In the past week the world of Hockey has been focussed on India and the rebirth of the Hockey India League. It is a challenge to launch such a league, but to resurrect a competition comes with a whole set of different challenges.

On this podcast we catch up with one of the men who was tasked with relaunching the League, Ravneet Gill whose company Big Bang Marketing have the exclusive commercial rights to the League. Hopefully this conversation will give fans a greater insight into the challenges faced and the plans moving forward in future years. With the Men’s and Women’s auction having taken place fans can now look forward to the competition starting in late December.

In our topics under discussion, Ashley raises two that came up in discussion at a wake. Should Australia’s famous baggy green cap be reserved only to the Australian men’s cricket team? The two were in agreement on this one! Also, should T20 players be given full international recognition, or should T20 representation be the equivalent of A internationals? John throws up another issue in terms of the duration of games and the size of the playing surface.

John looks ahead at the 2032 Olympic Games scheduled for Brisbane and asks what is going on? He asks has Australia been sold a pup? Has there been enough thought behind Brisbane putting their hand up to host the Olympic Games, what will be the final cost to the city?

Next year Not The Footy Show will celebrate 20 years. Let us know who you would like us to try and talk to in our 20th year and if you would like us to keep going for another ten years.

If you don’t want to miss a post or a podcast subscribe to Not The Footy Show on our home page. Almost 2000 people have. All you need do is insert your email address and then you will receive an email update whenever a new post or podcast is posted. Rest assured we will not pass on your information! Also please feel free to share your thoughts and the Podcast.

Remember you can email us with suggestions for topics to be discussed. If there is a topic or a guest that you would like us to feature, please contact us.

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Thank you to everyone who tuned into the last show which was one of our most listened to Podcasts, and hopefully has changed the way you approach life or even coaching.

If you enjoyed that podcast we are confident that you will really enjoy listening to our special guest on this show, Brian Miller who has attended 11 Olympic Games but was in Paris in a different role than usual. Under discussion is the value of an Olympic medal and whether team sport get a bad wrap as they are only worth one medal. Brian in his role as a board member of Athletics Australia also discusses Australia’s second best ever performance in Track and Field in Paris.

In our topics under discussion, John asks if the Olympics are forgotten now that they have gone, and is the Paralympic Games suffering by following the event? Should the two be working closer together to maximise the exposure for our athletes? John also questions the ‘defection’ of Australian Olympic medallist Matt Richardson after Paris to compete for Great Britain, the land of his birth.

Ashley carries on from a point made by Brian that all sports need to be aware of the lure of the mighty dollar as other sports look to poach talented athletes and then up-skill them to suit that particular sport. This being currently very prevalent in Women’s sports. How many talented sports people switch from their first love and end up excelling in another sport?

Another question that is thrown up is should juniors be training at 5.30 in the morning?

Ashley would like to apologise that he said Phil Neale played for Bradford City, when he played for Lincoln City!

If you don’t want to miss a post or a podcast subscribe to Not The Footy Show on our home page. Almost 2000 people have. All you need do is insert your email address and then you will receive an email update whenever a new post or podcast is posted. Rest assured we will not pass on your information! Also please feel free to share your thoughts and the Podcast.

Remember you can email us with suggestions for topics to be discussed. If there is a topic or a guest that you would like us to feature, please contact us.

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First of all apologies for the time between podcasts but a family bereavement too priority. So this show is slightly longer than normal. We are sure that you will find that it was well worth the wait as we have a fantastic guest lined up who is asking you to Unthink, and chaneg teh way you do things in life, but that could easily be transferred to sport.

That special guest is Great Britain Olympian and Hockey medallist Sarah Thomas. Sarah has transitioned into the business world and along with German hockey international Janne Muller Weiland and Ross McClelland has set up a compnay called Unthink a company that has been Shortlisted for Start-Up Entrepreneur of the Year 2024 in Great Britain.

The company was born out of the Covid pandemic and is now making great inroads into the business world and is trying to change the traditional learning processes, hence the name. In our conversation we look at how having been involved in sport at the highest level and in a team environment this could well be introduced in a high performance environment. The whole idea of changing the way things are done in business is proving refreshing. Trust and respcect for those you work with have come to the fore, and the fact that you do not have to like them. It is a really refreshing approach, and after listening we are sure that you are going to want to go on the dirt tracks rather than the highway.

https://www.weunthink.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/love-sundays-again-resampled-2.mp4

In the topics under discussion John and Ashley look back at the Olympics and being of an older generation both felt like many that this year’s event was lacking something. Was it simply that there are too many events and it is almost impossible to stay across them all? Was it the actual coverage we as viewers were shown? Ashley touches on the success of African athletes, and how many are not representing African nations. Breakdancing also is discussed and how many in the sport did not want it to be a part of the Olympic Games, and Rachel Gunn’s academic paper is well worth aread on this topic. Also a white ball on a blue pitch in sulight was never a good idea.

