The Deal Room Sport (SGI + Sporting Jobs)

Spain Rugby, Strategic Partnerships and the Retainer Revolution

In this episode of The Deal Room Sport from Sporting Group International and Sporting Jobs, host Ed Nell is joined by Ian Dutton, Harry Lynch and SGI’s Country Manager for Spain, Diego Pesqué, to explore the growing opportunity around Spanish rugby, new brand partnerships and the rise of SGI’s retainer model. They discuss why rugby in Spain is becoming an increasingly attractive proposition for brands, how the best deals solve real business problems rather than simply selling shirt space, and why both rights-holders and sponsors need the right people in place to activate partnerships properly. Key Takeaways Diego explains that rugby in Spain has grown rapidly in recent years, backed by investment in coaching, international events and overall development by the Royal Spanish Rugby Federation. Spain’s men’s 15s have established themselves at a strong European level, the sevens programmes are performing well, and qualification for the 2027 World Cup in Australia has created fresh momentum. For brands looking to enter Spain without fighting through the crowded football market, rugby is becoming a compelling alternative. A major theme of the conversation is that football remains hugely important, but it is not the answer for every sponsor. Ian notes that many brands do not want to sit alongside direct competitors in an overcrowded category, while the cost of entry can price out businesses that still want meaningful exposure. Rugby, by contrast, can offer a cleaner space, different values and a more distinctive positioning. Diego makes the point that modern sponsorship is no longer about simply selling a logo on a shirt or minutes on an LED board. The real work is in understanding what the brand actually needs. That might be market entry, product integration, operational support or commercial growth. SGI’s role is to identify those needs and then shape a partnership that delivers against them. One featured partnership is with Spanish beer brand Ambar, which wanted to make a stronger push into Madrid and saw rugby as the right vehicle. The fit made sense culturally as well as commercially: beer and rugby already have a natural connection, and Ambar wanted its product physically present where it mattered, in and around matchdays. For the federation, it meant aligning with an ambitious brand that matched its own growth trajectory. The Ebury deal is highlighted as a strong example of SGI’s approach. Rather than just buying an asset, Ebury was interested in taking over the federation’s foreign exchange business. That meant the partnership delivered both visibility and a real operational solution. Ian describes this as a more strategic form of partnership, where the sponsor can say not only that it supports the property, but that it actively helps run part of it. From the Sporting Jobs perspective, Harry explains that brands often spend significant money securing sponsorship rights but then still need experienced people to activate those rights properly. The panel note that activation can cost somewhere between 50 and 100 per cent of the original partnership fee. Without the right expertise and resource, even a good deal risks underperforming. Because Sporting Jobs sits alongside a sponsorship agency, the team have a close-up view of what brands actually need once they sign a deal. Harry says this is becoming a major focus area: helping brands recruit people with sports partnership experience who can manage, monitor and bring those deals to life. That could include roles in activation, partnerships and wider commercial delivery. Ian describes SGI’s retainer model as a flexible extension of a rights-holder’s internal sales team. It is particularly useful for smaller clubs and emerging properties that do not yet have the budget, timing or need to hire a full commercial team. Instead, SGI can plug in, help shape a strategy, find the right partners and build momentum until the property is ready to scale internally. Diego sums up one of the episode’s core messages neatly: too many clubs still think in terms of inventory only, selling shirt logos, hospitality boxes or LED boards, rather than understanding the commercial objectives of the brand in front of them. SGI’s value lies in bridging that gap and helping rights-holders think more like strategic partners than inventory sellers. Key Moments “Football will always be a huge part of our business… but it is crowded, and a lot of brands don’t want to align themselves with some of their competitors.” “We needed to find what was in there for the brands, not just brand awareness… and we found it.” “Long gone are the days where brands were happy with just sticking the logo on a shirt or shorts.” “The activation side of a partnership is somewhere between 50 and 100% of what the actual partnership costs.” About Sporting Group International Sporting Group International (SGI) is a global sports marketing and sponsorship agency with representatives across Europe and Asia. They connect brands, clubs, governing bodies and athletes through high-value partnerships, including stadium naming rights, shirt and sleeve sponsorships, official partnerships and endorsement deals. SGI also support rights holders and investors with strategic commercial advice, international market development, recruitment and talent management, helping to drive revenue growth and brand visibility across the world of elite sport.

