Jobs4Football meets Geoff Wilson
UEFA and FIFA are undeniably two of the biggest sporting bodies in football, with the latter having 211 affiliated associations worldwide.
Geoff Wilson works as a consultant for organisations such as FIFA, UEFA and the Asian Football Confederation, with his role consisting of visiting different federations across the globe to help put in place strategic and marketing programmes designed to assist the association to grow and develop.
Jobs4Football spoke to Wilson about the importance of strategic planning, what advice he has for people looking to enter the industry and what attributes an individual should have if they are to succeed.
Why is strategic planning so important in today’s game?
“To me it is absolutely vital. A strategic plan provides a roadmap for a football organisation to follow in order to grow and develop. It helps to identify the key priorities for the organisation such as elite teams, organisational development, grassroots/youth development, coach education and club development.
“Regarding brand development & communications, this is all about what you are saying, when and who you are saying it to. This includes key stakeholders such as your fans, sponsors, government, suppliers to name but a few. If you cannot market and promote your brand to those groups then you are in big big trouble,” Wilson said.
Wilson has worked with FIFA & UEFA for over 18 years and in that time he has visited 89 different countries, so what advice would he have for someone looking to enter into the industry?
“Firstly generalise don’t specialise, people often tell you to specialise in a certain aspect like social media but I disagree with that. I think the more strings you can add to your bow the better.
“Number two, network, network, network. Make sure you are reaching out to various people in the football industry from all aspects, and make sure you are communicating with them on a regular basis.
“Number three. Build your knowledge. Once you leave full time education, that isn’t it. You will always be learning, so make sure you are reading articles/reports so you know what is going on in the industry. Attend webinars and meetings, all these things to help improve your knowledge because the industry moves quickly.
“Number four. Go and write blogs on some part of the footballing industry such as fan engagement. Conduct the research then write about it.
“My final tip is making sure you have a great mentor, somebody that you can talk to who can guide you in your career as well as give you advice during certain situations, a great mentor is really important.”
As well as his work with some of football’s biggest governing bodies, Wilson also runs his own consultancy company, has obtained his UEFA A license for coaching and has won multiple awards for his work in marketing. As well as this he has also worked in consultancy and marketing in other sports, such as basketball and mixed martial arts, is a part time marketing lecturer at Queen’s University in Belfast and is the co-founder of Global eSports League.
Wilson has a wealth of knowledge and experience from his roles in and out of football and therefore understands what attributes are best required to succeed in the role.
“You need to be able to work as part of a high performing team. In football we always talk about high performing teams on the pitch but never off the pitch and we should do because in today’s football industry the team off the pitch play an important role in making sure the club is successful and well managed.
“It is very important to nurture the right culture in a football club. A culture that promotes a positive workplace, fosters collaboration together with excellent leadership and management that encourages teamwork and open and honest communication.”