This is the first episode in a new series in collaboration with Portas, the leading global strategy consultancy dedicated to sport and physical activity.

Portas has surveyed more than a hundred chief executives and leaders working across the sports sector to take the temperature of the industry in this extraordinary year.

This episode sets the scene by  talking to two people facing very different challenges. Chris Brindley MBE is chair of the 2021 Rugby League World Cup, which takes place across England later this year. And then we speak to Robert Sullivan, chief executive of The Football Foundation, whose remit is very different acting as the link between football's grassroots and the Premier League, The FA and the British government, with a brief to help communities improve their local football facilities through charitable grants.

To frame the conversations, I first spoke to the person who ran the research program for Portas Consulting, Charlie Cowen, and asked why they did it and what they were hoping to achieve.

If you’d like to find out more about the work of Portas Consulting, and specifically the research programme mentioned in the podcast, you find them at portasconsulting.com.

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