Kategória: English content

A lawyer, a professor and a tutor. Erkut Söğüt is the founder of GROW and Pitchside agencies, but many of us know him as the representative of Mesut Özil. Apart from the former Real Madrid, Arsenal and German national team star, the Hannover-born sports lawyer with Turkish descent has been taking care of other players’ and executives’ careers like Kieran Gibbs or Robert Pirès. He is one of the faces known from the first Football Forum Hungary that took place last year in Budapest, and this year he is back to give us updates on how the agents’ world currently looks like and what is the situation since the introduction of the notorious new FIFA Agent Regulations. In this interview, he talked to us about his career, current activities, and new goals.

Founded in 2015, A.S. Velasca football club is an ‘Institution of Art’. From the tickets through kits, captain’s armband and shin guards to the corner flag, every single element of the game has been designed by acclaimed artists. We had an exclusive opportunity to talk with the club’s first man and asked him about the background, the ideals and future plans of this uniquely managed club.

A Colombian and a Dutch entrepreneur have revolutionised the sports experience and created Homefans, a platform that gives fans the opportunity to create unique and memorable experiences at their favourite sporting events. Daniel Alejandro Velásquez González, co-founder and COO of Homefans, spoke in an interview with our portal about which personal experiences made him feel that this could be a successful idea, but also about the community-building power of his company and what other sports, besides football, they could target in the future.

MatchWornShirt offers clubs, foundations and charities the chance to unlock and optimise their fundraising potential, whilst also offering fans the chance to own a moment – in the form of a match worn shirt of their favourite player. Grabbing such memorabilia, even a couple of years ago, used to be an almost impossible mission but now it is a smooth experience starting by a simple online bidding process. What is even more rewarding, the money fans pay for these unique items serves good causes: it goes to club charities and youth development. Bob Zonderwijk, co-founder and Head of Marketing, shared their story with us, explained why authenticity of sports memorabilia is crucial and how they ensure it, and revealed how they build a bridge between the old economy [collecting physical items] and the new economy [technology and innovation].

During his football career, Gábor Király was considered a star not only in Hungary, but also in England and Germany. But few people know that he reached success not only on the pitch, but also in business. He has been running his own company for 20 years. Even as a player, the former 108-time Hungarian national goalkeeper consciously prepared himself for the time after his retirement. As early as 2003, he founded the „Király Sports Facility in Szombathely,” in 2006 he established the Király Sports Club, and in 2013 he founded the Gábor Király International Goalkeeper School. In this interview, the former top athlete talked about how he uses the skills he has acquired in sports in the business life, what experiences he has gained abroad, why he is not afraid to take on a leadership role and why it is so important for him to share the knowledge he has acquired in other countries.

Xfb Analytics is an expert in football analysis: they offer data-driven IT solutions for measuring the performance of players and provide a deeper insight into the game through the most modern metrics using artificial intelligence-based models. The company’s CEO explained that just as video analysts can already be found in the Hungarian First Division teams, data analysts will also become part of coaching teams very shortly. Attila Csernus presents his company’s first own product in detail, which was already noticed by clubs from Brazil and the United Arab Emirates besides Hungarian and European teams. The company had a successful demonstration on the main stage of the football world, at the 2022 World Football Summit in Seville.

How did a Hungarian company end up working with such a sports giant brand like Borussia Dortmund? Co-founder and creative director Mark Szegner revealed to us how Pressenger offers a win-win-win situation for the sports industry in an unusual way. Other topics, such as pizza, peace, and the fight against racism, were also discussed.

The investment firm APEX Capital has recently added six new shareholders, from international professional footballers to former Formula 1 drivers. The two-year old company is on its way to becoming a preferred and well-established investor in sports, media and entertainment. In an interview with our website, APEX Capital CEO Antonio Cacorino talked about how their mission is to turn athletes into active investors, what makes a startup attractive for them, and what the near future could bring for the company and for himself in the sports and entertainment business.

Capital Block, one of the leading sports and entertainment Web3 agencies, is focused on the long-term strategy of sports clubs. The company’s CEO revealed that the NFT collection launched by Galatasaray Football Club sold out in 59 seconds, and also told us in this exclusive interview that they plan to work with more than 150 clubs over the next five years.

ELEVEN is a sports media destination delivering world-class entertainment to fans around the world. In October 2020, ELEVEN acquired MyCujoo, a live streaming platform providing live and on-demand broadcast of football matches, sports events, and highlights from around the world, as well as MyCujoo’s award-winning, proprietary streaming technology. In the interview, Diego introduces the benefits of the platform, and talks about its monetisation opportunities, while also revealing how they are able to stay on top of popular live streaming platforms.