John then looks at the commercial that was running in Australia to convince the public that they need to stand up to the Government in relation to anti-siphoning regulations. Is this really a push for the people of Australia or one purely for the TV Stations to make more money.

“Not the footy show podcast number 130. A podcast that looks at sports from all angles of the game, athletes, administration and more.”

If you don’t want to miss a post or a podcast subscribe to Not The Footy Show on our home page. Almost 2000 people have. All you need do is insert your email address and then you will receive an email update whenever a new post or podcast is posted. Rest assured we will not pass on your information! Also please feel free to share your thoughts and the Podcast.

Remember you can email us with suggestions for topics to be discussed. If there is a topic or a guest that you would like us to feature, please contact us.

Find all our podcasts on iTunes

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In this show our special guest is author Lucas Gillard who talks about his latest book “George Best Down Under.” The book looks at the four main trips that the great Northern Ireland and Manchester United player made to Australia and how each was so very different in terms of where he was in his life and his career, and also how he was received. Copies can be purchased online here .

In the topics under discussion Ashley looks at the way talent is being identified today via trials rather than coaches actually scouting talent. To make matters worse in some sports the administrators are charging players who wish to attend trials for state representative teams, and then when selected they are again expected to pay to represent their state. Is this right? If a State cannot afford to heavily subsidise such teams surely they should not attempt to field a side in that age group? Equally worrying is hearing that three sports board members have delayed the announcement of a State team being announced because their child has not been selected. Does this who area need to be looked at and a better model put in place?

After cracking one of his best quips John turns his attention to Olympic selection and how only two are chosen when multiple athletes have achieved a qualifying time. Once again the Court of Arbitration for Sport is once again going to be busy, but should they be? Do the athletes need to understand the rules or is it the sport that needs to make the process clearer. Or are such events about having the best in the world competing or is it more important to have representatives from around the world competing even though they are not the top competitors in their sport? Does it really matter where an athlete comes from, surely they can inspire people in other nations apart from their own?

If you don’t want to miss a post or a podcast subscribe to Not The Footy Show on our home page. Almost 2000 people have. All you need do is insert your email address and then you will receive an email update whenever a new post or podcast is posted. Rest assured we will not pass on your information! Also please feel free to share your thoughts and the Podcast.

Remember you can email us with suggestions for topics to be discussed. If there is a topic or a guest that you would like us to feature, please contact us.

Find all our podcasts on iTunes

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Mental health has become a big issue in sport in recent years. Yet are many of the issues being branded as a mental health problem are to many not really deserving of being labelled as such.

We have been trying to find a sports psychologist willing to discuss this issue. Many declined the opportunity, but we are very pleased to say that esteemed sports Psychologist Sandy Gordon from Performance Perspectives International.

Sandy explains the difference between mental health and mental illness and warns of the perils of labelling some of the issues facing athletes today as Mental Health issues. He discusses the dangers of building a young athlete’s identity around their chosen sport and reveals that this has been identified and hence athlete’s are encouraged to also continue studying or another aspect of their lives being developed. How much is the focus on winning contributing to these mental health issues, and indirectly are our Governments to blame for creating a set up where funding is based on winning? Hopefully our discussion will lead to further discussions within sport that make it a better environment for all. (Here is a link to one of the books recommended – Good Sport)

Ashley turns his attention to the news that World Athletics is going to give financial rewards to its Olympic gold medallists in Paris. The announcement angered many other sporting federations but will it result in a change? The IOC reportedly made $7.6Bn in revenue between 2017 and 2021. They redistribute 90% of their income to National Olympic Committees and International Federations, World Athletics has opted to return that revenue to the athletes that have generated it, will others follow suit?

Moving on from Sandy’s interview we look at coaches and are they there for the players or themselves? Also is the current funding model the best way to decide which sports receive funding? Or is it in fact contributing to the problem? Is this the price of professional sport and has making it a full time job taken the joy out of the game for those playing. In addition how much has coaching killed the freedom afforded the players?

If you don’t want to miss a post or a podcast subscribe to Not The Footy Show on our home page. Almost 2000 people have. All you need do is insert your email address and then you will receive an email update whenever a new post or podcast is posted. Rest assured we will not pass on your information! Also please feel free to share your thoughts and the Podcast.

Remember you can email us with suggestions for topics to be discussed. If there is a topic or a guest that you would like us to feature, please contact us.