Sport, Sustainability and the New Revenue Opportunity

In this episode of The Deal Room from Sporting Group International and Sporting Jobs, host Ed Nell is joined by Adrian Wright, Ian Dutton and Harry Lynch to unveil the Sports Sustainability Consortium. What began eight years ago as an unexpected conversation about EV chargers has evolved into a wider offer spanning solar, charging infrastructure, finance, installation and ongoing servicing. The panel explore why the timing is finally right, how clubs can cut costs while improving their ESG credentials, and why sustainability is rapidly becoming a serious commercial and recruitment issue across sport. KEY TAKEAWAYS The Sports Sustainability Consortium has been years in the making. Adrian explains that the idea started when a global EV business asked whether SGI could help place charging points at sports clubs. The market was too early then, so the team spent years learning the sector elsewhere – in car dealerships, hotels, golf clubs and retail – before bringing that knowledge back into sport at the right moment. This is more than just chargers and solar panels. The consortium brings together manufacturers, installers and finance specialists, allowing clubs to access the right expertise without needing to become experts themselves. Instead of relying on a single installer’s preferred products, clubs can be connected directly to the real decision-makers behind the equipment and funding. The financial case is now very compelling. A major theme throughout the episode is that sustainability is not just about doing the right thing environmentally; it can create immediate savings and long-term revenue. Adrian describes projects where monthly energy savings exceed finance repayments, leaving clubs in a positive cash-flow position while gradually paying off an asset they will eventually own outright. Clubs have more options than they think. Not every club has to dive in with a full-scale stadium-wide scheme. Some may start with a handful of chargers at a training ground, while others can explore roof-mounted solar, ground-mounted systems, rented bays in stadium car parks or self-operated charging points that generate income. The flexibility is part of the appeal. Sustainability is becoming a real operational role in sport. Harry notes that, depending on the size of the club, sustainability can now sit with a dedicated lead rather than being bolted onto someone else’s job. In other cases it still falls under stadium, operations or facilities teams, but the direction of travel is clear: clubs are taking the subject more seriously and need informed people to drive it internally. Brands increasingly care about ESG alignment. Ian makes the point that sponsorship is no longer just about visibility. Brands want to work with rights-holders whose community impact and environmental ambitions match their own. That means a credible sustainability strategy can help clubs win commercial deals, not just save on their energy bill. There are already proven examples in the market. The panel reference clubs and rights-holders already moving in this direction, including Plymouth Argyle, where sustainability measures such as solar, LED lighting and water-saving systems are delivering measurable impact. They also mention Hednesford Town as another example of a club visibly leaning into solar adoption. The biggest obstacle is often confusion, not resistance. Clubs have lots of questions: who pays, who owns the bays, who maintains the systems, how financing works and whether they are tied in for years. SGI’s argument is that clubs do not need to solve all of that alone; their job is to simplify a complicated market and present clear, evidence-backed options in language decision-makers can understand. Sport is particularly well suited to this space. From stadium roofs and training grounds to cricket venues, golf sites and racecourses, sports properties often have the kind of space and energy demand that make solar and charging especially viable. The panel believe this is only the beginning, with future stadium developments likely to bake these systems in from day one rather than add them later. SGI want to lead this globally – but authentically. Ian says Adrian’s ambition is for SGI to become the leading sports agency globally in sustainability. Part of that means practising what they preach: energy-efficient offices, public transport, carbon literacy training and emissions offsetting all form part of their own effort to be credible in the space. KEY MOMENTS “The fact that we can assist clubs with facilitating that divide between how do you install them, how do you refinance them, where do you get the equipment from… this is the new era.” “Clubs are realising, actually, we really need to have a clear focus on our whole ESG strategy… there’s a huge potential revenue stream and cost saving to the clubs as a result of it.” “If a club is going to save £15,000 a month and they’ve got a finance bill of seven, they’re £7,000 better off.” “A lot of brands nowadays want to align their brand with clubs or rights-holders that are doing good within the community and for the environment.” “This is only the start… over the next 10 years this is really going to explode.” About Sporting Group International Sporting Group International (SGI) is a global sports marketing and sponsorship agency with representatives across Europe and Asia. They connect brands, clubs, governing bodies and athletes through high-value partnerships, including stadium naming rights, shirt and sleeve sponsorships, official partnerships and endorsement deals. SGI also support rights holders and investors with strategic commercial advice, international market development, recruitment and talent management, helping to drive revenue growth and brand visibility across the world of elite sport.

