WHERE THE FOOTBALL INDUSTRY MEETS

During the 66th FIFA Congress in Mexico, in May 2016, Fatma Samoura became the first woman to be appointed as FIFA Secretary General. She took office on 20 June 2016.
Ms Samoura was born in Senegal on 9 September 1962. Before joining FIFA, she was a 21-year veteran of United Nations (UN) programmes and the UN’s Resident Humanitarian Coordinator and UNDP Resident Representative in Nigeria. Before this role, she spent eight years in the private sector, working in the fertiliser trading sector for Senchim, a subsidiary of Industries Chimiques du Sénégal.
Ms Samoura earned her master’s degree in English and Spanish at the University of Lyon, and a post-master’s degree in international relations/international trade from the Institute d’Etudes Supérieures Spécialisées (IECS) Strasbourg-Finance.

Ramón Rodríguez, known as Monchi in football enviroment, has been the Sports Director of AS Roma since 2017. 

Born in San Fernando (Cádiz) in 1968, he became a professional footballer in 1991, as goalkeeper of Sevilla FC, where he played until 2000, when he retired. He remained immediately involved with the club as a field delegate. 

Having combined professional football with his Law studies, a few months later he had the opportunity to take over the Technical Secretary of Sevilla. Without previous experience in offices, his intuition made him accept the work without thinking too much about it. 

Since 2000 he has developed a method of analysis and recruitment of football players that has made him a reference in the world of football, reinventing the position of Sports Director. Its management model is a successful model that allowed Sevilla FC to experience the most splendid period in its history, with players such as Dani Alves, Julio Baptista, Frederic Kanouté or Ivan Rakitic, and winning 5 Europa Leagues, 2 Copa del Rey, 1 Spanish Super Cup and 1 European Super Cup. 

In 2017, AS Roma makes official the agreement that links the Sports Director with the club of the Italian capital, where he currently works. 

Ronaldo Nazário (Rio de Janeiro, 1976) Brazilian international footballer who played in several clubs from his country and Europe: Cruzeiro, PSV Eindhoven, Barcelona, Inter, Real Madrid, Milan and Corinthians. Considered by many to be the best centre-forward in the history of football, he has achieved enormous individual and collective titles: Two times World Champion with his national team, awarded with the FIFA World Player on three occasions and winner of the Golden Ball twice, as well as top scorer in World Cup history between 2006 and 2014. He overcame two extremely serious injuries, a fight that was rewarded when, on his return, he became the top scorer and champion of the 2002 World Cup. He was Ambassador of the United Nations Programme for the Development against poverty. Currently he finances education and sport projects, advices organisers of major sporting events and invests in companies related with the football industry.

Jaume Roures participated in the creation and development of Televisió de Catalunya (TV3), where he was responsible for eight years of the Sports News and Productions department and later he was responsible for Special Operations of FORTA (Federación de Organismos de Radio y Televisión Autonómicas). Likewise, he was Head of the Department of Television in Dorna (organizing company of the Motorcycle World Championship).

Rahul Kadavakolu is Director of Global Marketing & Branding at Rakuten, Inc. He joined Rakuten in the Tokyo headquarters during 2016 to help build and drive Rakuten’s global brand and marketing agenda. One of his core missions is to position Rakuten as one of the world’s foremost innovative companies by bringing together the pillars of strategy, design and technology.

By identifying innovative concepts and best practices that can be applied across multiple markets, Rahul is responsible for strategy and execution of marketing and branding for Rakuten’s extensive global business portfolio.  

He has been instrumental in signing the FC Barcelona partnership and making Rakuten FCB’s Official Innovation and Entertainment partner. He was also at the forefront signing the partnership with the Golden State Warriors, making Rakuten the Official E-Commerce, Video-On-Demand and Affiliate Marketing Partner.  

Rahul has more than 18 years of global marketing and brand communication experience across in various industries with a focus on the IT, internet services and technology sectors. Prior to Rakuten, Rahul held leadership roles at Wipro, Ogilvy & Mather and Hakuhodo. He received a Bachelor’s in Commerce from Loyola College, Chennai, India and is an avid cricket fan. 

Rahul Kadavakolu is Director of Global Marketing & Branding at Rakuten, Inc. He joined Rakuten in the Tokyo headquarters during 2016 to help build and drive Rakuten’s global brand and marketing agenda. One of his core missions is to position Rakuten as one of the world’s foremost innovative companies by bringing together the pillars of strategy, design and technology.

