Globe Soccer is broadening its horizons

For the first time since 2010, the last week of the year passes without the Globe Soccer Awards bringing together some of the most important players of the soccer season in Dubai.

The World Cup in Qatar changed the calendar of competitions around the globe and this event organized by the Dubai Sports Council to reward the best of the year was brought forward to November 17, three days before the start of the World Cup.

In this 13th edition of the gala, Real Madrid won six awards and Karim Benzema and Alexia Putellas were chosen as the best players of the year 2022.

Twelve years in the elite

In just 12 years, Globe Soccer has carved out an important niche for itself in the professional soccer sector. Since December 2010, when Miguel Angel Gil, Adriano Galliani and Jorge Mendes won the only three awards of the first edition, the growth of this ceremony has been spectacular.

Not only has the number of awards increased (21 awards in this edition), but also the interest of the public (33,124,813 votes cast in two rounds through social networks to choose this year’s finalists) and the category of the winners. On the red carpet of the Medina Jumeirah complex in Dubai we have seen, among many others, Maradona, Messi, Cristiano, Mbappe, Zidane, Ronaldo Nazario, Xavi, Salah, Lewandowski, Ribery, Pirlo, Lampard, Pique, Ronaldinho, Totti, Sergio Ramos, Puyol, Achraf, Infantino, Platini, Florentino, Tebas, Ferran Soriano, Gil Marin, Sandro Rosell, Guardiola, Ancelotti, Simeone, Mourinho, Emery, Capello, Jorge Mendes, Mino Raiola…

Global reach

It all started as a ceremony driven by the European Club Association (ECA), the European Players’ Agents Association (EFAA) and the Dubai Sports Council, which was initially more focused on the transfer market.

“It started out as a private gala dinner in 2010 with three career awards designated by the organizers. It was born with the idea of ​​holding a gala dinner with top footballers and agents as part of the Dubai International Sports Conferences organized since 2006 by the Dubai Sports Council, and it was so well received that we decided to repeat it the following year,” explains Tommaso Bendoni, CEO of Globe Soccer. “Today it is a fully-fledged multi-disciplinary awards ceremony, with a world-class judging panel, voted for by millions of fans and broadcast to every corner of the globe on multiple channels and platforms. With the key support of the Dubai Sports Council, the Dubai Globe Soccer Awards grew into the world-renowned event it is today. Our focus has never wavered from honoring performance on and off the pitch. Soccer is not only played on the pitch, and thousands of people such as coaches, managers , scouts and agents have left an indelible mark on the sport, contributing to the development of modern soccer.”

For the entire industry

Unlike other competitions, this event honors the contribution of many other off-field players in the soccer industry who, although they may not have the undisputed prominence of footballers, are also relevant.

“Our awards recognize a broad spectrum of contributors to the game, both on and off the field, as well as former players who continue to play a role in soccer after hanging up their boots. These include players, agents, managers, coaches, trainers , directors, owners, social media influencers, etc. The ceremony is an annual celebration of the beautiful game that gives a voice to soccer fans around the world, who choose their favorite players, coaches and clubs through a public vote. Like Dubai, its host city, these awards are new, innovative, different and groundbreaking, which is why they are fast becoming an unmissable event of the year,” said the event’s executive director with delight.

Fans are very involved

This is reflected in the flexibility with which the organization gives an increasingly important weight to fans and influencers.

“Since its inception, the Globe Soccer Awards have maintained a unique relationship with soccer fans. We also pay attention to the growing relevance of influencers, creators and e-sports players on social networks, who have already become an element of the beautiful game. That explains the new digital awards that we presented for the first time at the last gala in November. Since 2020 the engagement with fans has been elevated as they can participate in the main awards through public voting. Through a simple process soccer enthusiasts around the world can vote for their favorite players, coaches and clubs. The public vote carries 100 percent weight in selecting the finalists from among the nominees, and 25 percent weight in selecting the winners from among the finalists, while the Globe Soccer Awards jury carries 75 percent weight. public vote alone has accounted for more than 70 million votes in three years, from more than 200 countries around the world. It’s a truly global event,” says Bendoni.

Exchanging ideas

In parallel to the Globe Soccer Gala, the Dubai International Conferences are held, where very different profiles from the world of soccer exchange views and discuss issues relevant to the global development of the sport. Club presidents, sporting directors, coaches, players, referees and agents take part. For Bendonithis forum for the exchange of ideas is strategic.