Cricket, Betting & the World Player Super League: Niche Deals and New Frontiers

In this episode of The Deal Room Sport from Sporting Group International and Sporting Jobs, host Ed Nell is joined by Adrian Wright and Ian Dutton to unpack a hectic start to the year. They lift the lid on a new front-of-shirt deal for Pretoria Capitals, share war stories from the ICE gaming conference in Barcelona, explore how betting brands are shifting towards training wear and endorsement deals, and reveal SGI’s exclusive role in commercialising the new World Player Super League, a global amateur golf movement spanning 4 million participants. Key Takeaways Duelbits, Pretoria Capitals and a 600-brand push into South African cricket SGI’s India team, Danesh and Pranay, drove a huge outreach effort, contacting around 600 South African and international brands, to crack a T20 opportunity. That led to a front-of-shirt partnership for betting brand Duelbits with Pretoria Capitals in the SA20. Existing work on a surrogate sports news site for India meant SGI already understood Duelbits’ priorities and could show the value of a property owned by JSW with strong viewership in India, South Africa and the UK. Seeing the logo on live TV, including a record-chasing innings with almost six sixes in an over, reinforced why even “distant” deals feel personal when you’ve brokered them. ICE in Barcelona: a £5m stand, mega meetings and old-school sales graft ICE, historically a casino show and now the key gathering for global igaming, brings together betting operators, sportsbooks, casinos and the tech platforms that power them. Ian used the event to “shake hands and look people in the whites of the eyes”, meeting clubs like Aston Villa, Nottingham Forest, Tottenham Hotspur, AFC Bournemouth and Crystal Palace alongside properties such as MotoGP and SailGP. One exhibitor, Evolution, reportedly spent around £5m on its stand for the three-day show, underlining the scale of the sector. Adrian, after a convoluted budget route via Girona, reverted to “schoolboy sales”, cold-approaching a stand, getting politely knocked back, then using a MotoGP meeting to spark intrigue and ultimately progress a live opportunity. Betting brands: from Premier League front-of-shirt to training wear and digital With the front of Premier League shirts becoming more restricted for betting brands, SGI are seeing a clear shift in strategy. Historically, brands bought front-of-shirt for credibility and mass visibility in Far East markets. If a bookmaker could afford that asset, fans in countries like China, the Philippines and Indonesia assumed it was trustworthy. Now, many operators are targeting training wear instead, where day-to-day digital content from training grounds, behind-the-scenes clips and player social posts deliver constant exposure. SGI’s job is to get “under the bonnet” of each brand’s target territories and demographics, then identify the mix of assets – divisions, regions, digital rights – that best match their objectives. Players as assets: the fine line in club presentations Adrian notes that some clubs now include individual player social followings in sponsorship decks, implying access to those audiences even when they don’t have contractual rights to use players’ personal accounts. While that’s “a little bit naughty”, there is indirect value: brands on kits or training wear benefit organically when stars post in club gear. SGI’s experience in Japan – where clubs only unlocked commercial value there after signing Japanese players – and examples like Spanish fans following a compatriot to Birmingham City show how individual players drive international travel, shirt sales and engagement, not just domestic club loyalty. World Player Super League: a blank canvas in global amateur golf Perhaps the most exciting new project is the World Player Super League – a collaboration of established tour companies, tournament providers and golf organisations into a single global structure. It brings together 4 million amateur participants, 3,800 events and 82 countries under one umbrella, with finals and pairs events set up for broadcast. For SGI, it’s a rare “blank sheet of paper”: they have exclusivity to build a partner programme from scratch, targeting high-net-worth individuals, CEOs and senior managers who play in these events. With every participant carrying a mobile phone and posting from tees, clubhouses and hole-in-ones, the user-generated content and reach are enormous. Add in ex-Premier League footballers, former Ryder Cup captains and celebrities sprinkled across events, and SGI see a once-in-a-lifetime chance to commercialise a proven golfing ecosystem that has never previously been packaged for sponsors. Key Moments “They contacted 600 South African and international brands trying to get a breakthrough… and it was just complete opportunism that someone turned around and said, ‘Any chance you can speak to Duelbits?’” “It’s always a proud moment… when you bring a brand and a rights-holder together, it’s such a special moment, especially when you’re seeing it on Sky Sports in South Africa, 13–14 hours away.” “One of the stands called Evolution, bear in mind it’s just a three-day conference, was £5 million. You can imagine the level of size, detail, complexity they’ve done around this.” “Endorsement deals for us are probably a third of our business… and I think it’s only going to grow more and more.” “This will be the largest amateur golf movement in world golf – 4 million participants across 82 countries, 3,800 events… a blank canvas and they’re literally taking every word we say as verbatim.” About Sporting Group International Sporting Group International (SGI) is a global sports marketing and sponsorship agency with representatives across Europe and Asia. They connect brands, clubs, governing bodies and athletes through high-value partnerships, including stadium naming rights, shirt and sleeve sponsorships, official partnerships and endorsement deals. SGI also support rights holders and investors with strategic commercial advice, international market development, recruitment and talent management, helping to drive revenue growth and brand visibility across the world of elite sport.