By identifying innovative concepts and best practices that can be applied across multiple markets, Rahul is responsible for strategy and execution of marketing and branding for Rakuten’s extensive global business portfolio.  

He has been instrumental in signing the FC Barcelona partnership and making Rakuten FCB’s Official Innovation and Entertainment partner. He was also at the forefront signing the partnership with the Golden State Warriors, making Rakuten the Official E-Commerce, Video-On-Demand and Affiliate Marketing Partner.  

Rahul has more than 18 years of global marketing and brand communication experience across in various industries with a focus on the IT, internet services and technology sectors. Prior to Rakuten, Rahul held leadership roles at Wipro, Ogilvy & Mather and Hakuhodo. He received a Bachelor’s in Commerce from Loyola College, Chennai, India and is an avid cricket fan. 

Jordi Cruyff has spent 24 years in professional football, in which he has forged a successful career, first as a player, and later as a coach and sports director. The youngest of the Cruyff dynasty, his career started in 1992 with FC Barcelona B in the Second Division and, after two years, in 1994 he made it to the first team and became one of Barça’s top scorers along with Stoickhov and Koeman. He stayed at Barça until 1996 and then moved to the Premier League playing for Manchester United – with a one-year lease to Celta de Vigo. With the English club he won 3 Leagues, 1 Champions League, 1 FA Cup, 2 Charity Shield and 1 Intercontinental Cup. 

In 2001, Jordi returned to the Spanish League to join Alaves, first, and RCD Espanyol, two years later. The injuries temporarily separated him from the competition, but he returned to professional football in 2006 to play two seasons at Metalurg Donetsk. At the National level, he defended the colours of the Netherlands and, subsequently, he was also part of the Catalan National Football Team. 

His first steps as a coach started in 2009, combining his job as a player and 2nd coach of Malta’s Valletta FC. In 2010 he announced his retirement as a professional player and signed a contract as the sports director of the AEK Larnaca of Cyprus. In two years he managed to make AEK the first team in the country to qualify for the Europa League. 

His best years as a sports director came with Maccabi Tel Aviv, whom he positioned as the dominant force of Israeli football. Maccabi, with which he stayed from 2012 to 2018, has lived his best years with the arrival of Jordi: 3 consecutive leagues to end a decade of drought, 2 Israeli League Cups and 1 Israeli Cup, with the team playing 5 years in Europe, including the Champions League. Jordi has closed his successful stage in Tel Aviv this season, as coach and runner-up of the League. 

Miguel Ángel studied veterinary previous to his appointment at Atlético de Madrid, something that not many people know. In 1992 he became General Director of the club, gradually ascending until his actual position as CEO and main shareholder.

During this period, Atlético de Madrid SAD, now officially one of the top three teams in La Liga fighting hand to hand with Barcelona and Real Madrid, managed to conquer La Liga twice, two UEFA Europea Leagues, two European Supercups, one Spanish Supercup, three Copa del Rey and a Copa de la Reina, in addition to reaching two UEFA Champion League finals against archenemy Real Madrid. Apart from the undisputable sporting achievements, Atlético has seen a massive increase in its equity as a result of the succesful strategic and consolidation plan implemented, and which will reach it’s peak with the construction of new home stadium and different head offices for its Academy.

With a lifelong commitment to football, as a player and administrator Victor Montagliani’s passion for the game has led him to become a leader within the sport. Montagliani was elected CONCACAF President and FIFA Vice President on May 12, 2016 in CONCACAF’s XXXI Ordinary Congress held in Mexico City, Mexico. He also serves as Chairman of the FIFA Football Stakeholders Committee.

Some of his major achievements within the game include:
FIFA Reform Committee (2016)
CONCACAF Reform Committee (2015)
Former chair of the National Organising Committee for the FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup Canada 2014™ and FIFA Women’s World Cup Canada 2015™.
Member of the Local Organizing Committee for the FIFA U-20 World Cup Canada 2007
Member of the CONCACAF Gold Cup Organizing Committee
Member of the FIFA Legal Committee National Futsal Team

On his passion for the game, Montagliani states: “Football is my life, I have spent my entire life with a football at my feet, in my mind, and in my heart. I am humble to serve CONCACAF while leading the evolution of the region’s game.

