Notes From The Week #12

What’s good all? Hope everyone is having a great start to the week. Writing this one in the back of a cab en route to the airport so apologies if it’s late. On the way back to London after spending some time in the Middle East catching up with old friends and making new ones. Always a pleasure. This week we’ll be looking at the growing popularity of the real football (soccer) in the USA, the Porsche IPO and some thoughts on the importance of critical thinking.

America’s Beautiful Game

With the World Cup set to kick off in Doha in six weeks time—I think it’s fitting to include some commentary on a nation that is seeing a rapid growth in the popularity of the sport. Soccer, globally known as association football, is the most popular sport across the globe and is becoming more and more popular in the States. It is estimated that more than half of the world’s population (4 billion out of 7.7 billion) consider themselves to be soccer fans. With an average attendance of over 20,000 per game, the MLS has the third highest average attendance of any sports league in the U.S. after the National Football League (NFL) and Major League Baseball (MLB). Let’s explore a few reasons as to why the beautiful game is growing in popularity in the United States:

The first reason for the growing popularity of the sport can be pinned down to the growing Hispanic population in the United States. Sports viewership typically varies by race and ethnicity, and for soccer, U.S. Hispanic viewers accounted for the vast majority of viewership in 2018. In fact, Hispanics accounted for an overwhelming 68% of soccer’s viewership during the year, compared to about 12% of viewership to all sports. Over 97 million people watched at least six minutes of a soccer match last year, and over 32 million of them were Hispanic. As the Hispanic population in the U.S. grows, the popularity of soccer will continue to grow with it.

Another reason points to globalisation as a trend. Globalisation is not just an economic phenomenon but also a social idea. Globalisation represents the interaction and integration of people across the world. As the world becomes integrated—ideas and interests fuse. Younger Americans who have spent a lot of their time integrating online with people from across the world have been in digital spaces where soccer references have been made, commentary has been provided and highlights have been shown—all working to peak their interest in the sport. The success of the US Women’s football team has also been a great source of pride for Americans—particularly younger Americans who are keen to see more equal footing between competitive men’s and women’s sports.

A third reason is the changing sentiment to American Football—particularly at a junior level which is working to see children crossing over into soccer. A few days back the NFL and NFL Players Association agreed to modify the league’s concussion protocol following a joint investigation into the league’s procedures after Miami Dolphins quarterback, Tua Tagovailoa, suffered an injury against the Buffalo Bills last month. A few years ago, Bloomberg revealed that 50% of parents questioned in a survey said they wouldn’t let their kids play American football. Even some former players have echoed similar sentiments. NFL Hall of Fame member Adrian Peterson told TMZ that his young son “won’t be playing football.” As parents look to provide their children with access to competitive sports that they don’t deem too dangerous—soccer becomes a viable alternative. With the number of participants in high school soccer in the United States increasing by over 10% in the last decade.1

With both the World Cup (2026) and the Olympics (2028) set to take place in the USA this decade this will provide an even greater impetus to the beautiful game. It is worth mentioning that it was due to FIFA awarding the 1994 FIFA World Cup to the United States that a pledge was made by the United States Soccer Federation to create a Division 1 professional soccer league (MLS). International tournaments provide the opportunity for a wide array of sports to be enjoyed and celebrated—the beautiful game will be no exception.

Porsche’s IPO

On the 29th September, Porsche AG completed its initial public offering (IPO) in Frankfurt. Simply put, an initial public offering (IPO) is when a private company becomes public by selling its shares on a stock exchange. Porsche’s stock opened at 84 euros on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange, up nearly 2 percent over its IPO price. (Fun fact: The company’s stock ticker, P911, and overall share count of 911 million are nods to its iconic 911 model.) About 40 percent of the shares sold in Porsche’s offering went to four big investors, including sovereign wealth funds and the U.S. asset manager T. Rowe Price. An additional amount of shares were sold to the Porsche and Piech families that control Volkswagen. It’s worth mentioning here that Porsche AG is owned by Volkswagen. While Volkswagen is a car brand in it’s own right it also owns a name of other automobile brands such as Lamborghini, Audi and Bentley.

Porsche AG currently has six core models available: these are the 718 and 911 sports cars, the electric sports car Taycan, the luxury Panamera, and its Macan and Cayenne sports utility vehicles (SUVs). Porsche produced over 300,000 vehicles in 2021, marking a new all-time record for the company after a steady ramp-up in output in recent years. Below is an outline of deliveries by model over the last three years:

Even as supply chain issues hampered production across the automotive market, Porsche sold more cars than ever in 2021. It reported last month that it sold more than 300,000 vehicles in 2021, besting its previous annual record of 280,800 in 2019. In the US alone, sales climbed above 70,000, a 22% increase from the previous year. The car maker’s profits were boosted in part by Porsche’s investment in electric vehicles, as sales of its electric Taycan sedan more than doubled from the previous year. During the first nine months of 2021, Porsche sales accounted for about 34% of the profits from Volkswagen’s automotive division. On the back of such a performance Porsche is now entering into a new era with increased entrepreneurial dexterity.

With the IPO, Porsche is shifting up a gear and setting itself ambitious goals: economically, ecologically, and socially. Oliver Blume, the CEO of Porsche says:

Porsche also sees itself in a leading position when it comes to electro-mobility and has set itself ambitious targets: In 2030, Porsche’s ambition is for over 80 percent of new vehicles delivered to be battery-electric vehicles ("BEVs"). As part of its strategy, the company is also working towards a net carbon-neutral value chain in 2030 and a net carbon-neutral use-phase for future BEV models.

This comes as part of Volkswagen’s transformation from brand manufacturer to a vertically integrated mobility group that will see the company invest heavily in areas like autonomous driving software, battery technology and recycling, charging infrastructure. German automobiles have developed a very strong reputation for quality design and high-calibre manufacturing. As Volkswagen looks to make a play in the EV world—this reputation will provide initial credibility that Volkswagen will have to take advantage of as Tesla continues to be the darling in the space creating a new brand of automobile enthusiasts.

Critical Thinking

I saw this video on Twitter and it was powerful to hear commentary from the Ghanaian Education Minister, Dr. Yaw Osei Adutwum, about how crucial critical thinking skills is to the development of not just an individual but to the development of a nation.

I think it’s worth the effort of assessing what exactly critical thinking looks like for an individual. If you haven’t noticed the fourth industrial revolution is well and truly underway. We are seeing the impact of technology not just on the far edges of research and development but they are becoming viable proponents of everyday working life. Companies and organisations that are deciding to invest and explore the capabilities of artificial intelligence and machine learning are seeing the results in their operational efficiency and improvement of key performance insights.

As we enter a world in which artificial intelligence and machine learning becomes more effective at performing the rote skills we were once educated to do. It is becoming ever more important that new systems of education provide the vital onramps that provide all children with the capacity to think critically and reason—in a world that will quickly shift away from a focus on the comprehension of memorised answers to a world that will reward the quality of questions asked.

A person with critical thinking skills is able to:

• Understand the links between ideas.

• Determine the importance and relevance of arguments and ideas.

• Recognise, build and appraise arguments.

• Identify inconsistencies and errors in reasoning.

• Approach problems in a consistent and systematic way.

• Reflect on the justification of their own assumptions, beliefs and values.

Until next week. Peace.