10 Years of SGI: Deals, Data and the Future of Sport

In this special 10th-anniversary episode of The Deal Room Sport from Sporting Group International and Sporting Jobs, host Ed Nell is joined by founder and CEO Adrian Wright, UK Managing Director Ian Dutton and Sporting Jobs’ Harry Lynch to look back on a decade in business. They revisit why Adrian walked away from a senior role at West Bromwich Albion to launch an agency, the early recruitment and sponsorship deals that proved the model, how they navigated Covid better than most, and why the next 10 years in sport will be driven by data, technology and a stronger pyramid. Key Takeaways Adrian explains how his role at West Brom featured constant takeover rumours, long hours, and endless trips to London to meet potential new owners pushed him to consider a different path. Backed by venture capital, he launched SGI and Sporting Jobs on the same day, leveraging his “half-decent black book” to combine sponsorship sales with a specialist sports recruitment desk. The very first placement was essentially his replacement at West Brom; Simon King, now a senior leader at Stoke City, quickly followed by an early sponsorship win with kit supplier Luke at Warwickshire County Cricket Club. One of SGI’s most ambitious early plays was a proposed 10-club sleeve sponsorship across the Premier League. Adrian secured written interest from clubs and an offer from a major software brand, only for the deal to fall foul of an existing league-wide agreement in the same category. Later, a shirt deal with Olympique de Marseille saw nearly £1m in revenue land in the company account in a single day, a memorable milestone, but Adrian stresses the real challenge is repeating success and building something sustainable, not just landing one blockbuster agreement. Unlike many in sport, SGI thrived through Covid. They helped negotiate what Adrian believes was one of the first Covid-specific clauses in a football sponsorship contract, scaling fees up or down based on live attendances (0%, 25%, 50%, 75%) to reflect lost hospitality and in-stadium exposure. At the same time, the team decamped to Adrian’s house, turning the kids’ playroom into a four-person office so they could collaborate in person while staying within restrictions. They even benefitted from “entrepreneurial instinct” when they chose not to renew an office lease just days before lockdown, avoiding a costly empty space. The panel note that while top-flight clubs have grown sophisticated commercial and activation teams, further down the pyramid many sides in League One, League Two and even the National League have little or no dedicated commercial department. Instead of spending £70–100k on a single head of commercial, some clubs now retain SGI as an outsourced sales arm for 3–6 months, gaining instant access to a whole team, warm brand relationships and up-to-the-minute market intelligence. SGI can “switch on” activity from day one and bring a Premier League-style blueprint to properties like county cricket or smaller football clubs that would otherwise rely on inbound calls and opportunistic deals. Key Moments “We had in one day just under a million pounds’ worth of revenue drop [into the account].” “We would probably have negotiated one of the first Covid sport-related contract clauses… if there’s no fans in the stadium for X amount of games, the fee would come down by Y.” “We can literally bring a county championship cricket team a Premier League blueprint – they’re not going to get that by hiring a head of commercial under the cricket club.” “Whenever we’re looking at doing a deal… the brand’s due diligence involves analysing how many social media followers they’ve got, what their database size is, what the broadcast lens looks like.” About Sporting Group International Sporting Group International (SGI) is a global sports marketing and sponsorship agency with representatives across Europe and Asia. They connect brands, clubs, governing bodies and athletes through high-value partnerships, including stadium naming rights, shirt and sleeve sponsorships, official partnerships and endorsement deals. SGI also support rights holders and investors with strategic commercial advice, international market development, recruitment and talent management, helping to drive revenue growth and brand visibility across the world of elite sport. https://www.sportinggi.com/

