From working at Brentford FC and Southampton FC to launching his own strategic and creative agency, GGm8. Keep reading to learn more about Chaj’s journey into the sports industry and why he launched an agency.
7 Mins Read
Can you give our readers a bit of background on yourself and when you knew you wanted to work in the sports industry?
I am a first-generation immigrant. Growing up in South London, football was 24/7. This showed up in every facet of my life, from wearing T90 Astros all day to beating people on Ultimate Team and messaging them GGm8 (good game mate) to rattle them further. Spending 854 Hours on Football Manager 13 showed me there were normal names in the world of football. This knowledge and a boring year in a finance placement gave me the kick to start pursuing a football career.
You previously worked in insights, strategy, and research at Brentford and Southampton FC. Can you tell us more about what that entailed?
A strategic role involves analysing research and data and interpreting this information to provide solutions on how a club can best move forward. A typical day doing these roles at clubs involves supporting the partnership and marketing departments. Partnership work involves sector research, identifying trends, and providing sales collateral, while marketing work can involve supporting the content team on social media strategy. The outcomes included helping secure a record-breaking stadium naming rights deal between Gtech and Brentford. While at Southampton, I helped facilitate the most engaging tweet of any club in the 2020/21 Premier League season.
What does your current role as Founder and Sports Marketing Strategist at GGm8 entail?
GGm8 is a Strategic & Creative Agency. Led by Gen Z for Gen Z. Built to help brands and athletes authentically engage with modern-day sports fans and the sub-cultures within it, delivering brand strategy, audience insights and creative. My current role as a sports marketing strategist involves speaking to brands and athletes, understanding their challenges, and providing long-term solutions that align with their needs. These solutions may come in the form of content ideation, insights reports or partnership strategy to ultimately engage Gen Z sports fans.
What was your reason behind launching GGm8?
After working at Premier League clubs for three years, I felt something was missing. The crowds didn’t represent the passionate communities I spoke to about football, and the great content I watched outside of work was not reflected in the environments within the clubs. Many lazy narratives were floating around Gen Z and football. Our consumption habits have changed, but the sports industry still doesn’t understand us. This is why GGm8 was created: to help brands and athletes understand modern-day sports fans and build strategies that connect with this increasingly influential demographic. I also wanted to develop a culture that inspires and gives opportunities to underrepresented communities looking for roles in sports. I’ve seen first-hand the challenges these communities face, and things need to change.
Can you give us some examples of your work at GGm8?
The most recent project we have done at GGm8 is The Africa Football Showdown, a new podcast launched for AFCON 2023, where our role was to head up the social media and partnership strategy. Four weeks and ten podcast episodes later, we created 115 pieces of content for our social channels. Additionally, we provided Tekkers, an Instagram brand with 1.2M followers, a strategic piece of work to help them understand Gen Z. We provided solutions on how the page could improve their content to engage this audience. I’ve also delivered workshops to students and universities, sharing insights into the sports industry and how to get roles within the industry, as well as my view on the impact Gen Z will have on the industry.
What is your favourite part of running GGm8?
My favourite part is building relationships with people in various industries and roles, sharing knowledge and finding collaboration opportunities. As a result, I’ve built great relationships in markets I would not have thought possible a year ago. In my most recent project for The Africa Football Showdown, I served the African domestic markets. I also created a great team to help execute the content strategy, which was made up of people looking for their first shot in the industry, and it was so rewarding to have them contribute to this project.
What are three skills you think are essential when it comes to your role within the sports industry?
Always be eager to learn: So many individuals and publications in the industry post fantastic content you can learn from. While navigating the industry, be a sponge and absorb as much knowledge as possible. Start providing your opinion on the subject matter: everyone has a unique perspective worth sharing.
Be proactive: Don’t be afraid to reach out and speak to different people. I’ve learnt so much from jumping on calls and sharing knowledge with individuals, and you never know what opportunities are available if you speak with the right people.
Problem Solving: In any strategic role, people will want to work with you if you can solve their specific challenges. Take time to listen, understand the person, and then blend insight and creativity to provide solutions.
What is a misconception people have about working in the sports industry?
At the start, I assumed that if you were not a player or a coach, there were not many career paths available to you in the industry. But since working in the industry and speaking to different people, I’ve realised how many roles are available in so many different sectors, and the number of roles is also continuously growing.
Did you face any challenges trying to get into the industry? If so, how were you able to overcome them?
The biggest challenge is getting that first opportunity. Without knowledge of the industry and the roles involved, finding out about these roles and creating an application for one is very hard. While traditional career paths are well documented, the sports industry still feels relatively unknown unless you are already in the industry.
What is one piece of advice you would give to a young person who is looking to enter into the sports industry?
My biggest game changer was using LinkedIn and speaking to people in the industry. All my jobs have come from LinkedIn. I always say all it takes is one positive conversation and one yes, which can change your career trajectory. I got my first internship after seeing a post about a sports industry job board from someone. I then messaged him, and he invited me to meet up and chat in London. He gave me valuable insight into different roles and found an internship for me through one of his contacts.
What more do you think needs to be done to improve diversity and representation in the sports industry?
Knowledge is one of the biggest barriers currently affecting diversity and representation. More people from the industry should speak at universities and secondary schools, sharing insights as early as possible on what is possible in the sports industry. When you grow up in a household where these career paths are not documented, you don’tdon’tider it a viable career option.
If you were to choose one person to shine a light on in the industry, who would it be and why?
Radhika Kalia from London Youth. She’s conducting a sports and employability programme with London Youth, where the goal is to inspire and upskill young kids from underprivileged backgrounds. I was lucky enough to be asked to deliver a workshop for these young kids at a careers day, which allowed me to share my journey while also sharing insight on navigating the industry—something I would have loved to have had as a student!
Want to connect with Chaj? Head over to our Networks page to find out more!