By James Flashman-Fox
For far too long, when hiring its leaders, the sports industry has relied heavily on internal talent pipelines and established industry networks, perpetuating a cycle where top executives too regularly transition between various leagues, teams, and federations. This insular approach, has stifled innovation, leaving stakeholders and fans alike puzzled by the industry’s inertia. However, it appears that this cycle might be starting to change with several significant new leadership hires being made from outside the industry in recent times.
While acknowledging the indispensable value of domain expertise, industry-specific skills, and established networks in certain functions and business contexts, it is imperative for the sports sector to evolve and fully embrace technology and the transformative effect it can have on every aspect of the business. Like so many other industries before, the sports industry needs a total re-think around its human capital strategy in order to capitalise on these opportunities.
In this article, we scrutinise the pivotal areas where the sports industry should strategically source talent, and the consequential benefits that could accrue.
Gaming & Esports
Gaming and esports represent a vanguard in community engagement and the monetisation of digital experiences. As teams and leagues increasingly invest in understanding their fan bases and enhancing engagement strategies, a substantial opportunity arises to pioneer new digital revenue streams to offset the decline of traditional revenue streams, such as media rights and sponsorship agreements. Moreover, the electrifying atmosphere of esports’ live events presents a model that, when fused with the heritage and fervour of fan-packed stadiums, promises immense potential.
Software Development / Technology
The realm of software development and technology spans expansive relevant domains across VR experiences, mobile app development, data analytics, and of course – AI. Sports entities aspiring to lead in innovation should seek talent from successful renowned innovators. These are often located in local innovation hubs, from San Francisco to London to Berlin, all cities that boast a great many successful companies at the forefront of technology in each of these areas. Embracing these cutting-edge technologies and the transformations they enable will open up vast new commercial opportunities for moribund sports players.
Tech-Enabled Media, Music & Entertainment
Drawing inspiration from the swift digital revolution of the music and entertainment industries, sports, as an entertainment product at its core, can leverage these advancements. Embracing short-form content distributed via social media, understanding shifting fan behaviours, and mastering IP management offer substantial opportunities to enhance content creation, distribution, and monetisation strategies, thereby bolstering digital revenue and broadening fan engagement.
E-Commerce & Digital Consumer
The shift towards direct-to-consumer (D2C) models within sports necessitates a focus on e-commerce and digital consumer insights. Talent acquisition from leading digital consumer platforms and marketplaces worldwide will equip sports organisations with the expertise to harness data-driven insights, propel merchandising growth, optimise ticket sales, and enhance the overall user experience.
FinTech / Web3 / Blockchain
The intersection of FinTech, Web3, and Blockchain presents compelling opportunities across tokenisation, NFTs, secure data management, fraud prevention & more. Building a presence in the metaverse opens doors to a younger, global fan base, transforming engagement beyond traditional boundaries. There is no ‘one size fits all’ approach when it comes to targeting the end consumer, and this sector is pivotal for turning Generations Z & Alpha into lifelong fans.
In conclusion, for the sports industry to transform into a bigger, more commercially successful, more entertaining and engaging sector it needs to look outside of its narrow traditional view when hiring. By definition, transformation can only be driven by people who are not held back by years of experience of the sports industry. There is every opportunity for well-managed sports franchises to become the next D2C super-brands but this will only happen with bold, creative hiring of great leaders who have driven analogous transformations in other sectors.