Author and football club owner Ben Lyttleton understands what we can learn about the most important aspects of work and life from the world’s most popular sport.


In his book Edge: Leadership Secrets of Football’s Top Thinkers, he interviewed some of football’s top coaches, including Thomas Tuchel and Graham Potter, to learn how they foster talent and build empathy within a team, help talents fulfil their potential, and find power in developing a social purpose. Through extensive interviews with the biggest names in the game, and exclusive access to insiders at Liverpool and Chelsea, Ben has developed a comprehensive picture of leadership, teamwork and talent improvement. Ben has worked with football and NBA teams and their coaches to help them develop elite performance and discover their own competitive edge. 


His first book Twelve Yards: The Art and Psychology of the Perfect Penalty examined how individuals understand and manage anxiety to perform at their best under pressure. Ben has advised Premier League and national teams on their penalty strategy.

Ben has distilled all his experiences, learnings and network from football and recently joined a consortium where he is a co-owner and board member at Akademisk Boldklub (known as AB), a professional football team in Denmark with a rich history in education. Ben is at the heart of the process to create a successful club with a clear purpose, a winning team, and an engaged community. The team is currently in the third division but is on the up: they recently beat a top-division side in the Danish Cup - on penalties - to reach the Cup quarter-finals for the first time in over 20 years.