Find all our podcasts on iTunes

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The celebrations are over as we move onto show number 551, and as usual plenty to discuss with another special guest on a slightly longer than normal show.

Perth Glory has a new owner after over 20 years under Tony Sage. Only the diehard fans have stuck with the team through what have been some turbulent times. We catch up with Brand Consultant David Mitchell (dna-rB) to look at what the new owner Ross Pelligra is going to have to do to win the fans back and lift the club back to former levels of success. David also talks about F1, an area he knows well and looks at the damage currently being done to the Red Bull brand.

In the topics under discussion Ashley looks at Optus stadium which was Government funded and asks why is the Government putting it’s hand in its pocked to to subsidise so many events at the stadium? Surely those running the venue should be out there selling the benefits of performing at this venue rather than having to lean on Government funding when it comes to hosting events. He also questions the prudence of hosting AC Milan and AS Roma straight after the Serie A Season ends; and is a little disparaging to both teams. Will the stadium be full for this game?

John opts for a range of topics rather than just one. First up he turns his attention to the NRL who took a league game to Las Vegas. Do they have the best chance of any football code of cracking the American market? Next up is the “Pool of Death,” and once again Australia finds itself being in this dreaded group. If it is the best of the best competing surely every group is a “Pool of Death?” John then looks at how Fair Game UK – guests on Podcast #125 – has now had a small victory with the new Football Governance Bill in the UK. He then moves onto whether the Olympic Games will in fact be hosted by Brisbane in 2032.

If you don’t want to miss a post or a podcast subscribe to Not The Footy Show on our home page. Almost 2000 people have. All you need do is insert your email address and then you will receive an email update whenever a new post or podcast is posted. Rest assured we will not pass on your information! Also please feel free to share your thoughts and the Podcast.

Remember you can email us with suggestions for topics to be discussed. If there is a topic or a guest that you would like us to feature, please contact us.

Find all our podcasts on iTunes

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Welcome to our 550th show!!

We look back on why the show was created and celebrate a woman who has led the way in terms of coaching women’s football, Nicola Williams. Nicola was the first coach of the Perth Glory women’s team and has since coached in Italy, Trinidad and Tobago, Papua New Guniea and the United Kingdom. Showing that there is a career for women in coaching.

In the topics under discussion Ashley focuses on the Governance of sport, one of his pet issues. He looks at the A Leagues Management and asks whether their board were really keeping an eye on expenditure as they should have? Is it time that the members of the A-League clubs asked for more transparency? He also looks at Hockey Australia and asks how despite a proposed move for the administration from Melbourne to Perth when the 135million development for Hockey’s high performance centre is completed why staff are still being employed in Melbourne. Also why following the report into the Australian National Women’s High Performance three years on key recommendations have not been put in place. Are these Board members truly overseeing the running of these sports and acting in their best interests.

Meanwhile John turns his attention to the NFL and asks why the MVP award always seems to go the quarterback? He also questions whether they really are the best player, as often they can only perform when those around them are on top of their game. He then poses the question is sport the last place in society where there is a meritocracy?

If you don’t want to miss a post or a podcast subscribe to Not The Footy Show on our home page. Almost 2000 people have. All you need do is insert your email address and then you will receive an email update whenever a new post or podcast is posted. Rest assured we will not pass on your information! Also please feel free to share your thoughts and the Podcast.

Remember you can email us with suggestions for topics to be discussed. If there is a topic or a guest that you would like us to feature, please contact us.

Find all our podcasts on iTunes

Find all our podcasts on iTunes

Happy New Year! . Welcome to our 549th show in our 19th year thank you to all those who have stuck with us on this journey.

If you care about football this is one interview you do not want to miss!

To start 2024 we are catching up with Niall Coupar the CEO of Fair Game in the United Kingdom who are looking to try and get football back on track. With an astounding statistic that 64 of the 92 clubs in the top four divisions have gone into administration since the Premier League was created shows that the state of the game is not in a good place. Fair Games has attracted experts in various sectors who have not only identified the problems within the game, but also unlike many who have done that have also come up with some solutions to make clubs once again sustainable. One of the key factors is the removal of rogue owners who are stripping clubs and alienating the communities that they represent. With 34 clubs committed to what Fair Game is trying to do there is a strength in numbers and as an independent body there is a real chance that change may well happen, change that could save many of the tradition community clubs. Trust us every football fan should listen to what Fair Game are doing or check out their website. (Fair Game UK) Does Australia need a similar body to help the game?

As this is the first show of 2024 there are plenty of topics to discuss. John bemoans the fact that sponsors logos have taken centre stage when it comes to cricket, while Ashley raises again the naming rights of national teams and who makes this decision and how the public feel about these companies being attached to our national teams. He also questions the hyperbole surrounding Nathan Lyon’s 500th Test wicket and David Warner’s retirement and the current commentators recency bias. Ashley asks how Football Australia’s new Socceroos brand advert shows a lack of understanding as to how DNA works.

