BEST BUSINESS SERVING FOOTBALL
o Ahead in Sport
Ahead In Sport are at the forefront of football, and wider sport related, education and training programmes.
Working globally with organisations and academic institutions, they provide industry expertise and support curriculum development to create unique and innovative programmes, including the industry-leading on-line BSc(Hons) in Applied Football Studies delivered in conjunction with the University of Salford Business School.
Designed specifically for those involved in the football industry it provides a flexible HE offering and allows learners to combine studying with their existing football commitments.
The programme accurately reflects the nature of the modern game, providing content which combines learning in key areas such as leadership, talent development and psychology with practical business skills and an understanding of the interaction across various football departments.
Supported by professional insight, including guest webinars from those such as Steven Gerrard, Kevin Thelwell, Iffy Onoura and Dr Alex Culvin, learners also benefit from our unique Industry Mentor initiative, enabling them to seek advice and guidance from those that have experienced the transition from playing into education or employment.
In recognising the need for education to be a key component of the athlete-transition process, and through its innovative use of technology, we are proud to have developed a ground-breaking programme for those who wish to turn their passion for football into a sustainable career.
o Eleven Sports Media
As football clubs battle accusations they are losing touch with their local fanbases, Eleven Sports Media reconnects clubs with communities, forging deeper ties for supporters and providing a platform for growth for local businesses.
Founded in 2009 in north-west England, Eleven’s portfolio of community partnerships and award-winning fan-engagement technology serves over 700 local businesses and scores of football clubs. Its role was never more important, as businesses battled to get back on their feet through the pandemic.
Following a difficult start to the year, Eleven refocused on its three main pillars: Sport. Technology. Community. Its commitment to the commercial economy of football in these three areas saw Eleven break all its records in 2021. In the UK, it signed long-term partnership renewals with Celtic FC and London Stadium. Eleven also expanded into the US market, with a landmark partnership with New York City FC.
Despite Eleven’s rapid growth, community remains at its heart. It became NYCFC’s Academy shirt sponsor, adding that to its sponsorship of Celtic’s B Team and Women’s team shirts, and a roster of shirt sponsorships across the EFL.
Eleven finished 2021 as global leaders in the creation and execution of community-driven sports partnerships, underpinned by transformative technology.
o Football Fun Factory
The Football Fun Factory is a truly unique children’s football coaching organisation that creates magical and memorable football experiences for boys and girls of all ages and abilities. We are serving football by encouraging young boys and girls across the country to get involved and take their first steps in the game.
We are creating football communities across the country where children, parents and families feel a huge sense of belonging and benefit from all of the wonderful opportunities that football provides.
Our programmes offer the opportunity for children to take part in a range of fun and exciting inflatable football experiences that alleviate pressure and allow children to simply focus on having fun!
Our coaching ethos revolves around encouraging both physical and personal development. Sessions are not about rewarding natural ability or talent – instead focusing on personal enjoyment and the development of a love for the sport, which helps to create a positive relationship with football throughout life.
Over the past 12 months the Football Fun Factory has trebled in size with new franchises opening across England, Scotland and Wales. Our bold ambition and audacious goal is to become the world’s leading children’s football coaching organisation.
o Piglets Pantry
Piglets Pantry is an award winning supplier of baked sweet and savoury items based in West Sussex Family owned with 65 kitchen production staff and a Management and support team of 12, Piglets focus on great products, hand crafted and decorated for clients of all sizes.
Our highly skilled Chef team develops all of our recipes and products in house, everything from the next best selling sausage roll to hand decorated birthday cakes in your team’s colours. Moving to our new 28,000sq ft premises in August 2021 has opened up new opportunities for us to expand our best selling range of Afternoon teas, cakes and sweet lines as well as introducing a dedicated vegan savoury section.
Piglets Pantry offers a solution unlike any other within the industry As we are not machine led we have the ability to turn our business at a moment’s notice incorporating our clients ideas into our products and making any request a reality At Piglets our ethos is ‘The answer is yes, now what was the question ’ A whole range of retro brownies using well loved biscuits, no problem, a vegan loaf cake for your special event, of course, bespoke biscuits for your club
o Premier Relocation UK
Premier Relocation was created in 2011 by founder and CEO Andrew Wells, to provide household goods moving services with a clear focus on quality and customer service. Andrew’s background in First Class Travel service gave him a deep understanding of the needs and expectations of the customer.
Moving home can be stressful for anyone but for of our customers the requirement to move often comes with little or no notice and requires the player to be “on the training ground” the next day with little or no time to make the necessary arrangements. Premier Relocation is focussed our supporting these needs.
Our vision and mission are very clear to all our team and through training, mentoring and focus on care and attention to detail we have built a team that share our purpose. Attention to detail is key, we have unprecedented levels of training for our team members on all aspects of packing ensuring that everything we touch is handled with care and packed to the highest standards there are. Good enough is not acceptable to us.
In the words of Andrew Wells, our CEO; “We have managed to tailor our service to complement the extraordinary lifestyles of extraordinary people”.
o Stadion
Stadion is a team of creators – designers, strategists and engineers, passionate about creating beautiful digital experiences for clients in the world of sport.
We create digital products and use them as the foundation for shaping bespoke, cutting-edge experiences for global sports entities – powering everything from websites and apps to voice interactions and beyond.
Our focus is on helping rights holders grow through the use of digital media – Commercial growth through sponsor and fan revenue, International growth through multi-language and geo-targeted experiences, and Content growth by creating tools to publish any type of content on any platform.
Our client partners include top Champions League football clubs, leading rugby clubs, national and international governing bodies and federations such as FIFA, Team GB, and the Australian Olympic Committee.
o Visa
In 2018, Visa announced a landmark multi-year partnership with UEFA, becoming the first ever UEFA sponsor dedicated to women’s football. The historic announcement offered an exciting platform to position Visa as a champion of diversity and inclusion across the board, whilst showcasing its commitment to celebrate and support women’s football at all levels. In 2020 Visa extended that support to underscore its ongoing commitment to female empowerment through to the launch of The Second Half: a career development programme for professional female footballers. The aim of the programme was to help build confidence in players in their abilities off the pitch, recognising their transferable skills and enabling them to see that a career in the business world is possible when they choose to hang up their football boots. Following a successful year in the UK, Visa announced its expansion of TSH into Spain in September 2021, in partnership with La Liga. After running two cohorts of TSH in the UK as well as one in Spain, Visa is proud to say they have supported many female footballers. TSH will continue to build and grow in the current markets as well as expand into new markets in the near future.
o Other Media
Other Media are the professional advantage behind sports organisations big and small, local and global, connecting sports with fans everywhere for over 20 years.
We craft bespoke, engaging products – websites, apps, and voice – to connect fans with everything from their sport: from news, results, tickets, retail, hospitality, loyalty, to stadium entry, F&B ordering, and more besides.
Our Clubcast Fan Experience Platform simplifies the management of these digital touchpoints, giving editors ease of control of content, sponsorship, advertising, and fan engagement functionality across the whole fan experience.
Fan interactions build the Data Cloud within Clubcast that powers personalised content and communications to deepen engagement.
With world class user journeys engaging fans, all seamlessly integrated and easily managed, connections with fans deepen and revenues grow, delivering substantial ROI with no upfront cost.
This season we’ve delivered solutions for new clubs and pushed the boundaries for existing clubs with cutting edge voice skills, membership services, widgets, and much more.
