Created and hosted by Asli Pelit and Michael LoRé, Finance of Football is a podcast focused on The Business of the Beautiful Game.
While football is the most popular sport on the planet, it hasn’t witnessed the same success in the United States … yet. But with the 2024 Copa América, 2025 FIFA Club World Cup, 2026 FIFA World Cup, 2028 Olympics and 2031 FIFA Women’s World Cup coming to the country and continent, the money and interest in the game is expected to reach unprecedented heights and could be the catalyst that brings football to the forefront in the U.S.
Each episode, we not only discuss and debate the how, but, more importantly, the why around the biggest topics, themes and trends in football, particularly in the U.S., while being joined by guests who can lend their expertise and experience to the conversation.
Thanks for listening!
– Asli and Michael
Asli Pelit is a seasoned sports business journalist currently covering women’s soccer for The Athletic. She has experience covering sports deals for Sportico and producing visual stories for Voice of America, USA Today Sports, and VICE on HBO.
Before focusing on the business side of soccer in the U.S., she spent ten years in South America producing and hosting “THE CONTINENT of 10s,” a documentary series exploring soccer, business, politics, and culture over five seasons (65 episodes).
Asli has reported from five Copa Americas, three World Cups, and numerous soccer matches across Europe, South America, and North America. Fluent in five languages, she offers a global perspective informed by her on-the-ground reporting. She holds an MBA from Columbia Business School, a B.A. in Journalism from New York University and an M.A. in Latin American Studies from the University of Havana.
Michael LoRé is a veteran sports journalist and storyteller with more than 15 years of experience in the industry as a writer and editor, having worked for daily newspapers, pro sports teams/leagues as well as online media startups. Currently a freelancer focused on soccer and golf based in New York City, Michael’s work has appeared in outlets including: Forbes SportsMoney, The Guardian, Robb Report, Glory, PGATOUR.com, Vice Sports and Yahoo Sports.
During his career, he’s interviewed many of the top voices in the game including: Don Garber, Jill Ellis, Christian Pulisic, Julie Foudy, Bryan Robson, Roberto Martinez, Gary Neville, Alex Morgan and Andrea Pirlo.
Growing up playing soccer like millions of children around the U.S., Michael continued with the sport through high school, doing his best to “bend it like Beckham” but to no avail. Realizing his playing career had peaked—though he still enjoyed playing for fun until another recent knee injury led him to hang up his boots for good—Michael sought to stay immersed in the sport through journalism. As digital content coordinator of New York City FC during the club’s inaugural season in 2015, Michael’s passion for the Beautiful Game was reignited as he continues to storytell and support the sport that’s given him so much.
Finance of Football 