After the interview with Niall there is a discussion as to how football has found itself in such a position. Is this why the possibility of a Super League for Europe’s big clubs stays alive? John questions whether these big clubs need their traditional fan base any more, or are they looking at the fans and money available outside the countries that they currently compete in.

If you don’t want to miss a post or a podcast subscribe to Not The Footy Show on our home page. Almost 2000 people have. All you need do is insert your email address and then you will receive an email update whenever a new post or podcast is posted. Rest assured we will not pass on your information! Also please feel free to share your thoughts and the Podcast.

Remember you can email us with suggestions for topics to be discussed. If there is a topic or a guest that you would like us to feature, please contact us.

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A slightly longer show than normal as plenty to discuss with two World Cups coming to an end.

Imagine training hard for an Olympic, Paralympic, or Commonwealth Games and just being pipped for a medal, that must be soul destroying. Imagine then hearing that one of those who beat you have had their medal taken off them following a failed test for illegal substance. Now you have a medal, but you have missed the chance to take your place on the podium. So how do you receive your medal? Our guest on this show is para-lifter Ben Wright and he explains what will now happen. He also discusses how he is travelling in terms of qualification for the Paris 2024 Paralympics, which he felt had a hiccup in Woollongong, but in truth saw him still perform well.

John turns his attention to the recently finished Cricket and Rugby World Cups, and asks what have we learned from both? Does Rugby need to look at its rule book again, and also the role of the video referee? Certainly there needs to be a review of the way decisions have been made. As for the Cricket World Cup, some may ask why it took so long to reach its conclusion, and one that saw no real surprises come the semi-finals. How much of a part did the pitches play? How important was it to win the toss? With first nations investing millions into their programs is there ever going to be an opportunity for any other nation to crash the party?

Ashley then looks at a comment made to him by a sports administrator who was relieved that their side did not make the finals series as it would save them expenditure. He asks if teams cannot afford to travel across the country for finals should the sport revert to a league table format? Or should the fans and the players be asking why knowing the cost the administrators have not generated the revenue to cover the cost of competing in the finals? Surely success has the potential to pull in more money?

Also under discussion is the financial fair play cases going on in the United Kingdom and how far the penalties will go.

If you don’t want to miss a post or a podcast subscribe to Not The Footy Show on our home page. Almost 2000 people have. All you need do is insert your email address and then you will receive an email update whenever a new post or podcast is posted. Rest assured we will not pass on your information! Also please feel free to share your thoughts and the Podcast.

Remember you can email us with suggestions for topics to be discussed. If there is a topic or a guest that you would like us to feature, please contact us.

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How many of us have dreamt of represnting our nation at any sport, to have that moment where we can say we represented our country?

On this show we catch up with one of our youngest guests ever. Molly Baker took up the sport of Curling less than a year ago and already at the age of 14 she is representing Australia in December in Finland. What makes her story all the more remarkable is she lives in Perth, Western Australia, a city with one of the highest amounts of daily sunlight in the world. So how did this all come about? We are very grateful to Molly for sharing her story with us, and wish her all the best for the future.

Ashley has just returned from commentating at the Asian Games and his topic for this show is something that he noticed at the Games, an increase in the number of VIPs stepping forward to present athletes with medals at such events, and it would also appear that some are looking to steal the limelight from the real heroes, the athletes. As mentioned previously fans do not pay to see these individuals, they come to celebrate the sporting stars. Is it therefore time that we saw some leadership and these ceremonies were trimmed back to being short, slick affairs, as they were in years gone by. Time to trim the dignitaries?

John turns his attention to the Cricket World Cup and asks whether this event has highlighted that the centralised contract has had its day. Gone are the days that players are being picked on form, as the top players have become part of a very exclusive club that is just as hard to get out of as it is to get in. How much has this centralised system damaged attendances at Sheffield Shield or County Cricket? There is already too much international cricket, and now with T20 being included in the Olympic program there is going to be even more. Rather than trying to stretch the squad of centrally contracted players surely the sport has to go back to selecting those players who are in form?

If you don’t want to miss a post or a podcast subscribe to Not The Footy Show on our home page. Almost 2000 people have. All you need do is insert your email address and then you will receive an email update whenever a new post or podcast is posted. Rest assured we will not pass on your information! Also please feel free to share your thoughts and the Podcast.

Remember you can email us with suggestions for topics to be discussed. If there is a topic or a guest that you would like us to feature, please contact us.

Find all our podcasts on iTunes