The Insider's Lounge
The Insider's Lounge
What It’s Really Like Owning a Pro Soccer Team in England — with Club Underdog CEO Daniel Hall
On this episode of The Insider’s Lounge, Chad McArthur sits down with Daniel Hall, Chairman of Dagenham & Redbridge and CEO of Club Underdog, to unpack the business, emotion, and strategy behind modern club ownership.
Daniel begins by sharing his personal journey — from a career in law to discovering Dagenham & Redbridge and navigating the complex acquisition process. He explains what you actually get when you buy a professional soccer club and how that compares to traditional business purchases.
They explore the club’s identity, Daniel’s early goals for Dagenham, and the key changes he made in the first phase of ownership. From there, they dive into the ongoing challenge of balancing the commercial side vs. the sporting side, and what makes Dagenham and Club Underdog unique in today’s football landscape.
The conversation expands into the rise of multi-club ownership (MCO), the strategy behind building a player pathway, and the next steps for Club Underdog — including future opportunities and potential expansion into women’s football.
Daniel also opens up about the emotional highs and lows of ownership — including his “What did we get ourselves into?” moment, what makes it all worth it, and why the FA Cup holds such massive importance for clubs like Dagenham.
They wrap up with a behind-the-scenes look at what fans don’t usually see, what Daniel focuses on day-to-day as CEO, and a few rapid-fire questions to close things out.
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Chapters:
00:00 Intro
02:39 From Law to Football: Daniel's Path to Club Ownership
05:27 Finding Dagenham & Redbridge: The Road to Acquisition
09:20 Buying a Soccer Team vs. a Business: What You’re Really Getting
12:49 Inside Dagenham & Redbridge: First Moves and Big Goals
16:43 Balancing the Commercial vs. Sporting Side
18:35 What Makes Club Underdog Truly Unique
20:54 The Rise of Multi-Club Ownership Explained
23:46 Building a Player Pathway Through Club Underdog
27:27 What’s Next for Club Underdog?
28:58 “What Did We Get Ourselves Into?”
30:09 What Makes Club Ownership Worth It?
32:22 Why the FA Cup Matters (Especially in the National League)
36:25 What Fans Don’t See About Club Ownership
37:26 Daniel’s Day-to-Day as CEO of Club Underdog
40:09 Quick Fire Questions
43:56 Outro
