The SportsGrad Podcast

Want to land a job in sport? Apply for The SportsGrad Method: www.sportsgrad.com.au/program So you want to work in sport. You are not alone, and that is exactly the problem. Sport is one of the most competitive industries in the world. Everyone is passionate. Everyone has a degree. Everyone is willing to work hard. And yet most people spend years on the outside looking in, never quite understanding why. It is not a capability problem. It is a method problem. I am Reuben Williams, founder of SportsGrad. I landed a job at Cricket Australia the day after I finished university. When COVID hit and I was made redundant, I was headhunted into a role that doubled my salary. Not because I got lucky, because I had a method that most people never find. Since then that method has helped over 800 people land jobs in sport, from graduates with no experience to career professionals who thought the window had already closed. We have built a global network that members can tap into from day one, and spent ten years inside this industry learning exactly how hiring actually works. 80% of jobs in sport are never advertised. The people landing them are not the most qualified. They are the most visible, the most connected, and the most prepared to convert opportunity into an offer. That is what The SportsGrad Method teaches. How I can help you: 1. Listen to The Method — real coaching call snippets every Wednesday so you can hear the work in action. 2. Read The SportsGrad Newsletter — weekly insight on breaking into sport the right way. 3. Apply for The SportsGrad Method Program — if you are serious about making this happen, this is the fastest path. We review every application personally. If you refuse to settle for a career you do not care about, you are in the right place. Let's get to work: www.sportsgrad.com.au/program Reuben Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Meet Sarah Loh, Chief Executive Officer at Softball Australia. Sarah's career spans nearly four decades across the sport, education and not-for-profit sectors, but it started at a reception desk. In 1988, she asked the owner of a Dandenong gym for a job every day for six months until he cracked and gave her three hours behind the desk. By the end of that year she was centre manager. From there she built one of the most deliberate careers in Australian sport: the YMCA, a local council role at the City of Whittlesea where she project-managed a $29 million leisure centre, her first CEO chair at the country's biggest junior football league, a headhunted executive role at VicHealth, and now the top job at Softball Australia, with a Women's World Cup on home soil in 2027 and softball's return to the Olympics at LA 2028. In this episode, Sarah unpacks why she deliberately took "detours" through corporate and government roles to build the credibility sport wouldn't give her, the interview question she now asks every candidate she hires and why "what have you built?" beats a polished CV, and how to actually progress from entry-level to executive when everyone is chasing the same limited roles. We cover: (02:48) - Interview Begins (04:38) - Quick Fire Questions (13:46) - How Sarah's career in sport panned out (21:10) - Why Sarah enjoys teaching at university and being on volunteer sporting boards (28:54) - What legacy does Sarah hope the 2027 Softball World Cup leave behind (35:41) - What is the best sport event you have attended and what is on your bucket list? (38:03) - Sarah's question for next guest If you liked this ep, give these a go next: #206: Journey to CEO of Champion Data with Libby Owens #217: How to be the CEO of the ICC T20 World Cup - Michelle Enright #338: From the AFL to Cricket NT CEO at 29, to Executive GM at Cricket Australia with Joel Morrison Want a job in sport? Click here. Follow SportsGrad on socials: LinkedIn | Instagram | TikTok Follow Reuben on socials: LinkedIn | Instagram | TikTok Thanks for listening, much love! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Want to land a job in sport? Apply for The SportsGrad Method: www.sportsgrad.com.au/program So you want to work in sport. You are not alone, and that is exactly the problem. Sport is one of the most competitive industries in the world. Everyone is passionate. Everyone has a degree. Everyone is willing to work hard. And yet most people spend years on the outside looking in, never quite understanding why. It is not a capability problem. It is a method problem. I am Reuben Williams, founder of SportsGrad. I landed a job at Cricket Australia the day after I finished university. When COVID hit and I was made redundant, I was headhunted into a role that doubled my salary. Not because I got lucky, because I had a method that most people never find. Since then that method has helped over 800 people land jobs in sport, from graduates with no experience to career professionals who thought the window had already closed. We have built a global network that members can tap into from day one, and spent ten years inside this industry learning exactly how hiring actually works. 80% of jobs in sport are never advertised. The people landing them are not the most qualified. They are the most visible, the most connected, and the most prepared to convert opportunity into an offer. That is what The SportsGrad Method teaches. How I can help you: 1. Listen to The Method — real coaching call snippets every Wednesday so you can hear the work in action. 