Because Football

What if the cure for one of the loneliest eras in American life is already happening every Saturday at 3pm - in a supporters section, a soccer bar, a tifo?Matthew Barry didn't grow up chasing this game. He grew up half-Italian, watching his uncles nearly come to blows over Italy vs. France in 2006 — and it planted a question that never left him. Years later, a Master's thesis at Northwestern turned into Heart of a Fan: 30+ podcast episodes, 28 monthly journals, and a running study of what fandom — soccer, K-pop, Star Wars, doesn't matter — actually does for the people inside it.In this conversation, Matthew and Andrew dig into the real mechanics of belonging: why "bandwagon fan" is the wrong question and "how often do you show up" is the right one, why clubs claiming to represent a community have to actually stand by it (not just slap a slogan on a kit), the history of UK supporters' trusts and the Football Supporters Association, and what he's learned interviewing fans from Detroit to Guadalajara to Los Angeles about finding "rebellious joy" in a divided moment. This one goes deep into the human need underneath the sport.Connect with Matthew and the Heart of a Fan :⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/matthewdbarry19/https://www.heartofafan.org/Connect with Because Football here:⁠⁠https://www.youtube.com/@BecauseFootball_⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/becausefootball_/⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/baggaleyandrew/⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.linkedin.com/company/because-football-media/⁠⁠Need help with your content strategy and production? We can help.To get in contact with us, email becausefootballmedia [at] ⁠gmail.com⁠

Most people think selling tickets is about getting fans to buy seats. Joe Medcalf will tell you it's about connecting people with a great game day experience they didn’t know they were missing.In Episode 112 of the Because Football Podcast, we delve into how to sell the game to non-soccer fans. In this case, groups: schools, companies, youth soccer clubs, churches, etc. How can soccer become a meeting place for people to gather and be together?Joe is the senior group sales manager at New England Revolution — one of MLS's founding clubs, playing out of a 65,000-seat stadium that averages around 24,000 on a matchday - one of the highest in MLS. We talk about that gap, the Revs role in New England soccer landscape, and how that may change with the newly announced stadium closer to Boston.In this episode, Joe breaks down what professional football ticket sales actually looks like from the inside. We get into why group sales is the most insulated part of a club's revenue from on-field performance and why that is actually a huge advantage. We talk about the real pitch for families: convenience, parking, tailgating, and a matchday environment that feels more relaxed than a Patriots game. We dig into how you build trust with youth soccer organizations, schools, and community groups. And we talk honestly about the challenge of selling a regional identity when your club covers the whole of New England but your marketing budget pulls toward Boston.Joe also brings the full picture of what it was like to grow up following Hull City home and away with his family for ten years — and how that experience quietly shaped everything about how he thinks about the game day experience today.If you work in soccer ticket sales, run a club, or are trying to get more people through the gates, this one's worth your full attention.Connect with Joe and the New England Revolution here:https://www.linkedin.com/in/joe-medcalf-305b81106/https://www.revolutionsoccer.net/schedule/matchesConnect with Because Football here:⁠https://www.youtube.com/@BecauseFootball_⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/becausefootball_/⁠⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/baggaleyandrew/⁠⁠https://www.linkedin.com/company/because-football-media/⁠Need help with your content strategy and production? We can help.To get in contact with us, email becausefootballmedia [at] ⁠gmail.com⁠

What happens when a club just stops paying a player and hopes they'll go away? How are multi-million dollar contracts and transfers done? In Episode 111 of the Because Football Podcast, we delve into the obscure world of professional sports law, intellectual property, and the inner workings of contracts in pro football. As a partner at BrandSmiths in Manchester, David Seligman is one of the sharpest minds in football law, having worked deals involving Jeremy Frimpong's move to Liverpool, Moussa Dembele's transfer to Celtic, and transactions spanning the Bundesliga, La Liga, Serie A, MLS, Saudi Arabia, and even Kazakhstan.This episode lends insight into a critical - but often hidden - part of professional football and David shares how he supports players and brands in countries all over the world. David explains the legal world most fans never see: how contracts actually get drafted, what the Court of Arbitration for Sport looks like from the inside, why multi-club ownership might not be the villain it's painted as, and what the incoming UK football regulator could mean for the game.And, because we love a good underdog story on the Because Football Podcast, we hear why David supports Bury FC - through the ups and downs - and why he chose the club over global behemoths Manchester United and Manchester City, just down the road.Connect with David here:https://www.linkedin.com/in/david-seligman-29a43b50/Connect with Because Football here:⁠https://www.youtube.com/@BecauseFootball_⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/becausefootball_/⁠⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/baggaleyandrew/⁠⁠https://www.linkedin.com/company/because-football-media/⁠Need help with your content strategy and production? We can help.To get in contact with us, email becausefootballmedia [at] ⁠gmail.com⁠

