The Price of Football podcast, presented by Liverpool University’s Kieran Maguire and comedian Kevin Day, has been listened to more than 250,000 times – just five months after it launched.
The podcast looks in detail at the money behind the beautiful game and was devised and created by Manchester-based podcast production company Dap Dip.
Price of Football started out as a weekly show and is now published twice a week.
Guy Kilty, founder of Dap Dip and producer of the show, said: “We’re delighted with the progress so far, and we’re confident there’s room for The Price of Football to grow its audience significantly.
“It’s now being listened to tens of thousands of times a week and we think we can push those figures even higher, both in the UK and abroad. The money side of football is of huge interest to fans around the world and there’s a constant stream of stories to cover.
“We’re close to securing a headline sponsor right now and from there we can continue growing and being more ambitious.”
Maguire, a football finance expert at the University of Liverpool, added: “When Guy first suggested the podcast, I wasn’t sure it would work because I didn’t believe anyone would want to listen to an accounting lecturer talk about his spreadsheets.
“However, by managing to persuade Kevin to come on board, the show metamorphosed into something far more conversational, and his line of enquiry reflects exactly the type of questions that fans are asking but are not always answered by clubs or the industry.
“Football continues to throw up tales of the unexpected, such as clubs being sponsored by taxi companies that don’t own any taxis, and the absurdity of it all seems to appeal to listeners even if they’re not interested in football or finance.”
Day added: “My eyebrows are still recovering from the first few episodes of the Price of Football, when Kieran’s revelations about the financial side of the game almost sent them into orbit.
“Things have settled down a little bit since then, but not completely, as each week the dubious dealings and gigantic sums of money involved in football continue to amaze both me and our listeners.
“It’s such a pleasure to have gained so many listeners in such a short space of time – and to be able to answer so many of their questions – and we’re all looking forward to seeing those numbers grow in the future.”