2. Read The SportsGrad Newsletter — weekly insight on breaking into sport the right way. 3. Apply for The SportsGrad Method Program — if you are serious about making this happen, this is the fastest path. We review every application personally. If you refuse to settle for a career you do not care about, you are in the right place. Let's get to work: www.sportsgrad.com.au/program Reuben Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Meet Hector Arenas, Venue Operations Manager at the FIFA World Cup 2026 in Monterrey. Back home in Mexico, he'd built a solid career as an industrial engineer with an MBA, ten years of experience, and a general manager role at a lending company, complete with the apartment, the car and the stable life. Then COVID hit, and he and his wife made a decision to leave their comfort zone and chase their dream. In July 2023, they moved to Australia so Hector could study a Master Of Business (Sport Management) at Deakin University. Four months later, on a tip from his university mentor, he landed a three-month casual events contract at Melbourne Park, and turned it into three straight Australian Opens. From there, he applied cold to FIFA, got knocked back once for being "not experienced enough," then came back a year later to win a Venue Operations Manager role at Estadio Monterrey, delivering matches at the biggest event on the planet in his home country. Lots to look out for in this episode, including how to break into sport when you've got zero industry network in a new country, why "say yes to everything" opened every door, and how the engineering discipline of doing more with less transferred straight into running a World Cup venue. We cover: (03:13) - Interview starts (09:26) - Quick Fire Questions (08:08) - What Hector's career looked like prior to moving to Australia (20:31) - Opportunities to work in sport in Mexico (22:14) - The decision behind moving from Mexico to Australia (25:31) - What skills from Hector's engineering career were transferable to the sport industry (27:05) - Hector's first role in sport at the Australian Open (31:21) - Favourite moment working at the Australian Open (33:44) - How Hector joined SportsGrad (37:14) - How networking has helped Hector's career (39:48) - How to build your network when you arrive in a country for the first time (40:48) - How Hector found his role at the FIFA World Cup (45:14) - Hector's journey from watching Mexico at the FIFA World Cup in 2022 to working at the 2026 World Cup (46:47) - What a match day in Hector's role looked like (55:51) - Favourite moments working at the FIFA World Cup (01:07:33) - How to land a role in sport events and operations in the next 30 days (01:08:45) - Biggest Pinch Me moment working in sport (01:13:49) - What life would look like if not a career in sport (01:14:48) - Hector's question for next guest If you liked this ep, give these a go next: #356: Career journey of FIFA World Cup Commentator David Basheer #357: From International Student to Major League Soccer with Adam Ferreira (Vancouver Whitecaps) #358: Sports Marketing in the Premier League and the MLS with Sunny Dhillon (Seattle Sounders) Want a job in sport? Click here. Follow SportsGrad on socials: LinkedIn | Instagram | TikTok Follow Reuben on socials: LinkedIn | Instagram | TikTok Thanks for listening, much love! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Want to land a job in sport? Apply for The SportsGrad Method: www.sportsgrad.com.au/program So you want to work in sport. You are not alone, and that is exactly the problem. Sport is one of the most competitive industries in the world. Everyone is passionate. Everyone has a degree. Everyone is willing to work hard. And yet most people spend years on the outside looking in, never quite understanding why. It is not a capability problem. It is a method problem. I am Reuben Williams, founder of SportsGrad. I landed a job at Cricket Australia the day after I finished university. When COVID hit and I was made redundant, I was headhunted into a role that doubled my salary. Not because I got lucky, because I had a method that most people never find. Since then that method has helped over 800 people land jobs in sport, from graduates with no experience to career professionals who thought the window had already closed. We have built a global network that members can tap into from day one, and spent ten years inside this industry learning exactly how hiring actually works. 80% of jobs in sport are never advertised. The people landing them are not the most qualified. They are the most visible, the most connected, and the most prepared to convert opportunity into an offer. That is what The SportsGrad Method teaches. How I can help you: 1. Listen to The Method — real coaching call snippets every Wednesday so you can hear the work in action. 2. Read The SportsGrad Newsletter — weekly insight on breaking into sport the right way. 3. Apply for The SportsGrad Method Program — if you are serious about making this happen, this is the fastest path. We review every application personally. If you refuse to settle for a career you do not care about, you are in the right place. Let's get to work: www.sportsgrad.com.au/program Reuben Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Meet Jack Lloyd, Marketing Specialist at Cricket Australia, and one of the people building the 150th Anniversary Test Match, cricket's biggest global event in a generation. Jack's love of sport started early. A Year 9 internship at AFL Media, then as a bartender at the MCG throughout uni just to be near the action. He got his foot in the door leading live match-day coverage at Box Hill Hawks, with a day a week inside the Hawthorn media team. Just as he graduated university at the end of 2019, the world shut down for the COVID Pandemic. Hiring froze, redundancies swept the industry, and his entry into full-time