Wasafiri ’s Post

Have you ever wondered how 48 hours can impact an entire industry? This year's #WFSEurope in Sevilla was a great demonstration of just that as we welcomed some of the best leaders, businesses, football properties, media, and start-ups the sports industry has to offer. Some key lessons I took from the event based on my personal experience: 1. The magic of real-life exchanges remains irreplaceable, even in our tech-driven era. Brief, in-person chats have an unparalleled impact on forming lasting relationships. Just being able to have a 5-minute conversation, to extend a handshake or even a friendly hug, is a huge difference maker. 2. Sustainability and innovative revenue streams are at the forefront of the football industry's agenda. My involvement in a workshop with the SportBoost team and discussions with industry pioneers confirmed this commitment. 3. The significant role of football, and sports, in boosting tourism and economic growth was evident. After all, sports tourism shapes 8-10% of global tourism. This was another key finding from a workshop we helped set up with Carlos Canto and the team at SPSG Consulting. 4. Is your objective to create, capture, or accelerate demand? Clear goals are crucial when attending conferences. Those who understand them, win. 5. I was lucky enough to interview some game-changers pushing the industry forward. Their passion for the industry, to professionalize it and take it to the cutting edge of technology and innovation is what most stood out to me. 6. The call for more diverse leadership is undeniable. There are so many brilliant minds out there that it is a pity we are not taking advantage of the talent that wants to develop their career in the industry. It's not only about doing the right thing; diversity is good for business. Overall, there is an inspiring commitment to excellence, innovation, and sustainability (economic, social, and environmental) that will surely elevate the football industry to new levels! A big thanks to all of you whom I was able to meet during the event, and the entire World Football Summit team and its collaborators for making it happen! Watch our official aftermovie to get a sense of what went on! https://lnkd.in/d7Q_mjsv

Sunday. Day of rest, revival, and... football. Ever wonder why? It's more than a game; it's a community transcending borders, cultures, and languages. It's a shared ritual, speaking unity, resilience, passion. Each Sunday match mirrors life: strategy, teamwork, victories, losses, recovery. It's backing your team, celebrating sportsmanship. As you watch today, remember: you're not just a spectator but part of a global experience. Relish the game. Feel the unity. Love the thrill. Share this, remind all why Sunday equals football.

This is a special one! Very proud of our latest venture with the friends from Common Goal 🖤 LET’S MAKE EVERY SPONSORSHIP COUNT ON THE ROAD TO 2030 🌍⚽️ We're more than proud to announce our newest collaboration with our friends from Common Goal! Together, we are connecting the best of creative and social excellence to bring football sponsorship to the next level - impacting people and planet, not just pockets! Together, we are creating a new and first of its kind sponsorship offering targeting the global football industry. As one team, we will offer and co-create the growing category of impact sponsorship as end-to-end and full-service: from strategy consulting to creative campaigning to football for good operations and impact measurement. With the rise of a new generation of purpose-led fans, who expect sports and sponsors alike to take a credible and substantial stance on social matters and sustainability, we believe sponsorship has the power and the responsibility to play its part to make football a better business. If we don’t play together as one, the world we know today will be temporary. As football has the power to change this world for good, we want to make every sponsorship count on the road to 2030, when the Global Goals kick in and the FIFA World Cup will celebrate its centennial competition. This goes out to all football sponsorships and advertisers: let’s turn contracts into impact, striving to create a more inclusive, sustainable, and equitable future for all on and off the pitch. More information on our impact journey until 2030: https://lnkd.in/eygxxKr7 🖤🙏 Jürgen Griesbeck Théophane Burgaud Elvira González-Vallés Martínez Robert Zitzmann Lukas Hartmann Clara Iltgen Alexander Michaelsen Ronnie Patt Finn Schulz Jan-Luca Lossau Leonie Gahr & all other people involved.

The 2026 World Cup is set to come with some BIG changes. And some may be better than others... The World Cup is arguably the marquee event in football and potentially sport as a whole, with each iteration sparking a myriad of conversations around not just football but culture, politics and society in general. This tournament we’re likely going to see a lot of focus on the changes that have been made to the format… ➡️ 48 teams (over the usual 32) will now compete. ➡️ The number of games will almost double from 64 to 104 ➡️ Hosting will take place across 3 different countries and 16 host cities (Mexico, USA and Canada) to accommodate the infrastructure required. ➡️ Host cities have been grouped geographically to aid travel time for fans and teams ➡️ Teams will have 3 days between each game ➡️ The top 2 from 12 groups of 4 will still progress however the 8 best 3rd place teams will now proceed for a 32-team knockout round. These changes are setting up 2026 to be the biggest World Cup to date, but I’ve got no doubt the next couple of years we’re going to see a lot of predictions about what these changes will mean for the game The main question being…is bigger better? It will be interesting to see what the impact is for teams, fans and organisers. We’ve seen format changes before, could this be the next evolution of the tournament? Or is this the final straw for organizers, clubs and players?

