The ASD Podcast

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Apr 2026

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About the show

Our objective at the Association of Sporting Directors is to support, develop, and connect our members who are spread out across the globe and all bring unique skills and experiences to the role of sporting director. Season 1 of the ASD Podcast covers key topics, the future development of the sporting director role and fascinating insights from practitioners working at the heart of the professional game. It focuses on effective decision making and is brought to you by Paul Musa, host of the What The Footie Podcast , who spoke to five ASD members. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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26 recent

April 17, 202624 min

22. Jenny Ninck on Leadership & Personal Development

Episode 22 of the ASD Podcast features Jenny Ninck, Senior Technical Leadership Manager at FIFA Global Football Development. Unlike many leaders in the game, Jenny did not come through a traditional football pathway. With a background in business, project management, sponsorship, and player-status work, she brings a distinctive perspective to leadership in football. Her work at FIFA focuses on developing technical leaders around the world, supporting the game to think more deeply about leadership, education, culture, and long-term impact.This episode is brought to you by Paul Musa, sports lawyer, host and producer of the What The Footie Podcast and Founder of Athlete Investor Summit.In this episode, Paul and Jenny discuss leadership in global football, cultural intelligence, adapting without losing identity, accountability in fast-paced environments, leadership education in the game, and the importance of self-awareness and building the right support network.The Association of Sporting Directors' mission is to support, develop, and connect our members who are spread out across the globe and all bring unique skills and experiences to the role of sporting director.Special thanks to our ASD Partners: Gemini Sports, Traits Insights, Eyeball Football, SkillCorner, Elevate Talent and MiMentor Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

January 31, 202626 min

21. The ASD MBA Roundtable

Episode 21 of the ASD Podcast features Paul Musa and some of our ASD MBA graduates Dan Gorelov (former Head of Risk, Compliance & Operations at QPR), Sam Bensley (Head of Football Strategy at Al Qadsiah) and Nick Dye (Sporting Director at San Francisco City Football Club).This episode is brought to you by Paul Musa, sports lawyer and host and producer of the What The Footie Podcast. In this episode we discuss and debate the themes from the ASD MBA around network effects, squad planning principles, the challenges of being a technical leader in a high performance environment and so much more.Our objective at the Association of Sporting Directors is to support, develop, and connect our members who are spread out across the globe and all bring unique skills and experiences to the role of sporting director. This episode delves into the evolution of the role, the future development of the role, the benefits the ASD provides to our members and fascinating insights from the ASD Board's work in the game and work with practitioners working at the very heart of the professional game.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

November 30, 202522 min

20. Jayne Ludlow on Continuous Learning & Development

Episode 20 of the ASD Podcast features Jayne Ludlow, a Technical Director and FIFA Global Football Development Division Technical Leadership Expert. Jane has amassed immense experience in the game having spent 13 years playing for Arsenal, being a club and national team level UEFA Pro Licence Coach, a UEFA Technical Observer and Technical Director at Man City Women.This episode is brought to you by Paul Musa, sports lawyer, host and producer of the What The Footie Podcast and Founder of Athlete Investor Summit.In this episode, Paul & Jayne discuss stakeholder management, the art of continuous learning and development, creating pathways, the key pillars required to build a successful women's football structure, implementing strategy (short vs long-term) and so much more.The Association of Sporting Directors' mission is to support, develop, and connect our members who are spread out across the globe and all bring unique skills and experiences to the role of sporting director.Special thanks to our ASD Partners: Gemini Sports, Traits Insights, SkillCorner, Hudl, Teamworks and MiMentor. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

September 30, 202528 min

19. Lucy Rushton on Learnings and Insights From the NWSL & WSL

Episode 19 of the ASD Podcast features Lucy Rushton. Lucy has held senior roles at Reading, Atlanta United, D.C. United, Bay FC, and now advises in the NWSL with Portland Thorns FC.This episode is brought to you by Paul Musa, sports lawyer, host and producer of the What The Footie Podcast and Founder of Athlete Investor Summit.In this episode, Paul & Lucia discuss stakeholder management, the nuances of working in MLS vs NWSL, managing founders and ownership groups, building structures in under-researched areas of the women’s game, upskilling, and aligning short and long-term strategy.The Association of Sporting Directors' mission is to support, develop, and connect our members who are spread out across the globe and all bring unique skills and experiences to the role of sporting director. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