work was put on pause. So he kept building. A message from Reuben pulled him in to produce the first 70 episodes of the SportsGrad podcast, absorbing exactly how insiders break into sport. That's where it all turned. He landed at Rugby Victoria, then won his big break as Digital Marketing Coordinator for the ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2022, a 300,000-fan database, 800,000 tickets sold, before moving to Cricket Australia, where he's climbed from marketing coordinator to leading Big Bash marketing across a record 1.1-million-fan season. In this episode, Jack shares how to get a foot in the door at the lower levels and build skills that actually carry up, why leading with your "why" beats reciting your CV, and the pinch-me moment at the World Cup final he never saw coming - flag in hand, 90,000 fans, and being on the field at the MCG for the trophy lift. We cover: (03:08) - Interview begins (04:40) - Quick Fire Questions (10:23) - Early experiences that shaped Jack's career (17:35) - How Jack landed his role at the ICC T20 World Cup (20:16) - Day-to-day responsibilities in Jack's role as Digital Marketing Coordinator (23:53) - Being on the ground for the T20 World Cup final (27:42) - How Jack landed his role as Digital Marketing Specialist at Cricket Australia (40:47) - What the lifecycle of a marketing campaign at Cricket Australia looks like (45:01) - Campaigns Cricket Australia are running in the lead-up to the 150th Anniversary Test match at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (53:14) - What challenges did Jack face breaking into sport (54:13) - How Jack decided what career path to take (55:33) - Impact of mentors on Jack's journey (57:02) - On Jack's role as a Coach in the SportsGrad method Program (01:01:27) - How to land a job in Sport Marketing in the next 30 days (01:02:39) - Biggest 'Pinch Me' moment working in sport (01:07:04) - What life would look like if not a career in sport? (01:08:06) - What measures do you implement to prevent burnout (01:09:55) - Jack's question for the next guest If you liked this ep, give these a go next: #225: T20 World Cup tournament time jobs with Jack Lloyd & Harrison Orchard #347: Sport Marketing & Communications - How to work in AFL, NBA and Seven Sport with Anthony Alsop #358: Sports Marketing in the Premier League and the MLS with Sunny Dhillon (Seattle Sounders) Want a job in sport? Click here. Follow SportsGrad on socials: LinkedIn | Instagram | TikTok Follow Reuben on socials: LinkedIn | Instagram | TikTok Thanks for listening, much love! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Want to land a job in sport? Apply for The SportsGrad Method: www.sportsgrad.com.au/program So you want to work in sport. You are not alone, and that is exactly the problem. Sport is one of the most competitive industries in the world. Everyone is passionate. Everyone has a degree. Everyone is willing to work hard. And yet most people spend years on the outside looking in, never quite understanding why. It is not a capability problem. It is a method problem. I am Reuben Williams, founder of SportsGrad. I landed a job at Cricket Australia the day after I finished university. When COVID hit and I was made redundant, I was headhunted into a role that doubled my salary. Not because I got lucky, because I had a method that most people never find. Since then that method has helped over 800 people land jobs in sport, from graduates with no experience to career professionals who thought the window had already closed. We have built a global network that members can tap into from day one, and spent ten years inside this industry learning exactly how hiring actually works. 80% of jobs in sport are never advertised. The people landing them are not the most qualified. They are the most visible, the most connected, and the most prepared to convert opportunity into an offer. That is what The SportsGrad Method teaches. How I can help you: 1. Listen to The Method — real coaching call snippets every Wednesday so you can hear the work in action. 2. Read The SportsGrad Newsletter — weekly insight on breaking into sport the right way. 3. Apply for The SportsGrad Method Program — if you are serious about making this happen, this is the fastest path. We review every application personally. If you refuse to settle for a career you do not care about, you are in the right place. Let's get to work: www.sportsgrad.com.au/program Reuben Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Meet Phil Speake, Head of High Performance Operations and Finance at Golf Australia. Phil's path into sport ran through some of the biggest clubs in the world. After nearly seven years as a senior analyst in professional services, Phil took a pay cut and "two steps down" to land his first role in sport as an assistant accountant at the Essendon Football Club. From there, he moved to London, grinded through rejections, and worked his way from William Hill to Brentford FC to a dream job at Tottenham Hotspur FC, beating 800 applicants for the role. He's since returned home, worked with Western United and turned that into a role that looks after high-performance operations and finance at Golf Australia. In this episode, Phil breaks down how to prove your skills are transferable when switching industries, the four-day interview prep that landed his dream job at Tottenham and why leading with what you can give opens more doors than asking for something. We cover: (02:59) - Interview Starts (06:05) - Quick Fire Questions (12:53) - How Phil transitioned from working in financial professional services to working with the Essendon Football Club (15:34) - Key parts of