The last months have been absolutely incredible for Common Goal with a massive amount of added value transformational initiatives that will contribute for sure to make football a better sport and a better world. However nothing leaves me more impacted than the announcement of such a transformational project such as T3mp0rary. Together with the great partners at Jung von Matt SPORTS we are connecting the best of #creative and #social excellence to bring #football sponsorship to the next level - impacting people and planet, not just pockets. Together, we are creating a new and first of its kind sponsorship offering targeting the global football industry. We been discussing more and more the relevance of impact sponsorship in sports and now we have the opportunity to offerand co-create the growing category of impact #sponsorship as end-to-end and full-service: from strategy consulting to creative campaigning to football for good operations and impact measurement. We can definitely say this is the first marketplace for purpose investments in sport and in football and with the rise of a new generation of #purpose-led fans, who expect sports and sponsors alike to take a credible and substantial stance on social matters and #sustainability, we believe sponsorship has the power and the responsibility to play its part to make football a better #business.   If we don’t play together as one, the world we know today will be temporary. As football has the power to change this world for good, we want to make every sponsorship count on the road to 2030, when the Global Goals kick in and the FIFA World Cup will celebrate its centennial competition.   This goes out to all football sponsorships and advertisers: let’s turn contracts into impact, striving to create a more inclusive, sustainable, and equitable future for all on and off the pitch. 🙌   More information on our impact journey until 2030: www.temporary2030.com Many congrats to everyone involved specially Jürgen Griesbeck & Robert Zitzmann Ready to transform sports🔥🔥🔥

Technology & Innovation is the pathway to the football we want, and need, in 2023 and beyond. En route to #Seville today for World Football Summit 2023 so come and join if you are there. Looking forward to meaningful conversations, insightful and inspiring panels and successful and fruitful meetings with the football world. Especially looking forward to Semra Hunter’s fireside chat with LALIGA President Javier Tebas Medrano, discussing a number of intriguing and on trend topics including tech and innovation in football and how LA LIGA is leading the way globally. #WFSEurope  #technology #growth #football #culture #respect #sportsbusiness #sports #football #football #investment #investment #strategy #digitaltransformation #innovation #sports #sportstech #sportsbusiness #fanengagement #digitalization #digitalsports #tech #partnership #web3 #transparency #trust #fairness

Kama.Sport and FIGC - Federazione Italiana Giuoco Calcio come together for a data-driven future. Kama.Sport and the Italian Football Federation (FIGC) have signed a historic, innovation-oriented partnership. The strategic collaboration will enable the FIGC to explore data in a more advanced way and digitize management processes. As a Technical Supplier, Kama.Sport will provide the FIGC with all the expertise and resources necessary to develop ad-hoc solutions, specifically designed for the Federation's needs. By leveraging Kama.Sport's expertise and custom-developed tools, FIGC will optimize its operations and provide a better experience to all its members and fans. Learn more here: https://lnkd.in/dU6BgnHW #kamasport #kama #sport #football #figc #collaboration #data #partnership #italy #tactics #supplier

⚽ As a passionate (and long-suffering) football fan, I’ve been closely following the selections made for the national teams in the run up to the European Championships. 🇩🇪 When announcing the German team yesterday, and after having left out in-form players Mats Hummels (arguably still one of the best defenders in the world) and Leon Goretzka, head coach Julian Nagelsmann made an interesting observation: “We have a good mix of very strong personalities and those who can fit into the hierarchy and can push others. Those who were not selected are not bad people - sometimes there’s just not a match with the group. Harmony is the foundation for good performance.” 🧩 For me this is one of the holy grails in building a company - one which is getting even more important as we move to working in small agile teams across even very large organizations: how do you create the perfect match between team members? And to Julian Nagelmann’s point: It’s NOT about just assembling “the best performers for each role”. ❓What do you think, what’s the best way to tackle team building and what supporting tools have you used? #team #perfectmatch

Super happy to add another certification from #BarcaInnovationHub. 99/100 from "High Press Football" module. Super fascinating topic, which is more aligned with my game philosophy (not "gegenpress") but rather interception while ball in en route to the receiver. FC Barcelona seems to embrace similar approach given their relatively small average size of players, which means why should they engage in physical duels when they can steal the ball while it is traveling to the next player? Next month module: "Observation Methodology in Formative Football." No idea what that even means, but will find out.