Football Partnerships

By Alex Kotler

Sufferin’ Becks-a-tash

AC Milan, LA Galaxy and England international midfielder David Beckham is out of the 2010 World Cup.

The global sports icon sustained an injury to his Achilles tendon in a match this Sunday, costing him a place on the English National Team for this summer’s tournament. Although considered more of a bit-part player at this stage in his career, his experience - both on the field and in front of camera - will be missed by his teammates.

A surgery performed today in Finland will determine the extent of the injury, which will almost certainly close the door on his international competitive career. What also remains to be seen is how and whether the injury will impact his endorsement deals, some of which may have World Cup clauses or activation initiatives.

What do you think? Will his commercial arrangements take a massive blow?

Read more Beckham’s injury

Barber puts his Whitecap on

Paul Barber, former Executive Director at Tottenham Hotspur and current CEO of USSF Division II side Vancouver Whitecaps, was officially introduced at a press conference last Wednesday in British Columbia.

The two-time guest on the Football Partnerships podcast counts the opportunity as his third dream job - the first being his role as Marketing & Communications Director at the FA and the second at his boyhood club of Spurs.

We wish him the best of luck in his new post.

Read more and watch the press conference video

Put a cap in it

Outgoing chairman of the Football League, Lord Brian Mawhinney, posits that a salary cap is inevitable.

According to an interview by the BBC, as reprinted in the Guardian, Mawhinney said that “the business model of professional football in [the UK] doesn’t work, it’s broke and you see that reflected in the administrations and all the rest of it.”

UEFA president Michel Platini also champions restrictions on spending throughout European. Meanwhile, in the United States, Major League Soccer - which imposes a salary cap - is involved in mediation proceedings with the MLS Players Union over a collective bargaining agreement which threaten to derail the start of the season in two weeks.

Which position is preferred? A system with limitless spending or one that imposes fiscal responsibility measures at the expense of globally competitive salaries?

Read more from Mawhinney

North Korea take home field advantage in South Africa

The North Korean National Team will apparently have home field advantage when they take on the Ivory Coast on June 25th at Mbombela Stadium in Nelspruit.

According to the JoongAng Daily, North Korean workers are raising much needed capital for the rogue state by helping to build this 43,500-seat stadium and others.

“[An estimated 1,000] North Koreans have been put to work on four to five stadiums that require renovation, including Soccer City stadium in Johannesburg, where the opening and closing ceremonies, plus the final will be staged,” said one source said.

What are your thoughts?

Read about it in the JoongAng Daily

Assauer lets comments out of the closet

Former Schalke boss Rudi Assauer has gone public with his opinions that gays have ‘no place’ in football.

The outspoken German went on to say: ‘If a player came to me and said he was gay I would say to him: “You have shown courage.” But then I would tell him to find something else to do.’

Despite rumors and whispering, there are zero openly gay footballers in England and Wales - out of 4,000 total players. Assauer’s opinions do little to encourage any to step forward.

Should Assauer ‘find something else to do’?

Read about it in the Daily Mail

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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Football business event Leaders in Football has announced Lord Brian Mawhinney, independent Chairman of The Football League, will deliver a keynote address.

Lord Mawhinney is also Deputy Chairman of England’s 2018 World Cup Bidding team. He will set out his plans to ensure a sustainable future for professional football in challenging economic conditions which are stretching the gap even further between the richer and poorer clubs.

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