Perth Glory confirm Anthony Radich as incoming CEO

Anthony Radich

Perth Glory has announced the arrival of Anthony Radich as the club’s new Chief Executive Officer.

A West Australian native, Radich has over 25 years’ experience in senior executive marketing, commercial and administrative roles and a long-time affiliation with Glory.

A former club volunteer and long-time member, he went on to serve as Glory’s Head of Commercial, General Manager and Chief Operations Officer and also negotiated and managed sponsorships with the club when working with both Quick Service Restaurant Holdings (Chicken Treat) and Healthway (LiveLighter).

His most recent stint at Glory as Chief Operating Officer saw the club secure 10,000 members for the first time and be ranked first in the league for overall Membership satisfaction in independent research conducted by Gemba and commissioned by Football Australia.

During this time, the club was also ranked first for game day experience, Membership value, Membership renewal, communication to Members, sense of club involvement and club administration.

Most recently, he spent the last five years as GM Commercial of the Perth Wildcats, eclipsing all commercial records and taking that club to its highest peak commercially.

Anthony, who will look to transition into the role prior to outgoing CEO Tony Pignata’s official departure from the club on September 30, is relishing the prospect of driving the club forward at what is a pivotal time in its history.

“I am incredibly excited and very humbled to be given the opportunity to lead this great football club,” he said in a statement via Perth Glory.

“It is a club that I hold very close to my heart and have loved since day one of its existence and throughout my life.

“I want to sincerely thank [Glory Owner and Chairman] Tony and Lucy Sage for offering me this wonderful opportunity.

“It has been a very tumultuous last couple of seasons for the club, with both the Men’s and Women’s sides undoubtedly among the Australian professional teams most harshly impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.

“My predecessor, Tony Pignata, deserves much credit for the way he helped the club meet the unprecedented challenges it faced during this time.

“As someone who loves the club and the sport, it hurt me deeply to see the toll that these challenges took on everyone associated with Glory and I am determined to ensure that I and my team can now make a significant difference commercially and operationally.

“I am certainly not ignorant of the enormity of the task and challenges that lie ahead of us all at the club.

“We need to rebuild its very foundations both on and off-field. That is the harsh reality of the situation we face, but it also presents a wonderful opportunity.

“It’s always darkest before the dawn and administratively we are faced with almost a start-from-scratch proposition.

“I also want us to be a more accessible, communicative, open and transparent club, to better engage with our Members, corporate partners and the WA football community and to listen to their feedback and concerns in order for us to better understand and learn from what has transpired over the last two seasons.

“They all deserve to feel pride in their club, feel a sense of ownership of it and their engagements with it need to be enjoyable and rewarding ones.

“The onus is very much on us to earn their trust and improve their experience through our actions and delivering on our commitments.”

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Bundesliga secures $7.39bn domestic broadcast deal

The German Football League (DFL) has secured new domestic broadcast contracts for the Bundesliga worth $7.39 billion over four seasons.

The deal, which will run from the 2025/26 to 2028/29 campaigns, represents a modest 2% increase from the current rights package valued at $1.82 billion per season.

This development positions the Bundesliga as the second-highest earner in domestic media rights among football leagues, trailing only the Premier League.

Key Broadcasters and Packages

The DFL confirmed that pay-TV network Sky and streaming platform DAZN will remain the league’s primary broadcast partners:

  • Sky will air the majority of live matches, including Friday evening, Saturday fixtures, and relegation play-offs. It will also maintain exclusive coverage of 2. Bundesliga matches.
  • DAZN secured rights to the fan-favourite ‘Konferenz’ whip-around show and will broadcast Sunday matches. The deal also extends to the DACH region (Germany, Austria, Switzerland).

Free-to-air access is bolstered by:

  • Sat.1, which will broadcast key games such as season openers, relegation play-offs, and the German Super Cup.
  • ARD, ZDF, and Sport1, offering highlight rights.
  • RTL, airing Saturday evening 2. Bundesliga matches and highlight packages.
  • Axel Springer, managing short highlight clips for digital platforms.

DFL’s statement

DFL co-chief executive Steffen Merkel spoke on the incredible record-breaking TV deal that will advance German football.

“The result of the tender underlines the unbroken popularity of German professional football, despite economically challenging times,” Merkel said in a statement.

“Trust and unity within the league association have paid off. At the end of an intensive process, a very good and comprehensively secured financial result has now been achieved.

“The clubs now have planning security at a high financial level for another four years. For the fans, our future partners in both the pay and free-to-air markets will provide a high degree of consistency.”

DFL co-chief executive Marc Lenz shared the same positive sentiment about the new deal.

“The financial security achieved with this result is a key foundation for the positive development of the Bundesliga and Bundesliga 2. From this position of strength, we must tackle the economic, sporting and political challenges – and continue to develop our leagues together with the 36 clubs and make them fit for the future,” he said in a statement.

Market Context and Challenges

The increase in Bundesliga’s media rights revenue contrasts with declines experienced by other major European leagues like Serie A and Ligue 1.

The DFL’s ability to keep Sky and DAZN involved despite legal challenges reflects the league’s strong negotiation position. While DAZN received fewer live matches, its acquisition of the ‘Konferenz’ show could drive subscriber growth.

Future Outlook

The deal provides financial stability for Bundesliga clubs, giving them an advantage over many European rivals. Moving forward, the DFL will focus on expanding its international rights income, with the U.S. deal set to expire in 2026.

The Bundesliga’s mix of traditional TV, streaming, and free-to-air options ensures fans remain well-served, setting the stage for sustainable growth and global outreach.

QLD Government Joins Brisbane Roar and Football Queensland’s Community Program

Brisbane Roar, Football Queensland (FQ), and the Queensland Government (QLD) have partnered to give more young people the chance to play football in the sunshine state.

Under the ‘Active! Queensland’ initiative, the QLD Government will provide a grant to Brisbane Roar’s not-for-profit organisation Roar Recreation and Welfare Limited, extending the Football Queensland and Roar Football in the Community Program.

The funding aims to empower more children to get involved in sport and increase the number of active footballers.

Over 10,000 junior participants are estimated to take part in a range of different activities in the program across 2025.

Brisbane Roar will be responsible for organising over 270 clinics through the scheme, these will include school holiday clinics, community and school programs, training and education, plus game day activities.

Minister for Sport, Tim Mander, outlined the importance of the partnership for Queenslander children.

“To have a healthy community, it is essential that we have an active community,” he said in a press release.

“The physical, social and psychological rewards of sport are enormous, and football plays an important role in seeing these benefits reach young Queenslanders.

“Which is why we are proud to partner with Brisbane Roar to help more local kids enjoy the game, and hopefully set them on a path to years of involvement in sport and active recreation.”

Brisbane Roar Chairman and CEO, Kaz Patafta, expressed his appreciation for the extensive partnership.

“From our ongoing consultation with the Queensland Government, we are beyond grateful to be receiving this support to grow our community programs in collaboration with Football Queensland,” he said via press release.

“With this new funding, Brisbane Roar together with Football Queensland is set to provide more opportunities for local Queensland kids to engage in football, aiming to expand the sport’s reach and impact across the region.

“We’re delighted to be able to provide more opportunities to local Queensland kids to play football as we endeavour to continue growing the game across Queensland.”

The partnership kicked off last Thursday at Suncorp stadium.

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