Football Partnerships

By Fabian Banchiero

The second annual Leaders in Football conference, held this past October 7-8 in London at Chelsea FC’s Stamford Bridge, labeled as the international business summit for all senior executives in the world of football, was – for me – just that.

An amalgamation of three mini conventions, the Football Leaders Summit, focusing on the vision and experience of the football industry’s top executives; the Brand Leaders Summit, spotlighting the world’s most innovative and successful brands; and the Leaders in Performance Summit, concentrating on the identification, measurement and management of sporting talent, Leaders in Football is two non-stop days full of football-business pomp and circumstance.

Keynote speakers included the crème de la crème of the industry, such as Sir David Richards, Jack Warner, Lord Triesman, Don Garber, Danny Jordaan, Sunil Gulati, Lord Mawhinney, Tim Leiweke, Andy Roxburgh, Sven-Goran Eriksson, Andy Anson, Harold Mayne-Nicholls, and Richard Bevan - just to scratch the surface.

As a football nutter and a first-time LiF’er, I found the majority of panels intriguing and relevant, particularly – given my business in the financial industry – topics like the wealth gap between professional clubs and football in the global recession. Despite the names and numbers and brands bandied about, for me, the presenters from football’s nether regions – like Trinidad and Tobago – stole the show.

I refer mainly to showstopper Jack Warner, President of CONCACF, who kicked off the conference and virtually kicked England’s 2018 FIFA World Cup bid out of the competition. Coming in studs up, Warner called out England for its lackluster effort and “divine” sense of entitlement. “England,” he said, “it’s time to stop crawling and start galloping.”

Mr. Warner went as far as to criticize England’s presence – or lack thereof – at the conference, leading to gasps from the audience and ripples of nodding heads. He also discussed broadcasting rights, salary caps, grassroot efforts, player vacations, coaching education, and the future impact of technology on the game itself – but, after effectively ruling England out of the running, no English ears could have really heard the rest.

This caused a dynamic shift in the next series of panels as Lord Mawhinney, Lord Triesman, Richard Bevan, and Andy Anson, CEO of England’s World Cup 2018 bid, made attempts to get the England campaign off its knees and back on its feet. Although many in the media saw differently, as an outsider, I felt that the Britons respectfully took Warner’s comments on the chin and that they will apply the constructive criticism toward improving the bid.

Closer to home, another outstanding panel included Americans Sunil Gulati and Tim Leiweke, who tackled working through the global recession. The give-and-go between Gulati and Leiweke was not only informative but entertaining - especially when Leiweke threw his support to England over the United States for 2018.

A last panel mention, that of Building Sponsorship Value and the Customer Experience at the Brand Leaders Summit, included Brett Yormark, CEO of the NBA’s New Jersey Nets basketball team. Mr. Yormark’s presentation was enlightening and demonstrated why more Americans – with backgrounds outside of soccer - are being hired by Premier League teams to revitalize their sponsorship and marketing programs.

In between the panels, delegates had the opportunity to network and form new and exciting business relationships. I attended all the speed networking sessions, and though I met some prospective partners I felt more could be done to improve the experience. That said, the attractive ladies managing the session made it easier to overlook its shortcomings and helped facilitate some meetings on the fly.

As for the exhibition hall, blinking lights, flashing signs, samples and demonstrations all soaked up my senses. For all the bells and whistles, though, I felt that technology vendors dominated which I found less useful than a greater presence by clubs and football federations.

In summary, Leaders in Football was money well spent, in terms of education, networking and entertainment. I look forward to next year’s event, fresh off of the FIFA 2010World Cup – especially if Jack Warner is handed a microphone.

Fabian Banchiero is a sports consultant specializing in Latin American football and owner of Banchiero Sports Enterprises LLC based in New York.

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