Wide world of sport

by Elaine Tan

Fancy yourself the greatest fan of football, but don't think you will ever bend it like Beckham? World Sport Group offers an alternative route to your favourite playing fields. By Elaine Tan.

Remember Jerry Maguire? No, not the mushy “You had me at ‘Hello’,” line that Renee Zelwegger delivers to Tom Cruise, but the rest of the story where Jerry gives life and limb, well almost, for his sole client, wide receiver Rod Tidwell, played by Cuba Gooding Jr?

Take away a good part of the melodrama of the movie and what you get is a fairly accurate portrayal of a Sports Agent. This is the person who takes care of a player’s needs on-field – negotiating contracts, transfers, endorsements and so on – and off-field (to some extent). It is as close to the professional league as a sports fan with a passion for the game can get.

The bad news is that Malaysian sports – and, for that matter, the region at large – does not seem to have an avenue for this profession. The good news, though, is that one can still get close enough to the action by working in the area of Sports Management.

According to Adrian New, Senior Vice- President, Group Sales & Marketing, World Sport Group (WSG), “Sports management covers many areas, including the development and management of sporting events, athletes, associations, stadiums and facilities. WSG, for instance, specialises in the development, marketing and management of events.” Headquartered in Singapore, World Sport Group is Asia’s leading sports marketing, event management and media company, with a roster of golf, football and cricket events across the entire region.

World Sport Group has been at the forefront of Asian sports since 1993, featuring almost 600 days of sports events and more than 1,000 hours of sports programming annually across more than 30 countries in the region.

The group is the exclusive marketing partner of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) and the ASEAN Football Federation (AFF). It is also a major stake-holder in Asian golf as the organiser of the Barclays Singapore Open, Hero Honda Indian Open, Thailand Open, Volvo Masters of Asia, the Mercedes-Benz Tour and the Omega China Tour.

WSG also manages Indian cricket icon Sachin Tendulkar and has formed a partnership with the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) for the ground and title naming rights for the Indian national team’s domestic matches. Additionally, in partnership with Sony Corporation, WSG manages the global media rights for the Indian Premier League – the new Twenty20 cricket competition – in a 10-year deal valued at over US$1 billion.

The group will also build, operate and manage the Singapore Sports Hub, the island republic’s first fully integrated and sustainable sports, entertainment and lifestyle hub that is due for completion in 2011.

To facilitate the running of its many operations, WSG has offices in Beijing, Beirut, Delhi, Hong Kong, Mumbai, Singapore and Tokyo

GRAB YOUR RING-SIDE SEATS

WSG hires for three areas: Sales, Marketing and Operations. “Sales positions are responsible for generating revenue from an event in the form of sponsorship packages that are purchased by companies to use as marketing initiatives for their business or the sale of broadcast rights to television networks,” New explains. “In sponsorship, for example, Suzuki recently became the title sponsor for the ASEAN Football Federation Championships, Southeast Asia’s top competition and ratings leader. Suzuki will use its sponsorship to increase the sale of its motor bikes in Southeast Asia.

“Marketing personnel are responsible for building awareness of events, while Operations staff are responsible for the staging of events.” The career path is fairly standard in that graduates start in one discipline and work their way up. “Sports is not that different to other industries in this sense. The key difference is that sports attracts a lot of ex-sports people looking to build a post-competition career, so breaking into this industry can be very tough.”

SPORTS VERSUS BANKING – WHAT WILL IT BE?

So, why should graduates opt for careers in sports management rather than, say, a respectable banking job?

“Excitement!” enthuses New. “Sports is all about passion and working in sports means you are working in an industry where everyone is extremely passionate about what they’re doing, where every event is unique and where outcomes are unpredictable. Every day brings a different, exciting experience.”

He says the company is not as particular about the type of qualifications as it is about employees with passion. “Ideally, you should have a passion for sports and a strong personality. Events rarely happen from 9am to 5pm during the week, so it is always weekend work and, hopefully, lots of travel. Persistence is an important quality, but I’d say that most important is an ability to get on with people and think creatively.”

PUT ON YOUR SHADES AS THE FUTURE IS DAZZLING!

Sports has become a powerful catalyst for reaching masses of consumers in the fastest growing and largest consumer market in the world – Asia.

“ASEAN is probably one of the fastest growing regions in the world in the area of Sports Management. For example, the Singapore Government’s commitment to the development of the sports industry will undoubtedly create many new jobs here. Thailand and Indonesia have huge populations of sports-crazy fans, so there’s a great base upon which to develop a thriving business,” says New.

“Sports has become a powerful catalyst for reaching masses of consumers in the fastest growing and largest consumer market in the world – Asia. Increasingly, we are seeing more government investment in sports as Asian nations begin to recognise sports’ positive impact on the economy and society as a whole.” Having said that, New does acknowledge that the relative infancy of the industry does make it a challenge when competing for marketing dollars.

“Companies still tend to rely on oldfashioned print and TV advertising which they see as being a safe option, without realising (or maybe without wishing to acknowledge) that in today’s world of the Internet, mobile phone and one-to-one communication, the old methods just don’t work anymore.

“Sports delivers the passion that brands need to put into their marketing and products. The challenge is getting Asia CEO’s to realise this.”

And perhaps it will take the likes of you to make them ‘Show you the money’, as Jerry Maguire would say.