Phil's role at the Essendon Bombers (19:43) - How Phil built culture and relationships internally across departments (21:00) - Phil's move to the UK after his stint at the Bombers (24:26) - How Phil landed a role at Brentford FC (29:29) - Phil's move from Brentford to Tottenham Hotspur FC (32:33) - The scale of financial operations at the Spurs (39:14) - How Phil entered the Football Operations team at Western United (42:40) - What Phil's role at Western United looked like (46:05) - Difference between working at Tottenham Hotspur and Western United (47:02) - Phil's role at Golf Australia (53:03) - Challenges to entering the sport industry (54:30) - What degree/qualifications do you need to work in the finance team of a sport organisation (55:10) - Impact of mentors on Phil's Journey (56:02) - How to land a job in Sports Finance in the next 30 days (58:06) - Biggest 'Pinch Me' moment working in sport (58:59) - How would you help grow the AFL in international markets? (01:01:35) - Phil's question for next guest If you liked this ep, give these a go next: #265: From Westpac to the Adelaide Crows FC in 29 days with Community Engagement Manager, Parth Suri #296: Manchester City FC Head of Research Tom Wilkins on using fan insights for business growth #339: How to land your first job in sport with Josh Marton, GM of Public Affairs & Marketing in Golf Want a job in sport? Click here. Follow SportsGrad on socials: LinkedIn | Instagram | TikTok Follow Reuben on socials: LinkedIn | Instagram | TikTok Thanks for listening, much love! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Want to land a job in sport? Apply for The SportsGrad Method: www.sportsgrad.com.au/program So you want to work in sport. You are not alone, and that is exactly the problem. Sport is one of the most competitive industries in the world. Everyone is passionate. Everyone has a degree. Everyone is willing to work hard. And yet most people spend years on the outside looking in, never quite understanding why. It is not a capability problem. It is a method problem. I am Reuben Williams, founder of SportsGrad. I landed a job at Cricket Australia the day after I finished university. When COVID hit and I was made redundant, I was headhunted into a role that doubled my salary. Not because I got lucky, because I had a method that most people never find. Since then that method has helped over 800 people land jobs in sport, from graduates with no experience to career professionals who thought the window had already closed. We have built a global network that members can tap into from day one, and spent ten years inside this industry learning exactly how hiring actually works. 80% of jobs in sport are never advertised. The people landing them are not the most qualified. They are the most visible, the most connected, and the most prepared to convert opportunity into an offer. That is what The SportsGrad Method teaches. How I can help you: 1. Listen to The Method — real coaching call snippets every Wednesday so you can hear the work in action. 2. Read The SportsGrad Newsletter — weekly insight on breaking into sport the right way. 3. Apply for The SportsGrad Method Program — if you are serious about making this happen, this is the fastest path. We review every application personally. If you refuse to settle for a career you do not care about, you are in the right place. Let's get to work: www.sportsgrad.com.au/program Reuben Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Meet Andrew Hawkins, Senior Researcher for the Seven Network's coverage of the Glasgow 2026 Commonwealth Games, and newest member of the SportsGrad "Circle of Grad" club - from follower to member and now podcast guest. Andrew's love of sport was sealed at nearly 10, watching the Sydney 2000 Olympics from ten minutes down the road. At 19, he mailed a handwritten letter to his broadcasting hero, Bruce McAvaney, asking how to break into the industry, and Bruce wrote back. Years later, the two would finally get on a call, and today they work side by side on Seven's Commonwealth Games broadcast: Andrew building the research, Bruce using it to call the Games. His first paid gig in sport was parking cars at Rosehill Racecourse, but it was writing that took him furthest. Andrew has since built an award-winning career in international horse racing - one of the most data-heavy sports on earth, spending five years in Hong Kong reporting for the South China Morning Post and the Hong Kong Jockey Club, with work syndicated around the world. Then came the hard part - being told, again and again, that all that experience only counted for racing. When he joined The SportsGrad Method, he'd applied for 50-odd jobs and landed just five interviews. What changed everything was a single post that caught the eye of people at Channel Seven, and he hasn't looked back since. In this episode, Andrew shares the mindset that got him unstuck after 50 applications, the networking habit he's leaned on since he was 19, and the hard-won lessons every career changer needs to hear. We cover: (02:41) - Interview Begins (06:01) - Quick Fire Questions (10:03) - What led Andrew to move to Hong Kong (14:00) - What issues Andrew was facing before he joined the SportsGrad Method Program (20:05) - How the SportsGrad Method led to Andrew's role as Broadcast Researcher for the Commonwealth Games (23:38) - What a day in the life of Andrew's role looks like (26:10) - What goes into building a broadcast research strategy (34:20) - How does the archive of knowledge and research material get used across multiple events (39:20) - How AI helps with Broadcast Research (47:41) - How Andrew has had to upskill himself as modern media has evolved (53:16) - How to land a job in sport media in the next 30 days (59:33) - What life would have looked like if not a job in sport (01:00:29) - Biggest 'Pinch Me' moment working in sport If you liked this ep, give these a go next: #252: What it's like to work on the FIFA Women's World Cup with Media Volunteer, Vi Truong https://youtu.be/-l_-ld6Pv7U #293: Careers in Sports Broadcasting with Lucy & Emma Race from Making The Call https://youtu.be/BLxvoFL41_4 #356: Career journey of FIFA World Cup Commentator David Basheer https://youtu.be/Vdu4esiAhNw Want a job in sport? Click here. Follow SportsGrad on socials: LinkedIn | Instagram | TikTok Follow Reuben on socials: LinkedIn | Instagram | TikTok Thanks for listening, much love! