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ISL’s player management arm, Tandhem, is one of the first sport talent and marketing agencies in Spain to open an international esports section.
In February 2020 ISL announced Tandhem, a global player management agency created to help athletes reach their maximum potential on and off the field, with a 360 degree management service covering representation, intermediation, marketing, and legal/financial support.
Now, not even one year after Tandhem’s launch, ISL’s “baby” is ready to expand in new directions and apply its full expertise to esports players and content creators.
“It only makes sense that we share our valuable expertise in soccer representation as well as our strong sports clubs network. Our proposal is to bring in the values and work models of traditional sports to help improve and develop the esports sector.” says Marc Segarra, ISL Co-Founder and Tandhem managing partner.
Tandhem Esports is a reflection of the brand’s vision to keep growing and expanding, always on the lookout for the hottest trends in the sports scene.
For this e-chapter, Tandhem is teaming up with Portuguese esports lovers and experts, João Carvalho, Founder of Prémios Esports Portugal (Portuguese Esports Awards) and ex-partner and founder of Braver Media Group, and Tiago Niza, who has worked in multiple countries and multinational environments, primarily focussed on RPA.
Tandhem esports has already signed 2 top LOL players: Francisco “Xico” Antunes, from BDS, and Amadeu “Attila” Carvalho from Vodafone Giants.
The vision of Tandhem Esports is to bring professionalism and integrity to a fast growing industry that not always operates with the organized and legal formats that we are used to see in traditional sports.
“We have the moral obligation – as entrepreneurs and passionate fans of videogames – to protect and nurture the centerpiece of this evolving market: the Player/Content Creator. They are the ones who add the most value to the market but unfortunately also the ones who are treated the worst. We intend to help by creating the support infrastructure that they need in order to become the best version of themselves.” explains João Carvalho, Tandhem Esports Co-Founder & Esports Director.
Just like the football section, the esports section will also offer 360º services: representation, intermediation, sponsorship brokerage, marketing, and legal/financial support.
Why esports?
Video games have experienced an exponential growth in the past 2 years, currently generating higher revenues than the cinema and music industries combined:
In 2019, the video game industry was worth about 145 billion $, while Box Office and Music were worth $42.5b and $20.2b, respectively.*
The esports audiences keep growing both online and offline, surpassing the number of spectators of the world’s most popular sports events such as the NBA finals: the 2019 League of Legends World Championship Finals amassed a staggering 44 million concurrent viewers while the NBA finals in the same year averaged 15.1 million viewers. *
Esports are not the future, they are the present, and both ISL and Tandhem want to actively participate in revolutionizing the way in which sports are being played and consumed by contributing to the continued growth and development of this fascinating new sector.
Sources:
* https://www.statista.com/chart/22392/global-revenue-of-selected-entertainment-industry-sectors/
* https://nexus.leagueoflegends.com/en-us/2019/12/2019-world-championship-hits-record-viewership/
Albert Balsells is the Barça Academy Soccer Camps director for the USA.
Every summer, he organizes and coordinates 25 Soccer Camps that gather over 4.500 young players to learn the methods and values of the famous La Masia, where FC Barcelona legends like Messi and Xavi grew up.
This year, he had an impossible task: to organize the soccer camps events in the middle of a global pandemic.
Against all odds, Albert managed to minimize the impact of Covid-19 and adapt fast to ensure maximum safety for the players and their families, thus guaranteeing the kids would still be able to enjoy the best soccer summer experience in the country.
In 2020, Barça Academy USA held 14 Soccer Summer Camps for children between the ages of 6 and 16, registering a total of 1.500 participants and zero Coronavirus infections.
How did Mr. Balsells pull this off? That’s what we are going to find out:
At the start of each season we implement a timeline in which my team and I assign ourselves tasks to do throughout the year in order to have everything ready prior to camp commencing, although this year everything changed at the beginning of March due to COVID-19.