“Soccer is the most global of all sports, and the Dubai Globe Soccer Awards can be considered one of the first steps in bringing together the best professionals outside Europe, promoting intercontinental dialogue on the most topical issues and rewarding the best talents from around the world ,” Bendoni said. “The Globe Soccer Gala and Dubai International Conferences are arguably the biggest convergence of soccer royalty each year, and many relationships and business deals take place during this period. The growing interest and demand for the Globe Soccer Awards is remarkable, which is why several groups and organizations, both soccer and non-football related, are looking to partner with us and participate.”

Riccardo Silva’s arrival

If we talk about soccer and business Riccardo Silva, the current majority shareholder of Globe Soccer, is an authority on the subject, especially in the sports TV rights sector. An Italian investor with a successful track record, between 2004 and 2016 Silva founded and managed together with Andrea Radrizzani (current owner of Leeds United) MP & Silva, an international company with sites in 20 countries that became the world’s leading distributor of sports TV rights. When they sold it in 2016 to the Chinese group Everbright Securities for 1.4 billion euros, they had the rights to the soccer World Cup, the Premier League, the Italian Serie A, the NBA, Formula 1, the four Grand Slam tennis tournaments, the NFL, WBSC (baseball)… and broadcast on more than 500 television channels around the world. A great soccer fan and staunch Milan supporter, he is president and owner of Miami FC, which competes in the USL, the second North American soccer division. The team plays at the Riccardo Silva Stadium, which bears his name and has a capacity of 20,000 fans, located on the campus of Florida International University in Miami. Since May this year he is also co-owner of AC Milan as he is one of the investors of the American fund RedBird Capital that bought the historic Italian club for 1.2 billion. In 2016 Riccardo Silva founded the investment company Silva International, whose activity covers various sectors such as technology, entertainment, media, catering, fashion, art and sports. In 2017 he acquired a significant stake in Globe Soccer.

Soccer and business

“I went to the Globe Soccer Gala for many years as a guest and I really liked the fantastic organization they had, I saw that it was a very important event in soccer, that it was interesting and that I could help develop it through my company There are many ways to do business in soccer: with television rights, with consulting or with the organization of events like this one, there are many ways…. Now we are putting all our experience into making Globe Soccer much bigger. It’s not just a matter of expanding the event, but also the type of business that can be done around the gala”, explains the investor.

Listening to Silvathe differences between Globe Soccer and other well-established soccer awards shows are clear.

“I always say that Globe Soccer is one of the three Grand Slams of soccer awards events. There is the Ballon d’Or, FIFA The Best and Globe Soccer. We have a history behind us, we are now in our 13th edition, we enjoy international prestige in the awards world and we have built a well-positioned brand. Receiving more than 33 million votes for the awards shows that Globe Soccer is a global event, not only in the Middle East or Europe, but all over the world through social media. A lot of young people participate, we are very happy with TikTok’s sponsorship and we believe we will grow even more next year through the multimedia part. Every year more and more people call us asking for invitations to come, because they know that there is a lot of business around the event. A lot of people from the soccer industry come to Dubai and it’s ideal for doing business, it’s an informal Summit, very interesting for people from the world of soccer. Ballon d’Or and FIFA The Best are two big award event s, very important, but they are just that. Here there is much more because of the dynamism that Globe Soccer has to expand the possibility of doing business”.

International expansion

Globe Soccer’s continued growth as a meeting point for major operators in the sports industry has its next step in expanding beyond this Dubai event. Riccardo Silva unfolds the main lines of his project.

“Many cities around the world have asked us about the possibility of organizing the Globe Soccer Gala. We believe that our growth path is to be not just one event, but a company that organizes several events throughout the year: two or three, always with Dubai confirmed, of course, and at this time at the end of the year. The Globe Soccer Gala in Dubai will always be the most important event, but there will be others in other cities: maybe Las Vegas, London, Paris, Ibiza? We want to expand Globe Soccer by taking it to other countries with different formats, different award categories? We are going to develop Globe Soccer as a global company. We are thinking of a summer event, six months after the traditional winter Gala in Dubai. “

F1’s example

Asked about the current situation in soccer, its future prospects and its profitability, Silva is clear about the example to follow.

“My career as an entrepreneur in the business world has always been linked to soccer, but that allowed me to combine business with my sporting passion for soccer… I am a Milan fan. I come from the world of entertainment and I think soccer should look at what Formula 1 has done with Netflix, with a lot of activations close to the sports business and young people. Globe Soccer is a perfect place to talk about these issues, about how to better develop a club, because quality is the most important thing for an organization to be perfect. People from different countries and different leagues come here, and it is much easier to exchange ideas and experiences.”