Born into elite sport and shaped by international competition, Jordan Guard has seen the industry from the inside – both its power and its gaps. From representing Wales to founding the Women’s Sports Alliance, her journey has been driven by one clear belief: female athletes deserve structures, strategy and commercial backing that match their talent.
In this Industry Insider feature, Jordan shares the realities of building something new in sport, the turning points that shaped her confidence, and why the commercial rise of female athletes is only just beginning.
What does your role involve that people don’t see?
A lot of silence. A lot of time alone in my office thinking, mapping, pulling threads together. It is long hours staring at a wall asking, how do we move this industry forward for female athletes? There were plenty of rejections early on. Tough conversations where I had to convince people that what I was building had real value. I don’t want to glamourise this, but working long hours and late nights is normal for me. Building something new requires obsession.
What has been the biggest turning point in your journey so far?
The moment I decided to be bold and back myself properly. There was a period where people were looking to me for answers, but I didn’t fully believe I deserved to be in those rooms. When I started respecting my own perspective and experience, the industry responded differently.
There were key people who helped me build that confidence. Andy Moss, Phil Benton and Neill Duffy have all played a big part. Sometimes belief is borrowed before it becomes your own.
What’s something you’ve learned about working in sport that surprised you?
Everyone is working hard, but not always in unison. I have realised that growth isn’t usually hindered by lack of passion, but by lack of alignment. When you connect athlete voice properly with brand strategy and long-term rights holder vision, the growth accelerates quickly. The opportunity has been there all along. It was just never structured properly.
What skill has helped you most in building your career?
Being bold enough to say what others won’t, direct enough to get things done in the way that I feel is best, and obsessive over the small details.
What’s one challenge people don’t talk enough about in the sport industry?
Sport is obsessed with immediate results. Win this weekend. Close the deal this quarter. Deliver this campaign now. But real commercial growth, especially in women’s sport, requires patience and strategic consistency.
Female athletes have often been expected to prove their value instantly, with fewer resources and less visibility. That’s not how sustainable markets are built. If we want women’s sport to scale properly, we have to treat it like an investment category, not a side project.
What excites you most about the future of sport?
The commercial rise of female athletes.
We are about to see a serious shift in how female athletes are valued, marketed and integrated into brand strategy. Not tokenism. Real commercial strategy. We’re building models that haven’t existed before, and they’re working. Being part of that shift feels significant.
What advice would you give to your younger self and to someone starting a career in sport today?
Find a small circle you trust, protect that circle and don’t wait for permission to think differently.
Quickfire Questions with Jordan Guard
Three words that describe the sport industry?
Evolving. Competitive. Driven.
One word that describes your role?
Pioneering.
A book, podcast, or person that influenced you?
The Diary of a CEO. Steven Bartlett has changed how I think about leadership and ownership in an industry that is heavily male-dominated.
Women’s sport is no longer a conversation about potential – it is a commercial reality taking shape in real time. As structures improve and belief compounds, the opportunity for female athletes is expanding beyond participation and into true market power.