From March until the end of the camps we changed a lot of things and designed a contingency plan to know how to act considering different scenarios. The work done by the ISL staff was outstanding, considering the difficult situation we had to endure. Supporting each other was one of the most important things to keep working as a team.
The biggest challenge for me and my team was that the situation was changing every day. Originally we had planned 25 camps, but ultimately ended up doing only 14 due to state restrictions & regulations. In addition, we had to monitor daily how the covid situation was evolving in each state and what were the updates from the government.
We focused on safety measures on the field but also off the field, as in some camps we could have 300 people at one facility. We were very explicit in our communication with families and players to ensure that they maintain social distancing, wear masks, adhere to different drop off and pick up times and wash their hands periodically. We also cleaned the soccer material daily, distributed cleansing gel, etc.
A positive thing that we take from the camps is how people cooperate all the time, not just the players that were fantastic, but also our staff that was incredible at understanding the situation at all times and always being there to help each other. We couldn’t have done camps this summer without them and we are very grateful to all of them.
As you can expect in this situation, families were worried about the safety of their children, that’s why one of the keys to success was communication with all of them. We designed safety protocols which we shared with all the families weeks before the events started.
In a situation where every phone call can carry bad news because something happened, my advice would be to stay calm and act accordingly. At the end of the day as a person you can’t stop a pandemic by yourself, you can only imagine and plan different scenarios and be ready to act whenever you have to. Another very important thing is to support your team, at the end 5 brains think more than 1 and it’s important to trust them.
We are very excited for 2021 and we hope we can run the camps without any restrictions. Besides the soccer experience, we want the players and families to have fun on and off the field. We are already thinking of big surprises for the players, if we can do the camps normally.
Alex is a mastermind oriented to success. His efficient business skills come from prestigious schools such as ESADE (Master’s Degree) and Winthrop University (Bachelor of Science in Business Administration).
Alex is also a professor at ISDE Law & Business School, where he teaches a Master’s Degree class. This month, his class will be about Risk Management and Human Resources, the trending topic itself considering the current global pandemic crisis and the second lockdown in many european countries.
So, we went ahead and asked him some questions about it:
The increasing exposure to the effect of numerous risks, such as Covid-19, has made risk management a key activity in sports organizations. How a business identifies, evaluates, and faces the risk is crucial to overcome challenging situations.
Create a risk aware culture
Continually re-assess risk
Plan, plan, and plan
The Covid-19 had a big impact in our organization, especially to our travel management side. Our priority has always been the health and safety of our team and our customers. That’s why we had to change how we do things internally, but also the way we interact with our clients and partners. We have embraced a digital ecosystem to offer more customized and enriched digital experiences. Some of our tradicional services have been on hold for several months but the adaptability of our team has been outstanding. We look forward to returning to normality in the next upcoming months.
One of the main challenges we have as a sports organization is that we require a large workforce for an intense period of time. Every time we organize an event such as a tournament, a preseason tour, or a sponsorship activation, we need to hire new people that will stay with us for a few weeks or even days. The rapid increase and decline in staffing within a short period of time is a complex human resource challenge. Finding and retaining talent is also one of the most significant managerial challenges.
I would say both. As I said previously, human resource management can be very challenging in sports organizations. Shortage of staffing or a lack of training in our team can be a source of risk. However, thanks to our people we can also mitigate a lot of risks and solve challenging situations.
I wouldn’t say risky, but challenging. As a global company that operates in several countries, we have our team spread in different parts of the world. Having a great communication structure in place and setting up very clear individual and team goals is key for the company’s success.
In my opinion there are several key factors that we need to achieve in order to have a successful talent acquisition and retention process:
During this time of uncertainty, managers of sports organizations are being forced to make tough decisions to minimize the impact of the Covid-19. Most of the time we believe that reducing our staff is the only solution, but there are many other ways to face this economic downturn. We would be surprised how versatile our teams can be if we are creative and innovative. The ability of the managers to find new opportunities and adapt quickly to the new context will determine the future of the company.
