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Read Monica Aguado’s, Humas Resources and CFO, insightful comments about the importance of corporate meetings on an era where remote work is growing fast and is not going anywhere anytime soon.
1. First of all, can you tell us about your job as HHHR & CFO Director?
I’ve been working with ISL since the company was founded, back when it didn’t even had an Human Resources structure. It has been a big challenge to create and shape this department; it definitely has been a learning experience and it’s amazing to see how far we’ve gotten. Part of my daily tasks also includes hand-in-hand work with the CEO preparing financial reports and tracking the cash flow which is crucial to make strategic decisions.
2. Taking into account that currently most of ISL’s employees work remotely, do you consider that corporate meetings are important?
During COVID times, ISL was introduced to remote work; nowadays most of the team works remote or hybrid. Because of this, many team members interact only virtually with the rest of the team. We consider that corporate meetings, now more than ever, are a must in our annual calendar of activities.
3. Which is the main objective of a corporate meeting?
The main objective of a corporate meeting is to boost physical and emotional experiences that we may lack in a daily basis. To achieve this, during corporate meetings we organize team building activities, meetings where we recap annual results and share future projections, luncheons and other interactive activities.
.4. How many corporate meetings a year do you think are necessary for ISL?
We’ve always aimed to held 2 corporate meetings per year and we hope to maintain this frequency, even though the company keeps growing and it’s hard to find a few days in the calendar where the whole team can meet.
ISL continues to support the development of US soccer by launching the first official recruitment platform of LaLiga for youth talent in the United States.
ISL, in collaboration with LaLiga, is launching LaLiga Select – a platform that will provide young American soccer players, between the ages of 13 to 18, the opportunity to showcase their talent and start a professional soccer career in a youth club from LaLiga.
The launch of LaLiga Select represents an important milestone for LaLiga in the United States, as it is the first legitimate scouting program for soccer players led by an international sports institution in North America. This project is part of an action plan drawn by the Spanish League and Relevent to contribute to the growth of soccer in the United States, while continuing to provide all resources and opportunities to help American talent in its preparation for the 2026 World Cup.
With these types of initiatives, ISL and La Liga are encouraging and facilitating the arrival of new American talents to Spain at an early age, such as Sergiño Dest and Konrad De La Fuente from FC Barcelona, or Yunus Musah from Valencia FC.
“La Liga Select aims to contribute to the development of young American talent, providing players an opportunity to showcase their potential, an experience that will step up their game, and , the chance to kick off their dream of becoming a professional soccer player and one day represent their country in the World Cup”,says Nicolás García Hemme, VP of Strategy & Business Development for LaLiga North America, “Our goal is to collaborate with local clubs to become their international recruitment arm and continue to add new locations every year in different American regions.”.
This unprecedented initiative will start in 2021 between June 21st and July 13th, with several Talent ID held across different cities in the United States, and is expected to gather thousands of participants. Approximately 60 players will be selected by LaLiga scouts to embark on a Spanish Showcase in Madrid. During a period of 10 days this group of players will train and compete with the best clubs in Spain under the supervision of different Technical Directors from LaLiga Youth Clubs, who will then recruit the best player from each age category to participate in a sponsored training camp with a LaLiga Youth Club.
LaLiga Select will open the doors of European soccer for American players, creating a quality reference in US soccer, while positioning Spain as an attractive market for young US players.
La Liga Select is the first official LaLiga platform to recruit talent in the United States.
This project gives young players with ages between 13 to 18, the opportunity to showcase their talent and start a professional soccer career in a LaLiga youth club.
LaLiga Select will open the doors of European soccer to American players, creating a quality reference in US soccer, while positioning Spain as an attractive market for young US players.
As soon as the announcement of this unprecedented initiative was made official by LaLiga, several media outlets picked up the news and communicated it around the world, valuing the contribution of ISL and LaLiga to the development of American soccer and to bringing countries together through sports.
In Spain, home country of La Liga, the main sports media like Mundo Deportivo and AS gave a full page coverage to the story, while in the United States prominent informative platforms such as yahoo! finance or ESPN Deportes delivered the news highlighting the positive impact La Liga Select will have on US soccer.
