Be. APPOINTS PR AGENCY OF THE YEAR
THE ROMANS TASKED TO DELIVER BRAND IDENTIY FOR FIRST OF A KIND NATIONAL SPORTING COMPETITION
Sports consultancy Beyond Ent. Ltd (Be.) set up in 2020 to champion the development of British sporting talent, is to launch a unique platform with support from award winning creative agency The Romans.
Beyond Ent. Co-Founder Razi Hassan said, “We are delighted to partner with Joe, Charlie and the team after what has felt like an age. We initially met back in December 2021 when we discussed the possibilities of working together. Fast forward nine months, we are buzzing to start realising the potential of the partnership.”
The brief will task The Romans to develop the brand proposition which will include: defining key purpose, brand mission, values and key messaging. The scope of work also includes creating the unique brand assets that will be associated with the competition.
The Romans “We’re excited to begin this journey with the Be. team on this innovative concept for the sports industry. The project allows us to flex our creative muscles and unleash the true potential of this competition.”
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SPORTS CONSULTANCY FOR THE UNDER-REPRESENTED RAISES FUNDING
Private investment consortium backs Beyond Ent. Ltd to deliver on ambitious plan
- Engage with governing bodies
- Drive equality, diversity, and inclusion
- Develop a pathway for aspiring young athletes
- Deliver a platform for stars of the future
British Asian-run sports consultancy Beyond Ent. Ltd (Be.), set up in 2020 to champion the development of athletes from under-represented communities has secured land-mark funding in its bid to level the playing field in professional sport.
The seed investment will now enable Be. to launch its National Athlete Development Scouting Network (NADSN) focusing on British talent. In addition to this, the funding will support the establishment of a sports diversity and inclusion program that will bring together diverse leaders and role models from the world of sport. The cohort will deliver workshops and seminars to encourage increased participation at grassroot, and support those already on the journey.
In a joint statement Beyond Ent. Co-founders Razi Hassan (C) and Sahiel Shoeb (L) said: “This investment presents a game-changing opportunity for Be. and a solid endorsement in our vision to unearth and develop a new generation of stars.”
As well as creating pathways, the Be. team is working on two major projects, one will connect athletes together via a digital platform. The second of which will see Be. collaborate with a sports body, major broadcaster, and award-winning production team to create a first-of-a-kind, national competition. The soon-to-be-announced events will galvanise local communities up and down the country in support of their local stars.
Lead investor and Board Advisor, Mandev Virdee added on behalf of the consortium: “It is an honour and a pleasure to be a Board Advisor & Seed Investor for this exciting start-up. The team at Be. are consummate professionals, that I am proud to call friends and business partners. This is a timely opportunity to support increased representation across sports and entertainment to equal the playing field for so many aspiring sports stars.
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Be. joins forces with UK Football Solutions
Be. is pleased to announce an exciting new partnership with UK Football Solutions.
UK Football Solutions founder JAMES WATTS will join the sports consultancy, advocacy, and athlete life management organisation, which champions athletes from under-represented communities, as its Head of Football.
The former commercial manager of Newport County AFC and General Manager of Hereford FC (photographed here with Be. co-founder Razi Hassan) will create a data-driven nationwide scouting network with a part focus on spotting young British Asian and female players, while also developing commercial opportunities for Be. and its roster of talent.
Be. co-founder RAZI HASSAN said: “After a year of successes since we first launched, we are delighted to welcome James into the Be. family.
“James has an impressive pedigree working in both the EFL and non-league, and as the founder of his own company, and brings with him a wealth of commercial expertise which will take Be. to the next level.
“He is also exceptional at spotting talent and will bring those skills to his role finding future stars of the game – particularly those from underrepresented backgrounds such as the British South Asian community and women – while also helping back into the Football League players who’ve been let go by Premier League and Championship academies.
“It’s an exciting tie-up and is already yielding fantastic results. We can’t wait to see where the partnership takes both Be. and UK Football Solutions.”
Be. is a British-Asian-owned organisation set up with one of its stated aims to help improve under-representation in sport – and particularly football, where British South Asians make up just 0.25% of all male professionals.
Its other clients include leading British South Asian MMA fighter Faisal Malik, European boxing title challenger Kay Prosper, and world-title challenger Dillan Whyte’s trainer Xavier Miller, the UK’s most eminent Black boxing coach.
Be. has also acted as consultants for several leading football clubs, and delivered communications support for Cardiff City manager Steve Morison, Newcastle United assistant Jason Tindall, and Aldershot boss Mark Molesley.
Founded by Watts in December 2020, UK Football Solutions has more than a decade’s experience in the football industry.
During his time as Newport County AFC’s commercial manager, Watts generated large revenue increases as the club moved to a new ground and won promotion back to the EFL.
Watts then joined phoenix club Hereford FC in 2017 as General Manager, during which time the club set a record attendance, record performance in the FA Cup, and were crowned Southern League Premier champions.