Spreading the “blau grana” brand on a new continent takes time, skill and dedication, but it is very rewarding when thousands of players are able to train like a real FC Barcelona player, while enjoying the best soccer experience in the country. Thousands of players learning from the FC Barcelona methodology over the years has helped raise the level of soccer across the country.
Through Barça Camps, ISL is helping FC Barcelona to increase their brand awareness around the globe, and to reach thousands of American families. A key factor in the success of the global partnership between ISL and FC Barcelona is the growth of the historic clubs fan base. Not only does ISL help develop the game across the United States, but it creates brand ambassadors who create a unity with the club that would otherwise be impossible.
Over the years, ISL ran camps have seen over 25,000 young players and families representing the FC Barcelona colors during the nationwide tour. We’re pleased to continue the partnership, and plant the FC Barcelona roots deeper into the fabric of the United States soccer market.
What makes heading into 2021 such a unique year, is the signing of young American soccer talent, Serginho Dest, to FC Barcelona. Dest is fast becoming a global star, and is a beacon of the ever growing level of soccer in the United States, which has benefited from partnerships like the one between FC Barcelona and ISL.
During June and July of 2021, from Monday to Friday, Barça Camps will be hosted at 25 different cities across the United States for boys and girls, separately, with ages between 6-17 years old.
The participants will be able to fully indulge in the Barça Philosophy with 6 hour practices where they will learn the same tactics taught at LaMasia, that have helped shape players such as Messi, Xavi, Ansu Fati, Serginho Dest and many others.
Barça Camps not only forms skilled players, but also and most importantly, Barça Camps is an essential learning experience for kids to grow and mature as individuals.
Don’t miss this opportunity and register now, before it is too late!
Long before ISL formed into a global marketing and management firm, co-founders Alex Isern and Marc Segarra grew up in the futbol rich city of Barcelona. They were both gifted in being selfless in looking out for others and helping each person they came into contact with reach their fullest potential. This passion transferred into their vision and goals for providing opportunities to players through ISL.
After successfully completing a senior year on the field playing for the Winthrop University in South Carolina by winning the Big South Conference Championship (2012) and graduating with honors, the two childhood friends decided to take their passion for the game and (ultimately) for people and put it to work by staying in the United States and forming ISL. Initially the focus was being a soccer company, but ISL has since matured and grown over the course of 7 years into a battle tested and seasoned company with an array of offerings outside of the beautiful game, but still with a people first emphasis and ideology.
The U.S. has become one of the most competitive markets in the world for youth soccer, so it only made sense for the co-founders to bring the same values and methodologies that they both grew up playing under in Spain and infuse them into a budding system. Through summer camps, and eventually starting their first academy in Charlotte, NC their new dream of helping players achieve their goals started taking shape and began to thrive.
After inking a deal to represent FC Barcelona throughout the United States with their academies and nationwide camps ISL were now able to identify kids from around the country who were believed to be next level talent by trained FCB coaches and staff, and get them over to Europe to play against top academies and club teams in Spain.
Talented players have continually emerged from ISL events. Many players have impressed with their field IQ, skill and level of play over the years, but some more so than others have stood out head and shoulders above the rest. We have been fortunate to be able to work with them and to help mold their style and technique, but more importantly their attitude and philosophy toward the game.
The list of players continues to grow as each year passes, but some have made that jump from the academy system and international tournaments to signing contracts with MLS and USL teams, notably Tucker Lepley (USMNT (U17)/Sporting KC); Brennan Conger (DC United) and Chris Thaggard (Charlotte FC). Other up and coming names to keep an eye on that have come through ISL include, William Cardona (New York Red Bulls), Ryan Fessler (Sporting KC), Donovan Roux (Rapids), Edric Zhang (Charlotte FC) and Julian Ramirez (Charlotte FC). For each the future is bright.
