WFS Live speakers

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Paul Barber: “For most of the industry to be losing money every year is clearly an unsustainable model”
Paul Barber: “For most of the industry to be losing money every year is clearly an unsustainable model” 2560 1440 WFS Live

Paul Barber is the Chief Executive of Brighton & Hove Albion FC and will be one of the speakers during the WFS Live powered by Octagon, which is taking place from July 6th to July 10th. We recently caught up with him to talk about the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead fort the football industry in the post-Covid era.

Q. You’ve been in the football industry for over 25 years, do you recall any crisis similar to the one we are currently facing due to the Covid-19 pandemic?
A. No, this is by far the worst crisis for the football industry.

Q. Which have been the major challenges that you’ve had to overcome, personally and professionally, in the past months?       
A. Similar to most people; concerns for people’s health; financial concerns for our business; and general uncertainty.

Q. As a chief executive of a large business, how have you managed to balance the financial pressure of having to get back to business as soon as possible and the huge responsibility of taking care of the well-being of the club’s players, employees and fans?
A. Health must come first. Then it’s about being adaptable, flexible and pragmatic. We’ve tried to be open and transparent to all stakeholders at all times.

Q. Although football is restarting it seems clear that it’s going to be a TV only entertainment for quite some time, meaning that there will be no match-day revenue at least until 2021. How is Brighton preparing to face this unprecedented situation?
A. We’ve taken action to halt major projects and to reduce costs where we can. We’re also lobbying to get fans back in as soon as it is safe, even on a phased basis.

Q. This crisis has proved that clubs rely too much on match-day income and media rights and that if football is to continue growing there is a huge need to explore other revenue streams. Where do you think these new revenue streams can be found considering that investment in sponsoring is also likely to decrease since most industries have been seriously hit?
A. In my experience, clubs have always looked to build new and more sustainable revenue streams. Achieving this while maintaining focus on core objectives is challenging.

Q. A couple of months ago, Brighton Chairman Tony Bloom said he wished Covid-19 “sparks a change in football’s broken financial model”. Do you agree? Which would you say should be the most urgent changes?
A. For most of the industry to be losing money every year is clearly an unsustainable model. We need to be prepared to manage our cost base – player salaries – far more robustly to reverse the model. This is easier said than done in a competitive industry that relies on the best talent.

Q. Changing the financial model will undoubtedly take some time. In the meantime, how do you think this crisis is going to reshape the football landscape and what do you think will be the main consequences?
A. This crisis has shaken all of us. We need to ensure our contracts are more resilient for the future, and we need to ensure we have better protection in our contracts.

“We need to ensure our contracts are more resilient for the future, and we need to ensure we have better protection in our contracts” – Paul Barber

Q. We’re focusing a lot on the challenges, but obviously there will also be opportunities arising. From where we stand today, which do you envision?
A. The obvious one is to learn the lessons of the past 3 months – there are many!

Q. You are going to be one of the key speakers at the upcoming WFS Live powered by Octagon along with a number of global leaders across the industry. How do you think a gathering like this can help football at this moment and what topics and issues are you most looking forward to discussing?
A. It’s always good to share views and opinions, there is much to learn from colleagues.

Q. At WFS Live we believe this crisis can provide an opportunity to kick off a new beginning for the football industry. From the perspective of a top club like Brighton, what do you think can be done in this new era to make football even greater?
A. Well, we’ve all shown we can adapt to very challenging circumstances. We can innovate. We can survive. Hopefully, moving forward we can prosper too.

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WFS Live speaker Luis Vicente explains how Covid-19 will impact right packages
WFS Live speaker Luis Vicente explains how Covid-19 will impact right packages 2048 1365 WFS Live

WFS Live powered by Octagon, will be running from July 6th to July 10th, talking place over a month after the Bundesliga’s return to action and just under a month since LaLiga was also able to resume. It’s time now to reflect on how football was able to make a comeback in various countries around the world after the unprecedented crisis provoked by Covid-19.

As CEO of Eleven Sports and having formerly worked in digital transformation at FIFA, Luis Vicente is perfectly placed to discuss the lessons learned during this time by both linear and OTT broadcasters and by the industry in general. He’ll be doing so on the second day of WFS Live, on July 7th, in a panel titled ‘One Month Into The New Normal: Sport’s Comeback From Covid-19’.

Vicente has already demonstrated his expertise on this subject in one of the ‘Talking Sport’ webinars that have been held in recent weeks as part of a collaboration between Eleven Sports and World Football Summit. Vicente spoke on a similar topic, titled ‘Sport’s Great Comeback: Fighting Back From Covid-19’ and he is very interested in the impact the crisis will have on the future of rights packages.

As Vicente said on that panel: “I think there are, of course, many ways that Covid-19 is definitely going to impact the packages. The traditional inventory packages of sports rights holders will need to change. They needed to change anyway. There was a certain culture that didn’t probably resist the test of time, with the exception of a few organizations.”

In his view, the current crisis and the return of football behind closed doors should further convince industry players of the opportunities to be found online during an event. As Vicente explained: “When you look at the essence of a football match and you look at 47,000 or 50,000 people in a stadium, people tend to forget sometimes that there are millions of people connecting online and trying to engage with that game on social media networks. It’s an amazing ecosystem and we have actually been doing a very poor job in trying to get that all aligned. People sometimes complain about the lack of new forms of monetization. Well, that’s a solution right there that comes from a need.”

