From recruiting for IMG to working in sports marketing at Hammersmith Football Club, Eliz's journey is inspiring. Learn how she turned her passion for storytelling and sports content into an impactful role at Hammersmith F.C.
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Can you give our readers a bit of background on yourself?
My name is Eliz; I currently work in recruitment for IMG ( a sports and culture company), but not for much longer as I am pursuing a complete career change; stay tuned! At IMG, I recruit for all IMG events, IMG Media, and 160over90. When it comes to hobbies, my main sport is boxing. It is a fascinating sport—if you watch one fight, you’re hooked immediately! I also used to box; I started in white-collar boxing and then moved to the amateurs, which I loved. It took over my life for five years; I was doing tech training three times a week, a lot of conditioning work, and sparring. It was a world that consumed me but in a good way. It taught me about discipline and focus. However, when COVID hit, it impacted my commitment, and I struggled.
Also, my granddad was a professional goalkeeper, so football has always been part of my life. He would always have football on the TV in Greece, where I grew up. Growing up with somebody who did it as a professional career was very interesting and allowed me to gain a different perspective. More recently, my boyfriend introduced me to the world of Arsenal Football Club, which is a stressful world and a full-time job in itself. I watched the ‘All or Nothing: Arsenal’ Prime documentary back-to-back three times, and through the behind-the-scenes documentary-style storytelling, I fell in love with the team and the world of sports content. I have a big passion for storytelling, and what I find fascinating at IMG is how people who work in the sports marketing and partnerships team put two entities together to build a story. I wanted to get involved in that, which is how I found Hammersmith Football Club.
When and how did your interest in sport turn into a career?
I’d say there were a few touchpoints- the main one is boxing. I was in that world from an athlete’s perspective, but it made me realise that I love being in a space where I can be involved in sports and push the sport forward. During my years as an athlete, I was in oil and gas recruitment, but the industry I was interested in was sports and entertainment; I’d say that was probably a defining moment where I knew that I was going to move on from the oil and gas industry into the space I had a real passion for. But then, going back about ten years, when I was in school, I was never somebody who knew what they wanted to do. I enjoyed a few things but never thought it could be a career. I was a Sports Photographer at school and did that for a couple of years, which involved going with the teams to away games. I loved doing that, but it never clicked that this could be done as a career. It was never promoted or spoken about in a way that would have encouraged us to pursue dreams we did not even know we had. If something clicked in me back then, life would be very different now.
Did you face any challenges trying to get into the industry? If so, how were you able to overcome them?
No, it was just the right place at the right time! There’s no success story here, at least for me being able to land a role in the industry. There was no real struggle finding Hammersmith F.C. either. In terms of the passion project element, I could not figure out the ‘how’, but what helped was all of the conversations I had with industry professionals. I do a lot of networking on LinkedIn, and if I see someone whose job role looks interesting, I will reach out to them and say, ‘I’ve come across your profile; from what I can see, what you do is cool, and I’d like to learn more’. Most of the time, when you approach people like that, they will be open to giving you half an hour to tell you more about what they do. I’ve had incredible conversations with people who have opened my mind.
You’ve mentioned Hammersmith F.C. several times. Can you tell us more about the club?
Hammersmith F.C. was set up in 2020. From what I understand from speaking to people who were there at the time, it was kind of ‘the place to be’; it brought people together who wanted to play football in quite a difficult time. The Men’s First Team plays in the Southern Amateur Football League, and the Women’s Team plays in the Greater London Women’s Football League. We have two first and second teams for both men and women and what is nice is that every single team, regardless of gender, gets celebrated in exactly the same way.
How did you find out about this opportunity to work with Hammersmith F.C.?
Over the last year, I have wanted a passion project, something outside of my work that I could jump into, all guns blazing. Community, football, and women’s sports are all very personal to me. I researched and had a few conversations with different people within the industry, asking them how I could get involved in something along those lines. I spoke to somebody from West Ham United (shoutout, Grant!), and he said, ‘Get involved in grassroots sports—find a club local to you, jump in and help out. That is when I came across Hammersmith FC. One thing that caught my eye was their January campaign with their partners, Chase and Status. In the grand scheme of things, Hammersmith F.C. is a very local football club, but were able to launch such an incredible campaign; that’s the place I wanted to get involved with. Long story short, I reached out to the founder, Tommy, expressing my passion for marketing, partnerships and storytelling and my desire to get involved wherever possible. I then talked with him and his co-founder/head coach, Akin and the stars aligned. I’ve been there since February, but it feels like I’ve been there forever.
What is your current role at Hammersmith F.C., and what does it entail?
It’s varied- my primary responsibilities are content strategy and content creation. I ensure we are pushing forward with our storytelling and highlighting our players’ stories across all four teams. We have several content pieces coming up soon. We are partnering with another grassroots team and doing an event with the women’s teams, where I will be taking some cool content to showcase the teams coming together on a nice day out. One of our women’s players used to play professionally, and she has a great story to tell. Unfortunately, she has been injured, but she has one of those ‘road to recovery’ stories, so we will do concept pieces like that. Additionally, I support on moving our existing partnerships forward, doing outreach to secure new ones, and seeing how many like-minded partners we can bring on board.
What is your favourite thing about working at Hammersmith F.C.?
The most rewarding moments I have had are when I have shown up on my own as a “non-player,” and everyone appreciates having me there to help drive the club’s growth. It is gratifying to be a part of something so community-driven. Another thing that I’m proud of is the storytelling element—with the weekly player profiles, you bring that element of ‘that’s our girl!’ It could make someone’s day.
What is one piece of advice you would give to a young person who wants to enter the sports industry?
Do not underestimate the power of networking. People will 100% support you and give you their time when you approach them in a way that shows you want to understand and gain knowledge. Also, do not underestimate the power of LinkedIn. I know people say things like, “Ah, it’s so lame,” but it’s definitely not. Without reaching out to people and having those conversations, I would not be where I am. I know how hard it can be to break into the sports industry. It’s an incredibly competitive space, so getting involved in community initiatives—things that are close and accessible to you—can be advantageous and can turn your life around. Getting involved in smaller-scale projects in that way can be incredibly rewarding and help you advance further.
What more needs to be done to make the sports industry accessible and inclusive?
We’re heading in the right direction. What is very important is role models for the younger generation, which is happening now. You see little girls wearing Leah Williamson and Mary Earp’s tops. The more we see that, the more amazing female personalities we create for younger audiences to resonate with and look up to. The younger generations will start fresh and come into it thinking women in sports are normal and take it forward.
If you could shine a light on anyone in the industry, who would it be and why?
Leah Godfrey. She is from the US but has moved to the UK and is currently making her way in women’s football. She’s very grassroots-focused, which is often an area that can be overlooked. She’s held several senior C-suite positions in many grassroots clubs and has done a lot of content work at that level. Someone like that, who is dedicating their entire career to making changes at that level, is incredible because it is impactful for the community and different individuals. I talk to her a lot; she’s taken me to a few games and events, gives me incredible advice and involves me in projects she knows I will benefit from. You don’t often come across people who take you under their wing that way. It’s a nice story and relationship to have somebody who’s a lot more experienced but is doing it at a very relatable level.
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