ISL stays committed to these players in order to keep helping them achieve their goals, as well as future players seeking to achieve the same thing. Alex Isern and Marc Segarra promise to keep providing these opportunities to players, and
“Each trip is a different and unique experience, in the sense that each player is handed an opportunity to prove his or herself and their abilities on an international stage of top level competition, all the while refining their skills and getting better each day.” – Alex Isern (CEO and Co-Founder)
The chance of building a company that has helped future stars reach their potential in taking the next step and to chase down their dreams is the greatest reward and ultimately life changing. We look forward to seeing each of these stars rise, as we continue in our commitment to helping others achieve their goals and life pursuits too.
“We love people and we love the game of futbol. So, for us we get to marry those two passions and see dreams become a living and breathing reality. It’s exciting and humbling to be able to do what we do.” – Marc Segarra (Managing Partner and Co-Founder)
Yesterday it was announced that Innjoo, a technologies company, has signed a sponsorship agreement with Deportivo Alaves brokered by ISL.
Earlier this year, ISL inked an exclusive deal with the Healthcare arm of InnJoo, a Spanish based technology company, to act as their business development partners throughout the continental U.S. With the relationship spearheaded by ISL’s Bruno Diaz, and his long standing relationships with clubs around Europe, it led to the possibility of brokering this exciting sponsorship deal.
Innjoo will feature on the back of the shorts of the Deportivo Alaves players in matches during the 2020/2021 season. The financials of the deal are not released. This is the first major kit sponsorship deal brokered by Bruno Diaz for ISL.
Haritz Karejeta, CEO of Alaves, acknowledge the values of Innjoo were at the core of this relationship as well as how this deal continues to signify the international growth of the club. Karejeta was also keep to acknowledge the he valued the relationship established with ISL through this deal. In addition, the Marketing Director of Innjoo, Pablo Guerrero spoke to the core of this deal, “Innjoo identifies with the same values as the Baskonia-Alavés Group, a benchmark for life both in Vitoria and in the Basque Country”. He also stated that with the sponsorship Innjoo hope to “reach the people”.
Bruno Diaz, ISL’s key figure in the deal, said of the sponsorship “With relationships like Alaves and Innjoo who understand the value of sponsorship, and are open to find win win situations, it’s always a a pleasure to close such a valued partnership. We are sure it will be a long term deal.” Bruno also added “With this deal, we’re excited to help businesses in the future achieve their marketing goals through sponsorship.”
This is not InnJoo’s first foray into sponsorships, but it is a first in partnership with Alavés. We are looking forward to seeing this sponsorship relationship grow, as well as the opportunities this announcement brings to the ISL sponsorship team in the future.
August 30, 2020
While European soccer clubs are making their final preparations for the 2020/2021 season, ISL Tours and Friendlies team are busy connecting clubs throughout the continent in order to safely and efficiently tune up their teams. We are proud to announce that our team successfully completed the agreement between SL Benfica and Stade Rennais, both Champions League clubs, for a preseason friendly. The match will take place September 5th at Estadio Da Luz.
This signifies that business is getting back to usual for the Tours and Friendlies team, and we look forward to more deals in the near future!
Another summer camp tour across the nation has come and gone. Once again, in partnership with FC Barcelona our team traveled multiple routes with staff members to cities all around the country to instruct boys and girls in Barca values, techniques, style and tradition. From San Diego to Philadelphia, Austin to Boston, and Denver to Portland we hosted camps in over 16 different cities.
Unlike most summers past, this year was quite different for a number of reasons, but mainly due to the global Covid pandemic which forced us to scale back on the size of campers we are typically used to hosting, as well as the number of camps we plan to put on around the country.
Pre-Covid, our efforts to have another sellout summer of training and fun began it’s planning stages in Q4 of 2019, with routes being established, facilities being booked, coaches and staff committing to 7 weeks on the road, as well as the logistics of ordering uniforms for campers and the housing in each city. It’s a big deal to coordinate, but one our team thoroughly enjoys seeing come to life.
It was by mid-march when we first started to see what might lay ahead for the summer plans and all the hard work that had been put into place. Up until that point we were quickly on track to selling out camp at a record pace, but then the country started to shut everything down, namely ALL sports for the foreseeable future. As you can imagine, registrations nosedived almost immediately and facilities that had been locked down for months began to cancel agreements left and right.
