UP359 Mercury 13's big bet on the value of women's football

Unofficial Partner Podcast

Victoire Cogevina Reynal is asking some really interesting questions about the value of women’s football, now and in the years to come.

She is the founder of Mercury 13, an investment consortium created to build a multi club ownership group in women’s football clubs across Europe and Latin America.

The consortium includes former players such as the ex-England forward Eni Aluko, who is also a former Aston Villa and Angel City sporting director, the former Italy goalkeeper Arianna Criscione, Fifa’s former chief innovation officer, Luis Vicente, and Nancy Hensley formerly worked of Stats Perform.

Last week, the group’s attempt to invest in Lewes FC broke down following an initial exclusive negotiating period.

This would have seen Lewes, in the second tier of English women’s football, become the first of a multi club network of women’s teams, part of $100 million Mercury plan to invest over the coming years.

So this is a timely conversation, which covers a great deal of ground, from Lewes, FC Barcelona and Angel City to the appeal of a closed Super League, the media rights market for women's soccer and the toxicity of the culture war era.

You’ll hear us reference our Unofficial Partner Women’s Football Brainstorm event at DAZN HQ, link here.

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