Al Guido serves as the CEO and managing partner of Elevate Sports Ventures while concurrently serving President of the San Francisco 49ers – for which he was named on February 15, 2016. Guido, alongside HBSE CEO Scott O’Neil serving as co-managing partner, works to bring comprehensive business solutions to the sports and entertainment industry that identify new revenue opportunities and bring new, innovative ideas to market.

With nearly two decades in the sports industry, Guido has brought concepts to fruition alongside some of the best teams, leagues, brands, venues and owners across the business – inclusive of the realization of Levi’s® Stadium in Santa Clara, Calif., record-setting SBL sales initiatives for the home of the San Francisco 49ers totaling more than $530 million, and industry record-breaking PSL sales for the Dallas Cowboys totaling over $600 million. Guido’s success also spans the National Hockey League, where the Phoenix Coyotes achieved the first revenue increases in the 10-year history of the franchise and finished in the top five in the NHL for new business sales.

A native of Washington Township, NJ, Guido began his career in the sports and entertainment industry with Comcast-Spectacor, owner and operator of the NBA’s Philadelphia 76ers, NHL’s Philadelphia Flyers, AHL’s Philadelphia Phantoms, Comcast SportsNet and the Wachovia Complex. Guido later served as director of business development for the Lakewood Blueclaws (a minor-league affiliate of the Philadelphia Phillies). In 2016, Guido was named to the Forty Under 40 list by both the Sports Business Journal and the San Francisco Business Times, for demonstrating industry excellence and innovation early in his career.

Andrea Agnelli is chairman of Juventus Football Club S.p.A. since 19 May 2010, and Lamse S.p.A., a holding company for which he is a founding shareholder.

Born in Turin in 1975, he studied at Oxford (St Clare’s International College) and Milan (Università Commerciale Luigi Bocconi). While at university, he gained professional experience both in Italy and abroad, including positions at Iveco-Ford in London, Piaggio in Milan, Auchan Hypermarchéin Lille, Schroder Salomon Smith Barney in London and, finally, Juventus Football Club S.p.A. in Turin.

He began his professional career in 1999 at Ferrari Idea di Lugano, where he was responsible for promoting and developing the Ferrari brand in non-automotive areas. In November 2000, he moved to Paris and assumed responsibility for marketing at Uni Invest SA, a Banque San Paolo company specialising in managed investment products. From 2001 to 2004, Mr Agnelli worked at Philip Morris International in Lausanne, where he initially had responsibility for marketing and sponsorships and, subsequently, corporate communication.

In 2005, he returned to Turin to work in strategic development for IFIL Investments S.p.A. (now EXOR N.V.).

He joined the board of directors of IFI S.p.A. (now EXOR N.V.) on May 25 2006.

Agnelli is a general partner of Giovanni Agnelli BV, a member of the board of directors of FIAT S.p.A. (now Fiat Chrysler Automobiles N.V.) and a member of the advisory board of BlueGem Capital Partners LLP. He is the President of “Fondazione del Piemonte per l’Oncologia”.

He is a member of the European Club Association Executive Board since 2012.

Since 24 July 2014 he has served as a board member of the Serie A National League of Professionals and also became a board member of The Foundation for General Mutuality in Professional Team Sports.

In September 2015 he was appointed to the UEFA Executive Committee as an ECA representative and, as of September 2017, he is Chairman of the European Club Association.

Javier Tebas Medrano became the President of LaLiga in April 2013, having previously served as Vice President and as a member of the league’s Executive Committee. Prior to that he had been President of the Spanish football club SD Huesca.

He has been a practising lawyer since 1987. He has served as legal advisor to several Spanish and foreign clubs and sports entities and serves on the boards of several national and international associations. He also teaches Master’s degree courses on sport and commerce.

Doctor in Law at Rey Juan Carlos University in Madrid in which he served as Associate Professor on Labour and Sports Law since 2004 until 2012. Master in Sports Law (2003, Lleida University, Spain) and Master in European Sports Governance (Science Po, Paris).

In the field of football, Emilio was responsible for all legal matters as Legal Director of the Spanish Football Federation for more than eight years (2004-2012). At the same time, he was appointed as member of the UEFA Control and Disciplinary Body for the period 2006-2012.

In March 2012, he was also appointed CAS Arbitrator by the International Council for Arbitration of Sport.

