Top Soccer Agents Of Stars Like Sadio Mané And Kai Havertz Unite For Disadvantaged Youth

Agents are a popular – and easy – target in the soccer industry.

Often portrayed as being motivated solely by money, agents can end up as public enemy number one for clubs and their fans.  

The announcement released today, then, does not fit the stereotype of the hard-nosed, money-hungry suit behind the athlete.

A team of top agents in Germany, representing more than 200 elite players including Liverpool’s Sadio Mané, Bayern Leverkusen’s Kai Havertz, Manchester City’s Ilkay Gündoğan and Bayern Munich’s Benjamin Pavard, have united to support a project for disadvantaged youth.

Powered by Common Goal, a social impact movement in soccer, a group of 13 German soccer agencies has raised more than €500,000 ($561,000) for a fund to support vulnerable young people. The fund, open to players, managers and other soccer stakeholders, will create virtual spaces to support those without access to education during the COVID-19 pandemic.

In partnership with German NGO Die Arche, safe spaces including football pitches and youth community centres will also be established in 10 German cities where Bundesliga teams play.

The project, using a concept from Common Goal partner organization KICKFAIR, will provide opportunities to play, learn and develop for up to 10,000 vulnerable young people.

The German player agencies part of the initiative are: Arena11, Spielerrat, Sports United Management, Rummenigge Sports Management, IFM, think forward sportmanagement, Grass is Green, Ilhan Gündoğan, Apertura, Haspel Sportconsulting, feel soccer, Bektas Demirtas, and AKA Global.

“If we’ve learnt anything in recent times, it is how interconnected we are and that we need to work together. Football – through shared passion and the inherent value of teamwork – provides an opportunity to make a real contribution in support of our people and our planet,” the agency owners said in a joint statement. 

“As agents we can play a leading role moving forward. This is only the beginning of our commitment – there is so much more that can be achieved and we encourage players, clubs and other stakeholders from the football industry to be part of it.”

Led by Andreas Sadlo and Björn Bezemer, Arena11 is one of the world’s most valuable sports agencies. Its more than 100 clients include Liverpool trio Sadio Mané, Naby Keïta and Dejan Lovren and Barcelona goalkeeper Marc-André ter Stegen.

In an interview, Sadlo told me the agencies contributing to the fund had “similar philosophies in their work, but also in their activities besides football”.

“We tried to involve more and more agencies because we thought if we want to do anything really helpful for a bigger group of people and with a bigger impact, we have to do this as a group,” he said.

“Even if we are hard competitors in our daily work, we think in social responsibility we can help much more if we combine.”

Agents often face criticism for taking money out of soccer and failing to reinvest it in the grassroots of the game. A FIFA report released in December found the total fees paid to agents last year had increased nearly 20%, to a record $653.9 million. 

Sadlo said the agents involved in the Common Goal project felt a responsibility to give something back.

“In our daily business, sometimes we have to negotiate hard but in a case like this (the COVID-19 pandemic) … it’s already clear there will be a massive impact economic wise and also on social aspects,” he said.

“I think it is the right moment to give something back to society. We have received a lot from football and we want to give something back.”

The involvement of the agencies is a boost for Common Goal, with the project seen as a potential tipping point in the role of agents in soccer. Common Goal, which has 155 professional players and managers as members, as well as Danish club FC Nordsjælland, encourages new members from across the soccer industry.

Thomas Preiss, co-founder of the Common Goal movement, said there were plans to expand the Germany project to more cities and potentially Austria and Switzerland. He said he hoped it would provide a “spark of inspiration” to agents in other countries.

“We are witnessing the emergence of a new generation of changemakers in the football agency space,” he said.

“There are more and more agents who genuinely see their role as pushing their clients and collaborators to be the best they can be, both as professionals and human beings. This group from Germany is showing true leadership.”

With some modern players more willing to speak out about social issues, Bezemer from Arena11 said part of an agent’s role was encouraging players to show a social conscience.

“We have players from a lot of different nationalities and some of them grew up in very difficult circumstances. We are always encouraging them to do things,” he told me.

“Sadio (Mané) and me are always saying ‘never forget where you come from’. We’re already doing a lot of projects in Senegal, especially in his village, and in my experience this is a very big motivation for players. Sadio, with our help, built his own school. He didn’t only pay for it, he decided where to put the classrooms, where to put the toilets – it was really important for him and a very good experience.

“When it comes to a certain level of player, they all have very good contracts. No matter which agent or which team, on a high level you’re earning a lot of money.

“So I see a big, big change in high profile players supporting projects and also inventing their own projects. They are also normal human beings like you and me.”

Speak Your Mind

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here

Get in Touch

350FansLike
100FollowersFollow
281FollowersFollow
150FollowersFollow

Recommend for You

Oh hi there 👋
It’s nice to meet you.

Subscribe and receive our weekly newsletter packed with awesome articles that really matters to you!

We don’t spam! Read our privacy policy for more info.

You might also like

Obamacare Insurer Centene Boosts Pandemic Outlook And Focus On...

Health insurer Centene expects the rise in unemployment amid...

Going On The Road To Uncover Post-Baseball Life Of...

In his new book "The Wax Pack" author Brad...

Why 2020 Topps Heritage Baseball Is The Perfect Diversion...

A 2020 Topps Heritage Baseball Hobby Box. ...

Gold holds near record high as dollar dips, growth...

Gold steadied on Thursday after hitting a record high in the previous session as...