Tommy Hodul has one job: tell Oakland's story. It just happens to be through the lens of soccer. In Episode 110 of the Because Football Podcast, we talk with Tommy Hodul, VP of Communications for Oakland Roots SC and Oakland Soul. He's a fan who became a club leader who's been doing it since day one — and what an incredible story it is!The key to this conversation lies in the role of the club in their community - a unique case among American soccer clubs that can sometime feel like they're on the periphery of local identity. Oakland Roots was built on a purpose statement — harness the magic of Oakland and the power of sports as a force for social good — and Tommy's job is to make sure every story they tell actually earns that.We get into what it took to draw the 7th-largest crowd in USL history (spoiler: free tickets for Oakland Public School kids, a minute's applause for Rickey Henderson, Too $hort at halftime, and a blessing from Ohlone elders). We talk about why transparency builds trust faster than spin ever could. And we dig into what it actually looks like inside a PR and comms operation week-to-week — the rhythm of game day, the weight of a coaching change, the art of telling a story that lands with a city as proud and protective as Oakland.This conversation will show you how to extend a love of place into a love of a club - and you'll be better for it.Connect with Tommy and Oakland Roots & Soul here:https://www.oaklandrootssc.com/https://www.instagram.com/oaklandrootsConnect with Because Football here:⁠https://www.youtube.com/@BecauseFootball_⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/becausefootball_/⁠⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/baggaleyandrew/⁠⁠https://www.linkedin.com/company/because-football-media/⁠Need help with your content strategy and production? We can help.To get in contact with us, email becausefootballmedia [at] ⁠gmail.com⁠

What happens when two artists show up at a ninth-tier English football club and say — we want to help, and we're not asking for money?In Episode 109 of the Because Football Podcast, we dive into one of the most uniques project in the world of football / soccer that is revitalizing a lower league club that has been all but forgotten.Ken Borg and Jonathan Kelham are the voluntary designer and artist in residence at Brislington FC in Bristol. One year into a project that started with a few flags on a grey corrugated wall, they've painted the stadium, built a website, launched a merch shop, posted flyers across the entire neighborhood (multiple times), landed a billboard campaign, ran a pop-up gallery-meets-club-shop, and - most impressively - convinced a committee of football volunteers to let two artists apply their creativity to breathe life back into the club. No other club has done this before, let alone in a grassroots way that positions the club as a community asset. There's no blueprint. They work a few hours on Fridays and weekends after their real day jobs. They scrounge money from local grants, receive in-kind gifts from local businesses, and get hand-me-downs from bigger clubs. Like all of our episodes, this one goes deeper than football, but it does so in a fascinating way at the intersection of people and design (and PROPER non-league football!).It's about what creativity can unlock when it shows up with no agenda except to give. It's about the gap between communities and the clubs that are supposed to represent them. And it's about what non-league football actually offers that the top of the pyramid never could — proximity, authenticity, and the feeling that a little can mean a lot.Connect with Jonathan, Ken, and Brislington FC here:Brislington InstagramBrislington FC Website : Residency ProjectKen Borg InstagramJonathan Kelham InstagramConnect with Because Football here:⁠⁠https://www.youtube.com/@BecauseFootball_⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/becausefootball_/⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/baggaleyandrew/⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.linkedin.com/company/because-football-media/⁠⁠Need help with your content strategy and production? We can help.To get in contact with us, email becausefootballmedia [at] ⁠gmail.com⁠