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Want to land a job in sport? Apply for The SportsGrad Method: www.sportsgrad.com.au/program So you want to work in sport. You are not alone, and that is exactly the problem. Sport is one of the most competitive industries in the world. Everyone is passionate. Everyone has a degree. Everyone is willing to work hard. And yet most people spend years on the outside looking in, never quite understanding why. It is not a capability problem. It is a method problem. I am Reuben Williams, founder of SportsGrad. I landed a job at Cricket Australia the day after I finished university. When COVID hit and I was made redundant, I was headhunted into a role that doubled my salary. Not because I got lucky, because I had a method that most people never find. Since then that method has helped over 800 people land jobs in sport, from graduates with no experience to career professionals who thought the window had already closed. We have built a global network that members can tap into from day one, and spent ten years inside this industry learning exactly how hiring actually works. 80% of jobs in sport are never advertised. The people landing them are not the most qualified. They are the most visible, the most connected, and the most prepared to convert opportunity into an offer. That is what The SportsGrad Method teaches. How I can help you: 1. Listen to The Method — real coaching call snippets every Wednesday so you can hear the work in action. 2. Read The SportsGrad Newsletter — weekly insight on breaking into sport the right way. 3. Apply for The SportsGrad Method Program — if you are serious about making this happen, this is the fastest path. We review every application personally. If you refuse to settle for a career you do not care about, you are in the right place. Let's get to work: www.sportsgrad.com.au/program Reuben Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Meet David Culbert OLY, Olympian, Commonwealth Games Gold Medallist, now broadcaster and the Alumni Engagement Manager at the Australian Olympic Committee. Dave made the Olympic long jump final in Barcelona, finished sixth in the greatest long jump competition ever held (the 1991 Tokyo World Championships, where Mike Powell broke the world record), and jumped eight metres in every major championship final he contested across two Olympics, three Commonwealth Games and a World Championships. He then went on to build a second career from scratch. Stadium announcing led to a field-events gig at the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC), which led to Channel Seven and the Sydney Olympics, which led to four Winter Games and calling Jess Fox's canoe gold in Paris beside her father, Richard Fox. Around this, he also ran sports media and marketing business Jump Media with his wife for 21 years, before joining the AOC to help Olympians navigate life after sport as the now Alumni Engagement Manager. Inside this episode, David shares how he turned an athletic career into three decades in the commentary box, why breaking into sport means starting at your local club and taking it step by step like an athlete, and the pinch-me moment of calling Jess and Noemie Fox's Olympic gold medals at the Paris Olympics. We cover: (03:58) - Interview starts (05:12) - Quick Fire Questions (12:41) - David's athletic career representing Australia (16:10) - How David's media career began (18:18) - How David became a commentator for the Olympics (28:38) - Commentating the Olympics with Richard Fox (33:09) - What the research process for commentating an event looks like (37:17) - What David has learnt from working with other broadcasters (40:49) - What you need to work on to improve your commentary (42:22) - Impact of having a media portfolio (46:05) - What is an event David wants to work at before he calls time on his broadcasting career? (47:31) - David's role at the Australian Olympic Committee (53:27) - David's advice for landing a role in sports media If you liked this ep, give these a go next: #124: Hamish McLachlan - How to commentate the AFL Grand Final #210: Brian Taylor - How to be a commentator in the AFL #356: Career journey of FIFA World Cup Commentator David Basheer Want a job in sport? Click here. Follow SportsGrad on socials: LinkedIn | Instagram | TikTok Follow Reuben on socials: LinkedIn | Instagram | TikTok Thanks for listening, much love! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Want to land a job in sport? Apply for The SportsGrad Method: www.sportsgrad.com.au/program So you want to work in sport. You are not alone, and that is exactly the problem. Sport is one of the most competitive industries in the world. Everyone is passionate. Everyone has a degree. Everyone is willing to work hard. And yet most people spend years on the outside looking in, never quite understanding why. It is not a capability problem. It is a method problem. I am Reuben Williams, founder of SportsGrad. I landed a job at Cricket Australia the day after I finished university. When COVID hit and I was made redundant, I was headhunted into a role that doubled my salary. Not because I got lucky, because I had a method that most people never find. Since then that method has helped over 800 people land jobs in sport, from graduates with no experience to career professionals who thought the window had already closed. We have built a global network that members can tap into from day one, and spent ten years inside this industry learning exactly how hiring actually works. 80% of jobs in sport are never advertised. The people landing them are not the most qualified. They are the most visible, the most connected, and the most prepared to convert opportunity into an offer. That is what The SportsGrad Method teaches. How I can help you: 1. Listen to The Method — real coaching call snippets every Wednesday so you can hear the work in action. 2. Read The SportsGrad Newsletter — weekly insight on breaking into sport the right way. 3. Apply for The SportsGrad Method Program — if you are serious about making this happen, this is the fastest path. We review every application personally. If you refuse to settle for a career you do not care about, you are in the right place. Let's get to work: www.sportsgrad.com.au/program Reuben Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We went to the FIFA World Cup, and we couldn't switch off the sport business lens while we were there, so we sat down to talk through everything we noticed. In this episode, Nathan Perrone and Reuben Williams share their experience at the FIFA World Cup and what they noticed through the lens of sports business. They pick apart everything from the ticketing tech, to the workforce, the signage sponsors pay millions for, the commercial engine behind the World Cup, fan festivals, activations, which brands performed, and just how much revenue a tournament like this actually generates. They also run through a host city report and compare how the whole experience stacks up against the Paris Olympics and previous World Cups in Russia and Qatar. And yes, we also get into Reuben's "fairly sizeable hiccup" in Vancouver and how he almost didn’t make it to the USA. You don't want to miss this, it's a fun one! We cover: (02:50) - Discussion Begins (05:15) - Quick Fire Question (20:27) - Reuben's mishap in Vancouver (29:37) - What we noticed at the World Cup that most fans don't (44:38) - What Nathan observed from a commercial lens (55:01) - Ranking our favourite host cities at the World Cup (01:04:43) - How the 2026 FIFA World Cup ranks against other tournaments (01:15:34) - Sport Biz professionals we got to connect with at the World Cup (01:19:16) - Meeting SportsGrad member Jake Cohen in Kansas (01:24:48) - How to land a role at an upcoming major tournament (01:28:12) - Our takeaways from making connections on the ground at major tournaments If you liked this ep, give these a go next: #356: Career journey of FIFA World Cup Commentator David Basheer #357: From International Student to Major League Soccer with Adam Ferreira (Vancouver Whitecaps) #358: Sports Marketing in the Premier League and Major League Soccer with Sunny Dhillon (Seattle Sounders) #359: How to Build a Freelance Career in Sports Photography with Aleks Jason (Melbourne City & Socceroos) Want a job in sport? Click here. Follow SportsGrad on socials: LinkedIn | Instagram | TikTok Follow Reuben on socials: LinkedIn | Instagram | TikTok Thanks for listening, much love! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Want to land a job in sport? Apply for The SportsGrad Method: www.sportsgrad.com.au/program So you want to work in sport. You are not alone, and that is exactly the problem. Sport is one of the most competitive industries in the world. Everyone is passionate. Everyone has a degree. Everyone is willing to work hard. And yet most people spend years on the outside looking in, never quite understanding why. It is not a capability problem. It is a method problem. I am Reuben Williams, founder of SportsGrad. I landed a job at Cricket Australia the day after I finished university. When COVID hit and I was made redundant, I was headhunted into a role that doubled my salary. Not because I got lucky, because I had a method that most people never find. Since then that method has helped over 800 people land jobs in sport, from graduates with no experience to career professionals who thought the window had already closed. We have built a global network that members can tap into from day one, and spent ten years inside this industry learning exactly how hiring actually works. 80% of jobs in sport are never advertised. The people landing them are not the most qualified. They are the most visible, the most connected, and the most prepared to convert opportunity into an offer. That is what The SportsGrad Method teaches. How I can help you: 1. Listen to The Method — real coaching call snippets every Wednesday so you can hear the work in action. 