Episode 8 – Building Careers in Sport & Birmingham’s Sporting Boom

In this Sporting Jobs special of The Deal Room Sport from Sporting Group International and Sporting Jobs, host Ed Nell is joined by regular guest Harry Lynch and new team members Max and Alex. Together, they talk about breaking into the sports industry, the reality of graduate competition, and why voluntary experience is so valuable. They also reflect on Birmingham’s fast-evolving sporting landscape, from the Invictus Games and Deloitte’s Union of Sport Midlands event to Birmingham City’s new “Powerhouse” stadium, and lift the lid on current Sporting Jobs projects and where future roles in sport might emerge. Key Takeaways At the UCFB careers fair at Wembley, the question every student asked was, “How do I stand out?”. The team’s answer: get experience where others don’t. Voluntary matchday roles, media assistant positions at non-league clubs, writing blogs, starting podcasts or helping a local commercial director sell perimeter boards all build a portfolio that lifts you above a pile of identical degrees. Initiative, not just education, is what catches a recruiter’s eye. Harry stresses that senior figures in sport are generally very willing to help if approached respectfully. Reaching out on LinkedIn after events, asking for a 10–15 minute call and being open-minded about roles (ticketing, retail, operations as well as commercial) can open doors you didn’t know existed. The message: don’t be blinkered about your “perfect” job, use conversations to discover new pathways in sport. Deloitte’s Union of Sport Midlands event highlighted the Invictus Games coming to Birmingham in 2027. Hearing chair Vicky Gosling’s story brought home how pivotal sport can be in rehabilitation for injured service personnel. Max has a personal connection: his uncle helped organise the first Invictus Games in 2014 and even shared an office with Prince Harry, while both his parents served in the military. For Sporting Jobs, the Games represent both a powerful human story and a major opportunity to support new roles created in the city. The new “Powerhouse” stadium proposal for Birmingham City is seen as transformative – not just for the club but for the Midlands. With talk of NFL games, concerts and thousands of jobs post-completion, the team believe it will force other local clubs and businesses to innovate, help cement Birmingham’s status as the UK’s second city, and complement existing developments from the Commonwealth Games legacy to the Bullring’s “glow-up”. Harry and the team discuss their retained search for the Chair of the Board at Warwickshire County Cricket Club / Edgbaston – one of the most prestigious non-executive roles in sport, and how their Birmingham base helps them meet candidates and stakeholders face-to-face.