One moment everything is moving along smoothly and then the next thing you know everything is out of your control, but not to ever back down from a challenge, we decided to take a step back to reassess the situation and to plan accordingly and in line with what government officials and the CDC recommended to make sure in keeping with utmost safety.
We scaled back our itinerary from the original plan of 40 cities nationwide to under half that to 16 camps, coast to coast. Our logistics team contacted and confirmed bookings with parks and recreation facilities. All of our coaches and staff were trained immediately in the correct procedures of keeping all of the campers safe, as well as each other. Commitments were made to wearing gloves and masks at all times at camp. Additionally, one way in and out check in stations were set up where campers were allowed to enter and leave facilities. With all of the logistics sorted out, we still wanted to emphasize an atmosphere of fun and growth for the campers. As one of the few companies hosting nationwide camps and expecting over 2000 registrants to participate we made this our ultimate goal, given the current global climate.
As we wrapped up week 7 in the City of Brotherly Love, Philadelphia, we reflected on the summer to date and how our commitment to keeping everyone safe was validated in the precaution and safety measures we took. 2 weeks after the fact we have still had zero Covid incidents for either campers, coaches or staff.
Thank you for trusting us this Summer and we look forward to making it back to your city in 2021. Be on the lookout for cam announcements in the fall.
In the past little had been known about this fast growing sport, or as some have referenced it as the little brother of soccer, but futsal is the only form of indoor soccer endorsed by FIFA. It earned the status of FIFA’s official form of indoor soccer in the 1980s as it was recognized as a scaled down version of outdoor soccer played indoors. It is a 5 v 5 small-sided game played on a hard surfaced, basketball sized court with a smaller, heavier low bounce ball.
Futsal is played with touchline boundaries and without walls. It is a game that most recognized outdoor soccer players around the globe play to refine and maintain their control skills and touch. Great soccer superstars such as Ronaldo, Messi, Kaka and Neymar grew up playing the game and credit futsal with developing their skills.
The mission of our indoor program is simple, develop top tier players and people through the uniqueness of this sport, all the while providing a comfortable platform for all to learn and advance on and away from the court. The philosophy is unconventional in that the overall approach is holistic and centers on the encouragement of individual creativity and player intelligence. In itself, futsal is a very distinctive game, and often takes players out of their comfort zones in order to stretch their skills to reach their next level. The goal in these circumstances is to help ensure players are constantly striving for loftier goals and succeeding.
Governing the success and growth of Futsala for ISL are Adam Brundle, Pedro Oliveira and Caio Maciel. This trio oversees academies in both Austin, TX and Charlotte, NC. Along with the support of the ISL family have taken a concept of humble beginnings and transformed it into one of the hottest programs in the nation.
Programs vary, depending on interest and individual development within the game, but can be specialized to fit specific needs of the player. There are 2 core categories that are open to players, with a week long summer camp option for all skill levels looking to continue to refine their techniques or simply check out the sport for the first time.
To break it down, Futsala offers a year round academy aimed at player’s 4- 18 years old with varying levels of background experience from beginners to experts. In addition, Futsala has a Classes & Sessions program, which offers players the opportunity to continue playing during holidays. This program is not exclusive, but rather open to all, but still ensures top level and quality coaching. Also, each player will be matched up with a group of kids to fit their needs and to ensure the optimum learning environment.
Since forming, Futsala has experienced a string of rapid successes for both players and coaches. It has even gained national and international attention for top level play on the court. Recently our ‘03 Barefoot-Futsala girls Team were crowned the National Champions In addition, there has been recognition at National ID’s, with twelve of our players getting invited to participate with the US National Youth Team.
Trips that were once just a short drive from home to the courts are now around the country and abroad to compete against the best the nation and world have to offer. It is a far departure from its humble beginnings, but a journey that is just beginning and with a big, bright future ahead. If you would like to have a futsal program near you, let us know.