2. Read The SportsGrad Newsletter — weekly insight on breaking into sport the right way. 3. Apply for The SportsGrad Method Program — if you are serious about making this happen, this is the fastest path. We review every application personally. If you refuse to settle for a career you do not care about, you are in the right place. Let's get to work: www.sportsgrad.com.au/program Reuben Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Meet Neha Kumar, Brand and Design Lead at Queensland Rugby Union (Queensland Reds). Neha's career started out in retail and moved into marketing before she landed her first full-time role as social media lead at GIVIT, a Brisbane-based not-for-profit, where she taught herself graphic design, photography and videography on the job and even got to create content for a royal visit from Queen Camilla. Around the same time, she started WATCHHERFOOTY, a passion project covering the NRLW that's now grown to 22,000+ followers and put her on TV, on radio, and on The Female Athlete Project stage. That page changed everything. It sharpened what she wanted, and when a role opened at the Reds, she backed herself despite never formally studying design and getting knocked back in other roles. She's since gone from Design & Communications Coordinator to Brand and Design Lead, run game-day production at Suncorp, MC'd in front of 30,000 people, toured Fiji with the men's team, and been named #12 on Ministry for Sport's Young Guns Under 30. In this episode, Neha shares how she turned a passion project into a role at the Queensland Reds, why backing yourself beats waiting until your CV feels "ready," and the pinch-me Fiji moment she never thought she'd get. We cover: (03:01) - Interview begins (05:13) - Quick Fire Questions (08:59) - Neha's journey to working in sport and how WatchHerFooty came to life (13:21) - How Neha balances time between her full-time role and WatchHerFooty (16:00) - Collaborations Neha has worked on through WatchHerFooty (18:17) - What is WatchHerFooty's most viral video (20:34) - Neha's experience with The Daily Aus x Nike Mentorship program (24:02) - Neha's work with GIVIT (30:44) - Neha's transferable skills helped land her role with the Queensland Reds (32:49) - How Neha's role has evolved since starting at the Reds (38:30) - Neha's experience MCing a game day (40:34) - Neha's experience on the international trip with the Queensland Reds to Fiji (43:57) - Experience at Suncorp Stadium during the British & Irish Lions Tour (45:28) - Neha on making the 'Young Guns under 30' List (46:48) - Challenges in entering the sports industry (48:33) - How Neha decided what career path to take when she felt lost for direction (50:03) - What helped Neha stand out when she landed her role at the Qld Reds (51:38) - Impact of mentors on Neha's career (53:26) - How to land a job in sport media in the next 30 days (57:03) - Biggest Pinch Me moment working in sport (58:08) - What life would look like if not for a career in sport (59:45) - What is a brand and sports partnership you'd like to see in the future (01:00:55) - Neha's question for next guest If you liked this ep, give these a go next: #286: Inside the GWS Giants Social Media strategy with Jacob Gaynor #347: Sport Marketing & Communications - How to work in AFL, NBA and Seven Sport with Anthony Alsop #354: How building Kanga TV led to a PR & Comms job in sport, with Marnie Cohen (TGI Sport) Want a job in sport? Click here. Follow SportsGrad on socials: LinkedIn | Instagram | TikTok Follow Reuben on socials: LinkedIn | Instagram | TikTok Thanks for listening, much love! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Want to land a job in sport? Apply for The SportsGrad Method: www.sportsgrad.com.au/program So you want to work in sport. You are not alone, and that is exactly the problem. Sport is one of the most competitive industries in the world. Everyone is passionate. Everyone has a degree. Everyone is willing to work hard. And yet most people spend years on the outside looking in, never quite understanding why. It is not a capability problem. It is a method problem. I am Reuben Williams, founder of SportsGrad. I landed a job at Cricket Australia the day after I finished university. When COVID hit and I was made redundant, I was headhunted into a role that doubled my salary. Not because I got lucky, because I had a method that most people never find. Since then that method has helped over 800 people land jobs in sport, from graduates with no experience to career professionals who thought the window had already closed. We have built a global network that members can tap into from day one, and spent ten years inside this industry learning exactly how hiring actually works. 80% of jobs in sport are never advertised. The people landing them are not the most qualified. They are the most visible, the most connected, and the most prepared to convert opportunity into an offer. That is what The SportsGrad Method teaches. How I can help you: 1. Listen to The Method — real coaching call snippets every Wednesday so you can hear the work in action. 2. Read The SportsGrad Newsletter — weekly insight on breaking into sport the right way. 3. Apply for The SportsGrad Method Program — if you are serious about making this happen, this is the fastest path. We review every application personally. If you refuse to settle for a career you do not care about, you are in the right place. Let's get to work: www.sportsgrad.com.au/program Reuben Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Meet Hayley Conway, marketing, partnerships and fan experience consultant, and the co-founder of Principal the Label. Hayley's career began on the agency side, spending five years in media, buying TV ads for household brands (yes, including Red Rooster during the footy), before making the jump to client work, where recruiters kept telling her the skills weren't transferable. So she went contract-to-contract for two years, a self-imposed MBA in events, brand activation and PR and built the exact toolkit that now sees her working across Formula 1, the Paris Olympics and Paralympics, the AFL and AFLW, the Australian Open, Fox Sports and ESPN. Then in 2024, she backed herself even further, co-founding a racing-inspired fashion label that's