Table of Contents

• Which celebrities own an NWSL team?

• Real Madrid’s blueprint for building and leading a …

• Top Tickers

• When to sell your stocks

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Which celebrities own an NWSL team?

Increases in the value of the women’s soccer league teams make investments attractive

This year, the National Women’s Super League (NWSL) franchise based in Los Angeles was valued at $180million (£143m) by sports business experts of Sportico. It has been interpreted that Chelsea could target an investment that would value their women’s side at $200m.

Dan Plumley, a senior lecturer in sport finance at Sheffield Hallam University (where I studied, btw), says the growth of the game in England and future valuations will be led by commercial, broadcasting and matchday revenue success in the next few years. And just as Chelsea are using Angel City as a financial guiding light, the WSL can use the NWSL similarly.

“The success of the U.S. is linked to the broadcasting deal being six times higher than the WSL one,” he says. “That is also linked to the leveraging, the profile and the celebrity influencers, as well as the investment proposition for different people to get involved in a sport that has real potential.

“We’ll probably see further investment (in WSL clubs) — but crucially, that will be tied to future revenue growth.”

The NWSL is experiencing rapid growth, and there's no shortage of big names that want to get involved with the pro sports league.

Many celebrities (from Patrick Mahomes and Kevin Durant to Natalie Portman and Serena Williams) are investing in NWSL franchises, especially after the league recently inked a four-year, $240 million rights deal with ESPN, Prime Video, CBS Sports and Scripps Sports.

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Real Madrid’s blueprint for building and leading an exceptional team

Principles of visionary leadership, strategic talent development, and maintaining a strong cultural identity

Real Madrid's recent triumph in the Champions League, securing their record-extending 15th title, is a testament to the club's strategic brilliance and unwavering determination. As Real continues to thrive under Perez's visionary leadership, the club's future looks brighter than ever, with a young, talented squad poised to sustain their dominance. Their journey exemplifies how strategic management and forward-thinking investments can elevate a sports institution to unparalleled heights.

Under the leadership of President Florentino Perez, the club has navigated a transformative period, marked by intelligent planning and decisive actions. Their financial prudence, exemplified by strategic player investments like Jude Bellingham and the impending arrival of Kylian Mbappe, underscores their commitment to building a formidable squad for the future.

Real's off-pitch success is equally impressive. Topping Deloitte’s Football Money League with the highest revenues in 2022-23, and boasting the highest 'enterprise value' in football, reflects their robust commercial strategy. The extensive renovation of the Santiago Bernabeu stadium, set to enhance matchday and non-matchday revenues significantly, further cements their financial prowess.

Even though Real won the final against BVB, the performance of the team of young coach Edin Terzić was also remarkable. In our brand new podcast, Hans Sarpei and former BVB player Patrick Owomoyela took a look behind the scenes of the "Yellow Wall" club.

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Top Tickers

Some of the most active and relevant securities and quotes (compared to previous day's closing price)

When to sell your stocks

Poker provides investors with helpful guidance

Investors usually dislike gambling comparisons. Yet at a recent conference held by Norges Bank Investment Management, which oversees Norway’s oil fund of $1.6trn, a packed hall sought to learn from a former poker pro. Annie Duke was there to talk about quitting decisions, a topic on which she wrote the book (“Quit: The Power of Knowing When to Walk Away”). Ms Duke argued that many factors stack the deck against people considering quitting, pushing them to act irrationally. That applies to poker players wondering whether or not to fold—and also to investors considering whether to exit a position.

People hate losses a lot more than they enjoy equivalent gains (“loss aversion”) but reserve a special loathing for crystallising a certain loss, even if the probable alternative is a greater one (“sure-loss aversion”). They also value things they own more than identical things they do not (the “endowment effect”). All this makes closing a losing position an absolute wrench. Already smarting from a paper loss, you must turn it into a certain one, while also letting go of an asset you value more than you would any equivalent alternative.

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Greenland competing in the World Cup?! Well, this week, the Football Association of Greenland (or KAK, an acronym of that in the native language) has made headlines, due to their application to join CONCACAF, the regional governing body overseeing soccer in North America, Central America and the Caribbean. In theory (if not likely in practice), membership could eventually put Greenland in line to play in official competitions against the likes of regional powers the United States, Mexico, Costa Rica, Canada, and others.

“We want to show people that we are alive, we are a country that does not just build igloos,” KAK chairman Kenneth Kleist says. “We have planes. I’m not going to say we have a lot of money, but we have money. We are ready to build football and build what is necessary.”

Kleist says approximately 10 percent of the 56,000 citizens are registered participants in local soccer clubs, while there are just 18 outdoor pitches in the entirety of a country three times the size of Texas.

“(Soccer) is the biggest sport in Greenland by far,” Kleist says. “The interest in joining CONCACAF is exploding. Because now we have done it and there is a lot of talk in the cities about what we’ve done. People are asking, ‘Can we believe it, what the next step could be?’.”

Feel free to enjoy the rest of the day as much as possible!

Irg

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