I was approached to run a football club.
An EFL club.
Serious investors.
Real opportunity.
And I said no.
Not because I couldn’t do it.
Not because I don’t understand the role.
Because it’s not where I create value.
I’ve never had a job.
I’ve never worked for anyone directly as an employee.
And at 44, I’m not about to start now.
That’s not arrogance.
That’s clarity.
That’s knowing exactly where you’re dangerous.
Most Clubs Are Well Run
And that’s the problem.
CEO
Head of Football
Finance
Commercial
Everything in place.
Everything functioning.
Everything optimised.
And still…
forgettable.
Football Doesn’t Have a Talent Problem
It has a meaning problem.
The game is full of:
data
analysis
broadcast deals
commercial growth
According to Deloitte Football Money League, revenues are at record levels.
But revenue isn’t loyalty.
And loyalty is what built football in the first place.
Ask a simple question:
What does this club actually mean?
Most don’t have a real answer.
The Trade That Broke It
Football didn’t drift here.
It chose this.
Fans became customers.
Emotion became inventory.
Attention became something to monetise.
Football didn’t just commercialise itself.
It disconnected from the people who made it valuable.
That’s the cost no one wants to talk about.
This Was Never Just Entertainment
George Orwell called sport “war minus the shooting.”
He understood something modern football has tried to smooth out.
This is identity.
This is belonging.
This is tribal.
You remove that…
you don’t modernise the game.
You hollow it out.
The Layer Nobody Owns
Football is full of operators.
CEOs
Sporting Directors
Analysts
Commercial teams
Everyone managing something.
No one owning what actually matters.
The supporter.
Not tickets.
Not databases.
The feeling.
Why someone chooses a club.
Why they stay.
Why they pass it on.
That’s where the value is created.
And it’s been left unmanaged.
This Is My Lane
I don’t run football clubs.
I design them.
Not the operations.
Not the staffing.
Not the meetings.
The part most people overlook.
Meaning.
Identity.
Narrative.
Belonging.
Because here’s the truth:
Fans don’t buy football.
They buy what football says about them.
Why I See What Others Miss
I didn’t come through one system.
I’ve built brands.
I’ve been involved in player trading at a meaningful level.
And I understand the emotional side of the game.
How players think.
How fans attach.
How pressure actually plays out.
Most people see one side.
I’ve seen multiple.
That changes how you build.
Chief Supporter Officer
Call it whatever you want.
I call it the Chief Supporter Officer.
Someone at board level responsible for:
the fan relationship
the identity
the narrative
the emotional product
Because that is the product.
Not the match.
What the match means.
Where I Differ
I understand the system.
But let’s be honest about it.
It’s not built to create the best version of football.
It’s built to maintain control.
To protect incumbents.
To limit risk.
That creates a ceiling.
On innovation.
On connection.
On meaning.
I’m Not Here to Extract
Football has spent years extracting from fans.
Higher prices.
More layers.
Less connection.
That’s not a model.
That’s a slow drain.
I’m not interested in building that.
I’m interested in building something people feel part of.
Why I Said No
I’m not built to:
run payroll
manage departments
sit in meetings
firefight day to day
There are people better than me at that.
I’ll hire them.
I’m focused on building Football Is For The Fans and the LA Aztecs properly.
Not just launching a club.
Building a model.
One that:
scales
connects
and actually means something
That requires discipline.
So I’m selective.
My job is to design something worth running.
For The Right People
This isn’t about one club.
It’s about a system.
A model that puts supporters back at the centre
and builds long-term value through meaning, not extraction
I’m not looking for investors who want returns at any cost.
I’m building something that works because it matters.
The Reality
Football doesn’t need more operators.
It has plenty.
It needs people willing to rebuild what the game actually is.
Because right now:
Everything works.
And nothing connects.
If you want a standard football club, I’m not your guy.
If you want to build something that actually matters…
we should talk.