just landed a NASCAR collaboration in the US. In this episode, Hayley shares how she turned a career working in corporate into a freelance career across F1, the Olympics and the AFL, why two years of contracting built a network no full-time role could, and the moment she moved away from agency work to choose the work she loved, over the corporate climb. We cover: (03:07) - Interview begins (05:21) - Quick Fire Questions (14:51) - Hayley's career in corporate before transitioning to sport (35:02) - How Hayley's business, Principal the Label, came to life (50:54) - What does the design process for a new drop look like (55:12) - Other labels or brands Hayley draws inspiration from (56:24) - Hayley's vision for Principal the Label in the future If you liked this ep, give these a go next: #265: From Westpac to the Adelaide Crows FC in 29 days with Community Engagement Manager, Parth Suri #302: Paris 2024, Content Creator | Stella Barry #325: How to build a career in sports media from scratch with Brody Burrows Want a job in sport? Click here. Follow SportsGrad on socials: LinkedIn | Instagram | TikTok Follow Reuben on socials: LinkedIn | Instagram | TikTok Thanks for listening, much love! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Want to land a job in sport? Apply for The SportsGrad Method: www.sportsgrad.com.au/program So you want to work in sport. You are not alone, and that is exactly the problem. Sport is one of the most competitive industries in the world. Everyone is passionate. Everyone has a degree. Everyone is willing to work hard. And yet most people spend years on the outside looking in, never quite understanding why. It is not a capability problem. It is a method problem. I am Reuben Williams, founder of SportsGrad. I landed a job at Cricket Australia the day after I finished university. When COVID hit and I was made redundant, I was headhunted into a role that doubled my salary. Not because I got lucky, because I had a method that most people never find. Since then that method has helped over 800 people land jobs in sport, from graduates with no experience to career professionals who thought the window had already closed. We have built a global network that members can tap into from day one, and spent ten years inside this industry learning exactly how hiring actually works. 80% of jobs in sport are never advertised. The people landing them are not the most qualified. They are the most visible, the most connected, and the most prepared to convert opportunity into an offer. That is what The SportsGrad Method teaches. How I can help you: 1. Listen to The Method — real coaching call snippets every Wednesday so you can hear the work in action. 2. Read The SportsGrad Newsletter — weekly insight on breaking into sport the right way. 3. Apply for The SportsGrad Method Program — if you are serious about making this happen, this is the fastest path. We review every application personally. If you refuse to settle for a career you do not care about, you are in the right place. Let's get to work: www.sportsgrad.com.au/program Reuben Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Meet Aleksandar Jason, a freelance sports and lifestyle photographer who shot the Socceroos from inside their camp at the 2022 World Cup and is back on the road capturing the World Game on its biggest stage. But he didn't start there. Aleks cut his teeth in Melbourne's underground club and music scene, photographing for Vice, Sony Music and the Tumblr-era nightlife label he co-founded, before a single phone call, taken while at Bondi Beach, landed him at Melbourne City, where he's now shot for 10 seasons. Since then, he's worked with Nike, Cricket Australia, New Balance, FC Porto, the A-Leagues and even got to shoot weddings for Socceroos stars, John Iredale and Jamie Maclaren. Inside this episode, Aleks shares how he turned a nightlife side hustle into a sideline seat at FIFA World Cups and brands most people dream of working with, why "just starting" beats waiting for a clear plan, and the hard-won lesson of learning to say no, that took him a decade to figure out. We cover: (03:21) - Interview begins (05:41) - Quick Fire Questions (09:26) - Origin of Aleks' passion for photography (12:38) - Early breaks that put Aleks' career on positive trajectory (14:20) - How to work across a diverse genre of photography (18:06) - BTS of running a freelance photography business (19:16) - Aleks on working with the Socceroos at the 2022 FIFA World Cup (23:04) - Favourite moment being at Melbourne City FC (24:51) - Shooting the A-League Grand Final for Auckland FC (27:41) How Aleks bonded with the Socceroos coaching staff (33:39) - What does preparation look like for a tournament (41:37) - Aleks' prediction for the Socceroos at the FIFA World Cup (44:07) - Mentors who have supported Aleks on his journey (45:12) - What is a mistake you have made and how did you come back from it? (46:04) - Projects that were a catalyst for Aleks's career (47:24) - Biggest Pinch me moment (48:19) - What is a better way for sport to be more involved in social justice beyond what it is doing now? (49:55) - Alek's question for next guest If you liked this ep, give these a go next: #232: How to be the Chief Photographer at the AFL with Michael Willson #258: How to balance freelance work in sport and a regular 9-5 job with Chris MacPherson #279: How to be a freelance videographer in sports with Michael Barker Want a job in sport? Click here. Follow SportsGrad on socials: LinkedIn | Instagram | TikTok Follow Reuben on socials: LinkedIn | Instagram | TikTok Thanks for listening, much love! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.