recent article from Mike Darcey, the former COO of Sky in the UK, who compared the domestic broadcast deals for the two leagues. Maggie and Matt are at hand to analyse. They also look at why almost all the main women's fantasy football platforms are run by unofficial providers and not the official competitions themselves, and answer a listener question about refereeing - how good the pathways and incentives are for people to become football referees, in particular women. If you're enjoying the podcast, please give us a like and a review! It will help us become more discoverable. Expected Goals is an Unofficial Partner production. Get in touch by emailing [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This week's episode of Expected Goals was recorded live at Edgbaston, home of Warwickshire County Cricket Club, at the launch of Bears Women on November 20. Bears Women will be one of eight professional women's cricket teams competing in new regional "tier one" competitions from 2025, meaning for the first time, a professional Warwickshire women’s team will compete alongside the men’s. Maggie and Matt took the chance to see what football can learn from the approach Warwickshire are taking to the new Bears Women side - covering everything from branding, fan experience, merchandising, leadership and culture. If you're enjoying the podcast, please give us a like and a review! It will help us become more discoverable. Expected Goals is an Unofficial Partner production. Get in touch by emailing [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Twitter, now known as X, has played an important role in the promotion and growth of women's football across the last decade. So what would an exodus of accounts and users mean for the game? Matt and Maggie take a detailed look, with the help of a Mary Earps social media case study. They also look at attendances in the Women's Super League and Championship for the weekend just gone, with both leagues playing all games in club's "main stadia" for the first time. If you're enjoying the podcast, please give us a like and a review! It will help us become more discoverable. Expected Goals is an Unofficial Partner production. Get in touch by emailing [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices