Brand Beckham & Osaka's Jellyfish - has sport ever been so fashionable? - The Sports Agents
The News Agents
Global
4.1 • 5.4K Ratings
🗓️ 23 January 2026
⏱️ 23 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Everyone’s been talking about the Beckhams and Naomi Osaka this week. Hard to believe a family feud and a jellyfish outfit at the Australian Open have anything in common - but where Sir Alex Ferguson used to fight to keep David Beckham's focus on the pitch, sport is now embracing fashion like never before...
Lewis Hamilton and Serena Williams pictured at the Met Gala, Stella McCartney designing Arsenal kits, and the famous NBA Tunnel Walks.
Have we all grown up enough to appreciate that athletes having other interests doesn’t mean they aren’t distracted from getting the win? How much money does Naomi Osaka going viral as a jellyfish make for brands and athletes? And should more sports be using fashion to grow the game?
Gabby is joined by The Athletic's Tennis Correspondent, Charlie Eccleshare, and Mayowa Quadri, Football Culture Writer and Head of Brand at Versus.
Plus, we look back at the best bits of The Sports Agents this week: should managers like Oliver Glasner and clubs like Crystal Palace should accept their place in the football food chain? And is a female coach in the Premier League really the holy grail or not?
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Pretty gloomy outside right now. A shot of nature would help us all feel better. |
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| 0:27.7 | £54 a year when paid by direct debit. This is a global player original podcast. So everyone's |
| 0:36.6 | been talking about the Beckham's and Naomi Asaka this |
| 0:39.9 | week. Hard to believe a family feud and a jellyfish outfit at the Australian Open have anything |
| 0:44.3 | in common. But where Sir Alex Ferguson used to fight to keep David Beckham's focus on the pitch, |
| 0:50.0 | sport is now embracing fashion like never before. Lewis Hamilton and Serena Williams pictured at the Met Gala, |
| 0:56.8 | Stella McCartney designing Arsenal kits, |
| 0:59.0 | and the famous NBA Tunnel Walks. |
| 1:01.7 | Have we all grown up enough to appreciate athletes have other interests? |
| 1:05.5 | And it doesn't mean they're going to get distracted. |
| 1:07.5 | They can still focus on winning. |
| 1:09.2 | I realize I'm a little strange because I don't really think I care. |
| 1:12.8 | I want to do things that, like, create joy and happiness. |
| 1:17.2 | And for me, obviously, I really love fashion and that when I was playing today, I just |
| 1:22.9 | told myself, like, keep your head on the path. |
| 1:26.2 | And, like, if she she beats you then that's unfortunate |
| 1:30.3 | but hey at least you're trending on Twitter but how much money does Naomi Asaka going |
| 1:37.3 | viral as a jellyfish make for brands and athletes and should more sports be using fashion |
... |
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