At both clubs, Watts set up academy structures and community departments, which included obtaining grants, generating sponsorship, and recruiting staff.
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Josh Gowling’s monthly column – The Guardian
Hereford FC manager Josh Gowling’s first monthly column for the Guardian (Available on The Guardian now):
When I am interviewing prospective signings for Hereford FC, one of the best questions is the shortest one: “Why?” I want to know why they are sitting in front of me, why their career has taken them down this path and why they think we would be a good match. We speak about their personality, their background and their ambitions. It is all designed to see whether they buy into what we are trying to do, and whether they have the right mentality for our environment.
But that is not where the process ends. We cannot afford to get too many decisions wrong as a sixth-tier club, playing in the National League North, on a tight budget and amid competition that gets tougher by the year. The financial margins are wafer-thin, particularly after the Covid-19 shutdown that denied us precious gate receipts and commercial revenue. We were hit harder than most and sustainability comes before anything. Every penny counts towards staying alive but, at the same time, this club has a historic name and a sizeable fanbase so our aims need to be bigger.
That is why I have spent the summer enhancing our recruitment process with a strategy based on data and analytics, which has become commonplace higher up the leagues but I believe is groundbreaking in our division. I have hired a team of a dozen undergraduates from one of the UK’s leading football analysis courses to work alongside me, my assistant and our analyst in profiling the players we need. We look for key markers in players to see whether they fit our approach: high pressing, quick transitions and intensity. Collating this information means I am armed with all the detail I need when I meet them.
I like to think I’m a pretty good judge of character but you can’t guarantee, from an interview, whether somebody will perform. Consistency is a particular issue in the National League and the mental side of the game is a big reason why a lot of players are at this level. We are fortunate to welcome crowds of about 3,000 to Hereford, so I need players who are comfortable playing under that pressure. The idea is that, by adding analytics to old-fashioned intuition, I have a far better chance of getting these decisions right.
We will also use the system to analyse our opponents. Last season we played Aldershot in the FA Trophy and knew that a team that scores first against them has an 80% chance of winning. That informed my gameplan: we had to have a go at them. We scored after six minutes; we were pegged back at the end and eventually won on penalties, but it gave us a platform to succeed against a team in the division above us.
During my playing career at clubs such as Bournemouth and Kidderminster, we never had access to this kind of detail. Sean O’Driscoll, my manager at Bournemouth, did a lot of his own video analysis and in many ways was ahead of his time. We want to implement something that helps our players and management to a unique degree; a system that we can adapt, improve and, as we hopefully move up the levels, shape to become different from anyone else’s. Models like this have worked spectacularly at places such as Brentford and Brighton; Notts County are on that path too, although at an earlier stage. When I eventually have to move on from Hereford, this is the legacy and structure I want to leave.
With or without data, pre-season has been a challenge. We have kept about half of our 22-strong squad – when I arrived last year we retained only three or four – but the level of flux still poses problems. Bringing in quality players who fit the budget and are happy to be part‑time is a juggling act. Getting deals over the line means constant phone calls and, in practice, little sleep. I have two young children and live in Grimsby, so it is perfectly normal for me to rack up 1,000 miles a week. We train in the Midlands, at Aston University, as it gives us access to a wider talent pool and most of our players are based in the area, but it is a four-hour drive from my home to Hereford.
Last season the theme we presented to the squad was: “This year only.” The circumstances everyone faced were extraordinary and I just asked them to squeeze everything they could out of it. We reached the FA Trophy final and had a day at Wembley, even if we were deeply frustrated to lose against Hornchurch. But we were pushing for the play-offs when the league was declared null and void in February, so this time it is about “Elevation”. We want to take last season’s work to another level, starting when we host Farsley Celtic on Saturday.
Hereford is a massive club and its natural resting place should be in the Football League, but we have big outgoings and that means we have to be smarter in everything we do. It can be hard to think long term at National League level because so many factors can lie beyond your control, but the clubs that put in the right infrastructure and commit to their targets, such as Stockport and Chesterfield in the division above us, will be rewarded. Recruitment is a fundamental part of that and it is my job, through the new approach, to ensure we can steal a march on the rest.
Josh Gowling will be writing for the Guardian through the 2021-22 season.
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Kouhyar signs deal with Be.
Be. is delighted to announce our first official football client is Hereford FC’s and Afghanistan international Maziar Kouhyar. We had been working unofficially with Maz to help him find a new club during the Covid-19 pandemic, and he has now officially signed as part of Be.
Maz (pictured here with Be. founder Razi Hassan) is an attacking midfielder for National League North side Hereford FC. Having spent a year out of the sport, the former Walsall youth player impressed Hereford coach Josh Gowling during a short spell at the club at the back end of last season which included making his Wembley debut. Be. is delighted to have helped Maz, as one of only a handful of British Asians playing professionally, make his return to the game and are excited to watch his first steps back into the Football League.
