The UCFB Sports Entrepreneur Competition is a ‘Dragon’s Den’ style competition for ambitious UCFB students to pitch their innovative ideas for sports companies to a panel of successful business leaders.
This inspiring competition is led by UCFB Chairman & Chief Executive Brendan Flood and provides students with an unprecedented opportunity to compete for vital company investment of up to £5,000. Students are asked to pitch their sports business ideas to the esteemed UCFB Executive Board and field any questions.
On the Award, The UCFB Sports Entrepreneur Award is a truly unique opportunity for our students to engage their minds and receive invaluable support for their sports business ideas. We encourage all students at UCFB to enter the competition and look forward to seeing their entrepreneurial spirit and creativity.
Full list of winners
UCFB Wembley
Winner: Jordan Clements, BA (Hons) International Football Business
Company name: Revolution Soccer Canada Ltd.
Revolution is a private coaching company which works directly with football clubs to provide training programs for the club, and also camps for local players. Unlike clubs in England, Canadian football lacks the experience and expertise to provide professional coaching for their club. Revolution will take the pressure off clubs to run their own programmes, allowing them to concentrate on other areas.
Runners-Up: Ilias Pajoheshfar, Bartek Kawczak and Joe Jackson, BA (Hons) Football Business & Marketing
Company name: Clash Zone
Clash Zone will be a physical and digital hub for the development of individuals invested in eSports. By maintaining the highest level of coaching and incorporating an open-minded approach using psychology, anthropology and innovative pedagogical techniques, Clash Zone aims to create a holistic view of development for individuals to aid in their personal and professional growth.
Runners-Up: Jason Gonsalves, MSc International Sports Management
Company name: Ace Boy Sports Group
Ace Boy Sports Group will provide professional sports management services to the athletes and people of Bermuda, enabling the well-rounded growth and career development of Bermudian athletes and entities of the Bermuda sports industry.
Runners-Up: Harsimran Singh Virdee, Aleem Bolkiah and Kieron Leyshon, BA (Hons) International Football Business
Company name: Global Sports United
Global aim to inspire the next generation of British Asian football players from unrepresented backgrounds. They will provide opportunities for young players to be scouted at trials and/or become part of a football club academy where with commitment, dedication and hard work will become professional footballers.
Runners-Up: Jacek Jonczyk, BA (Hons) International Football Business
Company name: FUTCEO
Futceo is a project focused on educating, consulting and outsourcing in areas of business management, marketing, social media, HR and more. The main aim is to help less capable clubs to increase their competitiveness in the football industry market by giving them extra managerial skills and expertise.
Runners-Up: Nicola Malgeri, BA (Hons) Football Business & Marketing
Company name: Footleague
Footleague is a mobile app that makes it easy for people that want to join a five-a-side team and play on a regular basis. Players will be able to join a new platform that will organise matches to compete against other teams within existing leagues such as Powerleague.
Runners-Up: Conor Walsh, Shaheen Pahlevani (both MSc Sport Management), Sam Adams (MSc International Sport Management) and Luke Dick BA (Hons) Stadium & Events Management
Company name: Camden Courts
Camden Courts is a four-a-side, fast-paced football tournament to be held in the heart of Camden Town every Sunday. Through the paradigm of football, Camden Courts is an initiative designed to help enhance relations and encourage social progress within the community.
UCFB Etihad Campus
Winner: Sarah Makki, BA (Hons) Multimedia Sports Journalism
Company name: Reperit Apparel
Reperit aims to provide quality and affordable apparel to provide fans with an alternative way to support their favourite teams in a subtler and fashionable manner. The company aims to provide apparel such as sweatshirts and t-shirts with the coordinates of sporting arenas around the world.
Runners-up: Maria Fernandes, MSc Football Coaching & Analysis
Company: MAF Sports
MAF aims to use the power of football to help the homeless and disadvantaged groups to rebuild their lives. This will be achieved by giving opportunities to play the sport with similar groups and giving access to free or subsidised learning opportunities to build confidence and find employment.
Runners-Up: Charlie Dawson, MSc Football Coaching & Analysis
Company name: AS Showcase
AS is a showcase for Asian players across numerous levels to display their ability in front of scouts, clubs and academies. There is still a large, untapped market of Asian talent to be discovered by the European game, and AS aims to highlight the talent available.
