Former Liverpool and Leicester striker Emile Heskey has launched a sports agency in Dubai.
Final Whistle Sports (FW Sports) aims to connect fans and businesses in MENA to players and clubs across the world through bespoke personal and corporate experiences including sponsorships, coaching, events and more.
The agency Co-Founder Nadim Badran is a passionate Liverpool fan that, because of being based in Beirut, did not meet a single player until his 30s which is how the idea of Final Whistle Sports came about.
Heskey met Badran in Beirut 10 years ago and quickly became friends. Both are family-oriented people with a need to constantly be productive, who share a love for football, people, social issues, business and good food. They stayed in touch through the years and worked on a couple of projects together previously before launching FW Sports.
During lockdown last April, Badran hosted 15 friends on a Zoom call with the former Liverpool man. The fans on the call were able to ask Emile questions directly, interact with him and feel like they were getting a personal experience.
The idea grew from there, how can MENA fans have more access to players, either digitally or physically. FW Sports is already Leicester City’s partner, responsible for securing the club partners and sponsors from the region: as well as increasing their footprint in the region.
On the B2C level, the agency has exclusive Zoom calls with players every fortnight (15 guests max) and are planning a series of events for October. Fans will be able to go for private dinners, play football, golf, FIFA with their favourite players. Businesses can tap into the incredible mental resilience players learn from a young age, through speaking appearances, conferences and bespoke team coaching packages.
Speaking of his delight at yesterday’s launch Badran said: “We are very excited to start making Middle East based fans’ dreams come true and help them reach the stars. From bespoke personal experiences to wider corporate sponsorship deals, we want to be the bridge between the region and the most popular leagues in the world.”
For more information visit www.finalwhistlesports.com