August 26, 202531 min

18. Lucia Mijares on Stakeholder Management & Strategy

Episode 18 of the ASD Podcast features Lucia Mijares who was the first woman to be a Sports Technical Director in Mexico and Latin America, where she developed the first official Women's Football Amateur and High Performance Structure in Mexico. She is now a Technical Expert at FIFA, where she advises football federations seeking to promote, develop, and accelerate the growth of women's football.This episode is brought to you by Paul Musa, sports lawyer, host and producer of the What The Footie Podcast and Founder of Athlete Investor Summit.In this episode, Paul & Lucia discuss stakeholder management, player development and pathways, the key pillars required to build a successful women's football structure, implementing strategy (short vs long-term) and so much more.The Association of Sporting Directors' mission is to support, develop, and connect our members who are spread out across the globe and all bring unique skills and experiences to the role of sporting director.Special thanks to our ASD Partners: Gemini Sports, Traits Insights, Eyeball Football, SkillCorner, Hudl, Elevate Talent and MiMentor Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

July 31, 202533 min

17. Nick Hammond on Implementing Short & Long Term Strategies

Episode 17 of the ASD Podcast features Nick Hammond who has more than 20 years experience in the role as Sporting Director, having held the role at Reading FC, West Bromwich Albion and Celtic. He is currently operating as a Consultant and recently performed a consultancy role at Leeds United.This episode is brought to you by Paul Musa, sports lawyer and host and producer of the What The Footie Podcast.In this episode Paul & Nick discuss player trading, recruitment, squad planning, implementing strategy (short vs long-term) and so much more.The Association of Sporting Directors' mission is to support, develop, and connect our members who are spread out across the globe and all bring unique skills and experiences to the role of sporting director.Special thanks to our ASD Partners: Teamworks, SkillCorner, Elevate Talent, MiMentor, Hudl, Eyeball Football, Traits Insights and Gemini Sports. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

June 26, 202537 min

16. José Fontes on Scouting Principles and Building Culture in Football

Episode 16 of the ASD Podcast features features José Fontes, a FIGC (Italian Football Federation) licensed Sporting Director and ASD Technical Committee member. José was previously Head of Recruitment at AS Roma, Senior Scout at Leicester City, and a first team coach and opposition analyst at Boavista FC. Prior to his career in professional football, José built a distinguished career in investment banking.This episode is brought to you by Paul Musa, sports & entertainment lawyer and host and producer of the What The Footie Podcast.In this episode Paul & José discuss developing scouting principles, building culture within football clubs, aligning departments, squad planning and so much more.The Association of Sporting Directors' mission is to support, develop, and connect our members who are spread out across the globe and all bring unique skills and experiences to the role of sporting director.Special thanks to our ASD Partners: Teamworks, SkillCorner, Elevate Talent, MiMentor, Hudl, Eyeball Football, Traits Insights and Gemini Sports. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

May 27, 202542 min

15. The ASDX Roundtable

Episode 15 of the ASD Podcast features the ASDX team (Dr Alex Bond and Joel Roberts) and Paul Musa.This episode is brought to you by Paul Musa, sports lawyer and host and producer of the What The Footie Podcast.Our objective at the Association of Sporting Directors is to support, develop, and connect our members who are spread out across the globe and all bring unique skills and experiences to the role of sporting director. This episode delves into the evolution of the role, the future development of the role, the benefits the ASD provides to our members and fascinating insights from the ASD Board's work in the game and work with practitioners working at the very heart of the professional game. Special thanks to our ASD Partners: Teamworks, SkillCorner, Elevate Talent, Ahead In Sport, MiMentor, Hudl, Eyeball Football, Traits Insights and Gemini Sports. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

April 15, 202544 min

14. Timmo Hardung on Strategy and Building for Success

Episode 14 of the ASD Podcast features Timmo Hardung (Sporting Director at Eintracht Frankfurt) with reflections and insights from our partners Teamworks.This episode is brought to you by Paul Musa, sports lawyer and host and producer of the What The Footie Podcast.In this episode Paul & Timmo discuss how to build teams, developing playing and non-playing staff, the secret to managing upwards, how the role of the Sporting Director is viewed in Germany and the Bundesliga, aligning departments, squad planning and so much more.The Association of Sporting Directors' mission is to support, develop, and connect our members who are spread out across the globe and all bring unique skills and experiences to the role of sporting director.Special thanks to our ASD Partners: Teamworks, SkillCorner, Elevate Talent, Ahead In Sport, MiMentor, Hudl, Eyeball Football, Traits Insights and Gemini Sports. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

March 25, 202529 min

BONUS: Jake Schuster on Squad Management, AI & Data

This bonus episode of the ASD Podcast features Jake George Schuster (Founder & CEO of Gemini Sports).This episode is brought to you by Paul Musa, sports lawyer and host and producer of the What The Footie Podcast.In this episode Paul & Jake discuss insights around squad planning, how AI can aid squad management and sporting directors in their roles, and so much more.The Association of Sporting Directors' mission is to support, develop, and connect our members who are spread out across the globe and all bring unique skills and experiences to the role of sporting director. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.