Runners-Up: Michael Knox, BA (Hons) Football Coaching & Management
Company name: Salford Storm FC – football club
Salford Storm FC is to be a grassroots club in a deprived area of Salford. Starting with five youth teams and two adult teams, the club will work in partnerships with a local charity named The Veterans Garage, which rehabilitates ex-soldiers back into society. The club will also work with youth and disability groups in the area.
Runners-Up: Jack Slinn and Sam Hill, BA (Hons) Football Business & Finance
Company name: UCFB Foundation
The Foundation is a social enterprise that will deliver free coaching sessions, using UCFB students as coaches, to schools across Manchester and surrounding areas. As part of the business, the ambition is to create a UCFB Coaches Club where students will get paid to deliver sessions to grassroots clubs.
Runners-Up: Sheriff Tajudeen, MSc Football Coaching & Analysis
Company name: Cloud Sports
Cloud Sports aim to be a digital sports broadcast and streaming platform dedicated to the sports and leagues in Africa. With a population of over 1.2 billion, Cloud Sports want to be the go-to broadcaster for African sport.
Runners-Up: Max Carlyle, BA (Hons) Football Business & Media
Company name: UCFB Podcast
The UCFB Podcast with cover both sport and education, announcing UCFB news and featuring in-depth interviews with UCFB’s partners, such as Nike or The FA. The podcast would be student-run, giving students a large platform to showcase their work.
Runners-Up: Jay Karabel, BA (Hons) Football Business & Marketing
Company name: Match Peak Ltd
Match Peak offers media production and data analysis services to under-resourced sports clubs at both semi-elite and amateur level. As a previous winner, Jay’s pitch was for added investment to continue to grow his expanding business, which has made significant commercial and strategic developments since his success in 2017.
Full list of winners
UCFB Wembley
Winner: Yoel Levy, BA (Hons) Football Business & Finance
Company name: Amazing Achievers
A business which aims to encourage youngsters to participate in sport by giving their parents and coaches the ability to present interactive trophies for achievements and participation.
Runners-Up: Arash Abdollahi, BA (Hons) Sport Business & Coaching
Company name: Eat in Your Seat
Taking food delivery apps to the next level, Eat in Your Seat will allow sports fan within stadiums to order food and drink straight to their seat.
Runners-Up: Alfie Crickmar, BA (Hons) Sport Business & Coaching
Company name: VT Coach
Virtual Teaching Coach is an app that will provide knowledge to primary school teachers to teach physical education who aren’t already trained or qualified in the area. The app will provide quality and professional lesson plans.
Runners-Up: Kieran Moss, Jake Thomas and Danny Cook, BA (Hons) Football Business & Media, and Charlie Pumfrey, BA (Hons) Football Business & Finance
Company name: Half Time Cuppa
Half Time Cuppa is a website that focuses on creating content for football fans during the half time break of a game. Podcasts and articles, as well as competitions, keep fans busy during those often long 15-minutes. The team plan to expand their reach.
UCFB Etihad Campus
Winner: Brandon Smith and Richard Buckley, BA (Hons) Multimedia Sports Journalism
Company name: eSports Commentary
The pair currently commentate for EA Sports tournaments and plan to use their internet profile to create further content for online viewers with the latest technology and software to create the content.
Runners-Up: Daniel Jones, BA (Hons) Football Business & Marketing
Company name: Represent Soccer & Represent Media
Running alongside his representation of players on scholarships in America, Daniel will use his contacts to set up a media and marketing company to create content for clubs who don’t have the capacity or funds to run a full-time content team. This will include YouTube videos, social media channels and running competitions to increase fan engagement.
Runners-Up: Samuel Girven, BA (Hons) Football Business & Media
Company name: The Fan Chain
An events organisation that plans to promote local business to sports fans by hiring out space in and around a stadium. Local businesses hire the space to sell and promote their goods.
At UCFB we are dedicated to maximising the career opportunities of all of our students. This is why we offer unparalleled opportunities beyond the learning environment, enhanced by exclusive partnerships with some of the biggest and most influential names and organisations in world sport.
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