In September 2012, Emilio joined UEFA as Head of Disciplinary and Integrity. In 2017 we was promoted to his current position, Managing Director of Integrity. He is now responsible for all Integrity matters of UEFA, in particular, the following:

– Lead, supervise and provide all necessary legal and administrative support to the UEFA Organs for the Administration of Justice (the Control, Ethics and Disciplinary Body, the Appeals Body and the Adjudicatory Chamber of the Club Financial Control Body) ensuring the highest standards of decision making within the UEFA judicial bodies.

– Providing guidance to national federations, clubs, players regarding the disciplinary framework and procedures.

-Oversee the UEFA Anti-doping and medical programme.

– Oversee the defence of UEFA in disciplinary decisions challenged before the CAS or any other jurisdiction.

– Oversee the operation of UEFA’s Betting Fraud Detection System (BFDS) and the functioning of the network of Integrity Officers in order to shape and coordinate the fight against match-fixing in European football.

Over the last years, Emilio acted as UEFA’s main legal counsel at the most relevant proceedings relating to disciplinary (Fenerbahce, Serbia & Albania, Legia), anti-doping (Ademi) financial fair play (Malaga, Galatasaray) and match-fixing proceedings (Fenerbahce, Besiktas, Eskiserhirspor, Skenderbeu) in European football before CAS.

Julio Senn is a Graduate in Economics and Business Science from the Universidad Complutense, where he specialised in Financial Auditing. He began his professional career with Arthur Andersen in 1990, and 1998 he went on to join the Diario AS part of the Prisa Group, where he was Assistant General Manager of Finance and Human Resources, following which he was appointed Managing Director of Real Madrid Club de Fútbol, in 1999 where he spearheaded the extensive reorganisation and modernisation of the Club, going on to join Garrigues in 2002 as head of the Sports & Entertainment department developing a line of business providing advice and assistance to sports personalities professionals and artists in the entertainment sector.

He teaches the Master’s course in Communications and Journalism at the Escuela de Estudios Universitarios del Real Madrid-Universidad Europea de Madrid.

He is also a member of the Center of Sports Business Management (CSBM) IESE and an instructor on the Auditing Master’s course at the Universidad Complutense.

Julio Senn is a member of the Official Official Register of Accounts Auditors (ROAC).

He speaks Spanish and English.

Alejandro Irarragorri Gutiérrez is of Mexican descent, and was born on May 12, 1971. He graduated with a degree in Business Administration from Universidad Anáhuac, México City, North Campus. He speaks Spanish, English and Portuguese.

He is currently the Founder and Chairman of Orlegi, which owns and operates Club Santos Laguna, Estadio Corona, Teritorrio Santos Modelo, Impulso TSM, Consorcio Vibosa Orlegi, Generacion Energetica Industrial, and JALSER.

Prior to his time as Chairman and President of Orlegi, he served as the Sporting Vice President of Grupo Modelo and as President of Club Santos Laguna, Territorio Santos Modelo, Estadio Corona, and Club Yaquis de Ciudad Obregón and Club Venados de Mazatlán – two professional baseball teams in the Pacific region of Mexico. He also served as President of the Mazatlan Pacific Marathon, The Mazatlan Pacific Triathlon, and the Corona Marathon of Queretaro.

In 2006, Mr. Irarragorri led a sports and social project by Grupo Modelo for Club Santos Laguna and was quickly named President of the team.

In 2007, he achieved the Club Santo´s permanence in the First Division as a leader. In the second half of 2007, he achieved the first overall lead in the history of the Club. It was also during this time when he presented the project for the construction of Territorio Santos Modelo (TSM).

By 2008, Club Santos Laguna had won its third championship, becoming one of the top teams in the Mexican First Division. By 2009 – two years after he presented the project for TSM, the complex was inaugurated and continues to serve as the most important sports, social and cultural complex in Latin America with plans for a second phase in place.

From 2010 to 2015 under his leadership, Club Santos Laguna made it to five finals in Liga MX and two international finals, lifting the team’s fourth title in the first half of 2012. In 2015, the first team and youth teams — Under 17 and Under 20 – all were crowned Champions in the same year, marking the first time a club in Mexico had achieved such a feat.

As Vice President of Grupo Modelo he led Club Yaquis de Obregon to four titles in the Mexican Pacific League (2007, 2011, 2012 and 2013) in addition to two Caribbean Series in 2011 and 2013, representing Mexico. He also guided the Mazatlan Venados to a championship in 2008 after a drought of almost three years, and the club was subsequently named Team of the Decade.