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Kouhyar signs 1-year deal with Hereford FC
Be. client Maziar Kouhyar has signed a one-year contract with Hereford FC – cementing his return to football and significantly boosting the number of British Asians playing professional football.
Having come through the youth ranks at EFL club Walsall, Maziar was released in April 2020 following a couple of knee injuries at the start of the Covid-19 pandemic.
After struggling to find a club, he took jobs at KFC and then as a car salesman, fearing his dream of playing pro football was over.
However, last autumn he began working with athlete life management company Be. who secured him a trial with Hereford.
There he impressed manager Josh Gowling, and in just his second appearance Maziar made his Wembley debut in May’s FA Trophy Final, before he was recalled to the Afghanistan squad for their June World Cup Qualifiers.
Hereford head coach has claimed “Maz is a fantastic character with bags of talent, when you first meet him you find it hard not to like him straight away. His talent on the football pitch speaks for itself and understanding his previous experiences in the game I felt it was my responsibility to give him a second chance. The Asian community is drastically unrepresented in football and my hopes is that maz is one of the players that young Asian men and women aspire to be like.”
Following a strong 2021/22 pre-season campaign, Maziar has signed with both Hereford and Be., which aims to improve the under-representation of British Asian footballers.
As one of a handful of British Asians playing professionally, Maz’s return to the game has boosted that number by around 10%, and he has set his sights on a return to the Football League.
After signing his 1-year deal Kouhyar went on to say “I’m happy to sign for such a big club and I am raring to go and make up for lost time, I have great ambitions for this club and a big thanks to BE for making it all possible”
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Brave Prosper shows class in European title bout
BRAVE Kay Prosper slipped to a points defeat over the weekend in his EBU European Super-Lightweight title fight against Sandor Martin.
The English champion, who was stepping up in class and fighting abroad for the first time, was expected to be out of his depth.
But 36-year-old showed that was not the case as he settled in to a relatively even and cagey first couple rounds, albeit landing scoring shots rather than hurting his Spanish opponent in his hometown of Barcelona.
Prosper – who came into the fight with a 14-1-1 record – tried to match the tricky southpaw’s stance, but it quickly became apparent that this was not working against a man known for his technical ability.
Martin, 27, quickly moved ahead on the scorecards and never let that lead slip as he’s successfully done in so many of his previous fights.
With Prosper knowing he had to be more aggressive, he switched back to his orthodox stance and had some joy up close.
But his hopes of getting back into the bout were not helped by some questionable officiating by the hometown referee, who drew criticism from the commentators for deducting two points from the Luton man.
A comfortable victory for Sandor Martin – who moved 38-2-0 – sees him remain in the mix at world level, while Prosper’s performance and experience leaves him well positioned to challenge for the British title.
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Hereford’s Josh Gowling: ‘Gaming gives the lads a chance to shoot me’ – The Guardian
BE has been working with Hereford manager Josh Gowling ahead of his side’s big FA Trophy semi-final game against Woking tomorrow, and here the psychology graduate tells The Guardian all about how he’s been using computer games such as Call Of Duty to bond with his players during lockdown, plus his fascination with the analytical side of the game which he initially developed partly through a love of Football Manager, and how he’s using analytics to build a sustainable future for Hereford FC. Good luck tomorrow Josh – let’s get to Wembley!
The article can be found here: https://www.theguardian.com/football/2021/mar/26/hereford-josh-gowling-fa-trophy-semi-final-woking
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Malik signs with Cage Warriors
Today it was announced that Beyond Entertainment’s Faisal Malik has signed a contract with Cage Warriors. The 5-0 Mixed Martial Artist has made the biggest step in his career to date signing for a promotion that has seen global MMA stars such as Joanna Jedrzejczyk, Michael Bisping and even Conor McGregor. This is a massive step up in quality in Malik’s quest to find himself at the pinnacle of the sport as a UFC Champion.
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Prosper fights for the European title
Beyond Entertainment’s Kay Prospere will fight for the European
super-lightweight title live on DAZN on April 23rd.
The English champion, nicknamed Special K, will headline the Matchroom
Boxing event as he challenges Spaniard Sandor Martin in the champion’s
home country.
Martin, 28, is ranked 7 by both the WBC and WBO. He won the vacant EBU belt in convincing fashion against Andrea Scarpa in July 2019, and has a 37-2 record.
Prospere, 36, has been English champion since beating Sam O’maison in September 2019 following a controversial draw in their first bout six
months earlier. He then successfully defended it with a unanimous points decision against Bilal Rehman last March and is 14-1.
Prospere has given Martin his credit and said “he’s good, but he’s beatable” as his sets his aspirations to win the EBU title and move towards a world title opportunity.
The fight is an opportunity for both men to prove their credentials to
step up in class, and the winner will move a step closer to a world
title shot.
Kay Prospere against Sandor Martin is live on DAZN from the Badalona’s
Palau Olímpic arena on April 23rd.
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