Following that line of thinking, Vicente expressed his belief that micro-transactions and micro-subscriptions will become increasingly common and popular and also praised the innovation being seen in eSports.

All of these topics will be discussed in much greater depth during WFS Live, WFS’ first virtual summit. Other speakers already announced include FIFA President Gianni Infantino, LaLiga President Javier Tebas, Real Valladolid President Ronaldo Nazário, S4 Capital executive chairman Sir Martin Sorrell and world champions Iker Casillas, Juan Mata, David Villa, Vicente del Bosque and Fernando Hierro.

Attendees, meanwhile, will come from various leagues, federations, clubs, broadcasters, retailers, sponsors and more and it’s already possible to book a ticket to this unique virtual networking opportunity right here.

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Casillas and Villa, among the World Champions to join the lineup
Casillas and Villa, among the World Champions to join the lineup 1200 800 WFS Live

For a long time, the senior national male team was the weak link of Spain’s impressive football chain. Spain had won almost every existing U- 17, U-19 and U-21 nation competition as well as the Olympic Gold Medal, and LaLiga clubs were consistently among the most successful teams in UEFA competitions. However, when it came to Eurocups and World Cups, Spain’s journey always ended abruptly in painful quarter final defeats.

Over the years, some of the country’s most talented players succumbed to what seemed to be an unbreakable curse. Until a unique generation of footballers, most of which were no more than 1,70 m tall, came together around the much celebrated ‘tiki-taka’, a style that teams across the world still strive to replicate due to its unmatchable mix of beauty and efficiency.

This year marks the tenth anniversary of the most remarkable success of that unique generation of players: the 2010 FIFA World Cup. The victory against the Netherlands in Johannesburg meant tearing down the final wall for Spanish football. It brought the whole country together in the midst of a global economic crisis that was devastating for its citizens, and its importance went far beyond the playing field. The World Cup ignited the professionalization and modernization of all the structures of the sport in the country, consolidating Spanish football as a powerful industry and one of the pillars of Spain’s country brand.

To celebrate this tenth anniversary, WFS Live powered by Octagon and Senn, Ferrero Sports&Entertainment are bringing together some of the key actors of that historical victory: Fernando Hierro, former Sporting Director of the Spanish Football Federation; Vicente del Bosque, Manager of the team from 2008 to 2016; Iker Casillas, the captain, David Villa, top scorer, and Juan Mata, who was one of the team’s rising stars in South Africa, will be sharing their memories with moderator Julio Senn in a session that will surely touch the heart of all the fans of that remarkable team.

‘La caída del muro: A decade from Spain’s historic World Cup win’ will take place on Friday July 10th a day that has been added to the WFS Live powered by Octagon schedule, which will run from July 6th to 10th. This extra day will be focused on discussing on the pitch issues and will feature some of the game’s biggest legends.

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FIFA President Gianni Infantino to address the aftermath of Covid-19 at WFS Live
FIFA President Gianni Infantino to address the aftermath of Covid-19 at WFS Live 2560 1707 WFS Live

WFS Live powered by Octagon is proud to announce that FIFA President Gianni Infantino has joined our lineup of speakers. He will be taking the virtual stage at the closing session of this online and fund-raising event that will gather industry leaders across the globe to discuss the aftermath of the Covid-19 crisis. The FIFA President will share insights on how football’s global governing body envisions the future of the game.

Gianni Infantino was re-elected FIFA President for a second term by acclamation in June 2019 after successfully implementing a number of crucial governance and administration reforms that completely revamped football’s governing body and lead to unprecedented financial success.

FIFA President Gianni Infantino.

For this new term, he established the mission of “making football truly global”, which includes “paving the way to a landscape in which, one day, we will have at least 50 national teams and 50 clubs from all continents who can compete at the highest levels worldwide.”

“I am happy to accept the invitation of my friend and FIFA Legend Ronaldo to participate at the event that he is hosting online. This is a time for the global football community to be united, and this event provides a unique platform for leaders and stakeholders across the world to join forces and work together while raising funds to tackle the effects of Covid-19 on vulnerable communities,” said Gianni Infantino.

“I am happy to accept the invitation of my friend and FIFA Legend Ronaldo to participate at the event that he is hosting online. This is a time for the global football community to be united, and this event provides a unique platform for leaders and stakeholders across the world to join forces and work together while raising funds to tackle the effects of Covid-19 on vulnerable communities,” – Gianni Infantino, FIFA President.

“The industry needs true leaders more than ever and we can’t think of a more inspiring figure in football than Mr. Gianni Infantino. His job at FIFA has helped globalize, popularize and democratize football for the benefit of the entire world. I think it is great news that stakeholders across the globe will be able to hear from him at WFS Live powered by Octagon, and we are truly honored to have him,” said Ronaldo Nazário.

Gianni Infantino leads a stellar lineup that will feature up to 50 top-notch leaders representing the sports industry’s major properties and brands.

WFS Live powered by Octagon is an online, fund-raising event, co-organised by World Football Summit, Ronaldo Nazário and Octagon Brasil, that will bring football’s global leaders together from July 6th to 9th to discuss the aftermath of the Covid-19 crisis and the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead for the game and the industry. All net proceeds will be donated to Common Goal and Fundação Fenômenos to help tackle the effects of coronavirus on vulnerable communities.

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