Under the leadership of Mr. Irarragorri, many athletic events have been considered in the “Best of Mexico” category: The Triathlon Pacífico Mazatlán was recognized by the athletic community as the Best of México and one of the best in Latin America. Marathon Corona Querétaro and Great Marathon Pacífico Mazatlán enjoyed a steady growth over four years, ranking in the top 5 athletic events in Mexico for its organization and number of competitors, having more than 12,000 participants in each marathon.

In addition to his wealth of sports leadership experience, Mr. Irarragorri is a member of the Board of Directors of Jalser, S.P.R. de R.I., a top vegetable production company. He is a proprietary Council Member of the General Assembly of the Mexican Football Federation (FMF) and Liga MX, and is a founding member of the Sporting Development Committee of both. He is also a member of the Board at the Universidad del Valle de México (UVM Campus Torreón).

Prior to his sports success and after obtaining his degree in Mexico, he became involved with the company SILEX (1994-1996), moving to Sao Paulo, Brazil. He led in a variety of important areas, including serving as Vice President in the Chamber and Commerce Industry of Brazil / México from 1995-1998, International Vice President in Lazarus Metals Ltd. from1995-1998, Founder and CEO of LAMATRADE from 1996-2000, Founder and CEO of LAMAGER, S.A. de C.V., a leading company in sales and distribution of fertilizers and metals (Founder 2001-2004), President of the National Association of Fertilizer Traders (ANACOFER 2001-2003), and Founding Partner of TCG Strategic Sports Management.

As President of FNG Latin America, Carlos Martinez is responsible for all operations of FNG within the region including the whole portfolio of channels and their related production and digital units, under the brands FOX, FX, FX Movies, FOX Life, FOX Premium, FOX Sports, FOX Sports Premium, FOX News, National Geographic, Nat Geo Kids, Nat Geo Wild, BabyTV, Cinecanal and FOX App.

Martinez is responsible for the growth and consolidation of the businesses in the region as well as new business development. He also oversees FOX Telecolombia, FNG’s scripted production house in Colombia and FNG Latin America sales force that represents owned and third-party channels in several markets.

With more than twenty-five years of experience in the Pay TV industry, Martinez previously served as EVP and Managing Director, and Northern Cone General Manager & Affiliate Sales Regional Director for FNG.

Before joining FNG, Martinez was Director, Affiliate Sales Strategy and Operations for Discovery Networks Latin America and Iberia. Prior to joining Discovery Networks, Martinez served as Director, Affiliate Sales and Marketing for Mexico and Central America for Turner Broadcasting System in Mexico City and beforehand served as Sales and Marketing Director for Telecable Mexicano Group – UIH (United International Holdings) and as Sales and Programming Manager for Cablevision in Mexico.

Born in Mexico, and currently based in Miami, USA; Martinez holds a degree in Business Administration from Universidad La Salle.

“Life doesn’t end here. We have to go on. Life cannot end here. No matter how difficult, we must stand back up. We only have two options: either allow anger to paralyse us and the violence continues, or we overcome and try our best to help others. It’s our choice. Let us please maintain respect. My warmest regards to everyone. It’s been a most amazing and rare experience. We’ll see each other again soon because life does not end here.”

Jürgen found it was only on the football pitch that armed young Colombians seemed willing to engage in dialogue, with football proving a catalyst for communication and cooperation. Drawing on this insight, he developed Fútbol por la Paz (Football for Peace) – a youth project that used football to combat violence in Medellin.

Fútbol por la Paz was not your average football programme. Guns had to be left at the front door, teams had to include a gender mix and disputes had to be settled by the players themselves – not referees. Hardly conventional, yet highly effective. Before long, participants began to reimagine their lives away from the pitch, leading to an increase in social mobility and a decrease in youth mortality. All through the power of football.

Jürgen soon realised that Fútbol por la Paz was not alone. All over the world, organisations were using football as a tool to tackle their various local issues, from AIDS prevention to social integration to gender equality. But there was a problem. There was very little collaboration between these organisations and, by extension, very few opportunities to share experiences and exchange knowledge. Something needed to be done.

With this in mind, Jürgen founded streetfootballworld in 2002 – a global organisation that connects grassroots initiatives like Fútbol por la Paz and amplifies their impact. The journey since then has been nothing short of remarkable.