The new Belfast office of one of the UK’s top football agencies has been officially opened by footballer, Rio Ferdinand.
New Era Global Sports Management, which represents the interests of Rio Ferdinand, Mick McCarthy, Harry Redknapp and Robbie Savage, is the first big name football agency to open an office in Northern Ireland.
It is also New Era’s first satellite office outside its London headquarters where it is headed up by former professional players, Jamie Moralee and Pete Smith.
The Belfast office in the Innovation Factory in West Belfast is run by former professional footballer, Lee Mudd, who says the agency was drawn by the vast untapped potential talent throughout the island of Ireland.
He commented: “There are a lot of talented young players here and having an office in Belfast will provide them with the opportunity to make it on a bigger stage. We currently have 15 players on our books from Ireland and Northern Ireland and I would expect this to grow considerably in a short time as there is so much potential here.’”
Lee added: “We recognise that it is an enormous challenge for a young person to leave this country and go to live in England. It is important to provide them with a support network. It can be a tough, ruthless environment and they need a caring team behind them to look after them not just now but throughout their careers.”
Lee himself was set to sign a deal with French side Lyon when his father suddenly passed away. He was out of the game for six months and never really returned to the top level. He said there was no-one to give him support and advice and it is this experience that gives him the motivation to help young players.
Lee continued: “We are in a growth phase and this gives us the chance to build our business and increase capacity as needed. We also liked the networking opportunities with other businesses that have ambitious plans; it offers us the chance to feed off this energy and new ideas.”