The Sport of Business

Sport teaches you more than you think. You just need to know where to look. These are short lessons from elite sport about performance, business, and turning what you know into something commercially valuable.

England's Cricket's latest nightclub fracas has triggered the usual debate. Should Ben Stokes have been out? What example is he setting? Has Bazball gone too far?The thing is, Bazball was never really a cricket strategy.It was a culture.McCullum and Stokes built an environment around freedom, tru...

Jun 10, 2026

What got you here won't get you there

Aryna Sabalenka has a problem. She's the most dominant player in women's tennis. But she only has four Grand Slam titles. And a lot of people think she should have many more. The criticism is always similar. She needs to be less emotional. More adaptable. She needs a Plan B. She needs to f...

by Tim Stoller — Jun 04, 2026

The anatomy of an elite athlete

People massively underestimate how much elite sport conditions you psychologically. Not just the discipline, but the way you interpret the world. In sport, feedback is immediate. You get selected, or you don’t. You know your stats. There’s always a scoreboard. And there are plenty of people telli...

by Tim Stoller — Jun 02, 2026

The market rate for an Olympian is $0

That sounds ridiculous. Until you realise it's true. This week, the new IOC President, Kirsty Coventry, said she doesn't believe Olympic athletes should be paid. Many athletes were understandably furious. The Olympics generates billions. Meanwhile, plenty of athletes are crowdfunding training ...

May 29, 2026

How to play the long game

You've spent years mastering your sport. The discipline. The sacrifice. The ability to take a long-term view when everyone around you is focused on the next game, the next season, the next contract. That's rare. Most people don't have it. And here's what I want you to understand: that exact mind...

May 20, 2026

Female Rugby Players Need More Than Flexible Jobs

Helping athletes build income streams and businesses of their own may be one of the most compatible and sustainable paths available alongside elite sport. We were at the Rugby Players Association's Thrive event last week. It’s a brilliant initiative designed to better support female rugby players...

May 19, 2026

Real Madrid are making the same mistake that kills most founder-led businesses.

It's the wrong answer to the wrong question. They've endured a disastrous 2025/26 campaign. Two straight seasons without winning a major trophy. Two managers, Xabi Alonso and Álvaro Arbeloa unable to maintain control of the dressing room. Mayhem on and off the field. So what does the club do?

by Tim Stoller — May 13, 2026

Being caught in the bushes is the least of your problems

Southampton are my football team. Have been since the early 1990s. I won't pretend that's been a glamorous journey. Less ups and downs. Mostly downs. So I have some stake in what's happened. With the Championship play-offs, and a potential £200 million prize for promotion to the Premier League on...

by Tim Stoller — May 11, 2026

The longer you look, the less sure you become.

1-0 to the Arsenal. West Ham are almost certainly relegated. And in between those two outcomes sat 4 minutes and 11 seconds that nobody, not the officials, not the pundits, not the managers, not 60,000 people watching in the ground, will agree on. Gary Neville called it the biggest moment in VAR ...

by Tim Stoller — May 11, 2026

LIV Golf had over $5 billion in funding. That money’s gone.

Now we'll see what it's actually made of. The whole thing was built on disruption. Big names, big contracts, and a level of Saudi capital that made the traditional golf establishment genuinely nervous. Away from the controversy, though, I've always had a pretty basic question.

by Tim Stoller — May 11, 2026 newsletter

The Sport of Business

Sport teaches you more than you think. You just need to know where to look. These are short lessons from elite sport about performance, business, and turning what you know into something commercially valuable.

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