Zarah Al Kudcy: How Chelsea FC’s Women are Forging their own Commercial Path

Today’s episode I’m joined by Zarah Al Kudcy, the Commercial
Director for Chelsea FC Women’s team, as well as a trustee of the
Women’s Sports Trust.


Having previously held commercial roles in World Rugby, ECB, and
most recently, Formula 1, Zarah joined Chelsea this summer tasked
with building and growing commercial revenue related to the
women’s team through sponsorship, ticketing, hospitality, and
digital content.


Time Stamps:


1:00 - NWSL Final and learning from other sporting properties


2:00 - The Case for Women’s Football to be Standalone from the
Men’s


5:00 - Engaging with fans of Chelsea’s Men’s and Women’s Teams


6:00 - The difference between International and Domestic
Growth 


10:00 - Balancing Coverage Between Match Reports and Lifestyle
Content


12:00 - Better Signposting Women’s Football 


15:00 - Including Women’s Players in EA Sports FC24


23:00 - Commercial Power of Female Fans and Breaking Down Women’s
Football Audiences


27:00 - Sponsorship Case for Investing in Women’s Sport


34:00 - Not Becoming Reliant on Subsidies or Sponsors


36:00 - Lessons to Learn from Men’s Sport (Football and
Rugby) 


38:00 - Keeping up with the Pace of Change On-and-Off the Pitch


41:00 - Extending the Legacy of the Lionesses Off the Pitch 


45:00 - Highlighting Female Leadership Off the Pitch with Angel
City 


Additional Reading:


In The Game: How Ultimate Team Inclusion is Driving Women’s
Football Forward

Female First: Kang Bets on Value of Women's Teams as
Independent, Collective Assets  

Perfect Stormz: Making Diversity and Inclusion in Football a
lot less Merky

The 'unbundling' of Women’s Football (Arsenal x
Adidas x Stella McCartney)

⁠Finally, a Female Football Boot⁠ (Nike football boot launch)



Connect with Zarah on LinkedIn - here


Connect with Andy on LinkedIn - here