The press coverage of LaLiga Select reached over 50 media outlets and 113 Million visitors in 4 different continents. Below are the major publication covering the launch of LaLiga Next:
Yahoo Finance: https://finance.yahoo.com/news/laliga-north-america-creates-platform-154000374.html
ESPN Deportes: https://espndeportes.espn.com/futbol/espana/nota/_/id/8034001/laliga-lanza-programa-captar-talento-juvenil-estados-unidos
Mundo Deportivo: https://www.mundodeportivo.com/futbol/20210114/491562506918/laliga-proyecta-captar-talento-en-estados-unidos.html
Sports Finding: https://sportsfinding.com/laliga-plans-to-attract-talent-in-the-united-states/78129/
US AS: https://us.as.com/us/2021/01/14/futbol/1610650465_385309.html#menu
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.
We are thrilled to announce that we have officially kicked off the start of the 2020/21 season signifying our continued partnership with FC Barcelona. From coast to coast boys and girls ranging in array of age categories return back out on to the fields to continue their education in FC Barcelona values, style and techniques.
For some this will be their first season with us, having gone through summer tryouts at our different locations and finding that the philosophy of the Barca way being in line with helping them advance in their skills, field IQ and overall love for the beautiful game. In Charlotte, NC we were especially proud to announce that our Academy there has expanded regionally and around the city, as well as with 2 new locations across the border into South Carolina.
With all of the excitement of getting going again and watching our players grow, we are earnestly keeping in mind that we are still in the midst of a global pandemic. For the past 7 weeks we have been actively putting into practice safety procedures that are in line with CDC and government regulations at our camps from around the nation and truly believe that we will continue to refine these practices in order to keep all of our players safe. This is non-negotiable for us and will always be our number one priority in each city that we have an Academy.
Many protocols have been put into place to ensure utmost safety, including mandatory temperature checks and hand sanitization. Redesigning drills at a safe distance, as well as disinfecting all training materials. Players will only interact with their own ball for individual games. For cooperation games players will share a ball, through which they must achieve a common goal. For opposition in a non-shared space, players will cooperate with a shared ball to achieve a common goal, sharing only their space and without defensive contact.
These are just some of the procedures we are putting into practice and will continue to communicate with you through email and social media as these protocols are added and refined.
ISL prides itself in putting on unparalleled experiences for clients, brands and athletes, all the while exceeding expectations. The launch of MICFootball USA in 2019 was no exception, and we have been looking forward to the tournaments second installment.
“We are at the helm of a sport that vast numbers of people live and breathe that has been laid low by this invisible and fast-moving opponent. It is at times like these that the football community needs to show responsibility, unity, solidarity and altruism.” Aleksander Čeferin, UEFA President.
Considering the recommendations from WHO, UEFA and the local authorities, ISL and MIC Sports acknowledge the worldwide impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and the risk it represents to global health.
Under these circumstances, ISL regrets to inform that the MICFootball USA tournament 2020 has been postponed to 2021.
“We are very disappointed that the tournament will not take place, but as an active player in the soccer scenario, and an important piece in developing and inspiring the new soccer generations, ISL’s priority is the health of our local communities, fans, players, volunteers, sponsors, employees, vendors, and everyone involved with the event”, says Marc Segarra, ISL co-founder.
MICFootball is one of the major youth soccer tournaments in the world, where legendary players like Messi and Neymar have made their competitive debuts. Thousands of talented participants were expected, but we will have to wait until 2021 to see the stars of the future shining again.
“We will not let down our young players and their dreams, we will do everything within our reach so that they can enjoy this experience in a safe environment”, Marc Segarra.
ISL apologizes for any inconveniences this decision may have caused, and intends to share updates on the tournament.
We will get through this together and we will be back on the fields soon enough and stronger than ever. See you at the IMG Facility in Bradenton, FL. in 2021.
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 (Fédération Internationale de Football Association). 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. Great soccer superstars such as Pele, Zico, Ronaldo, Messi, Kaka and Katia 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.
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 Team were crowned the National Champions In addition, there has been recognition at National ID’s, with six of our players getting invited to participate with the US National Youth Team.
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.
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.
Soccer has always been viewed as a unifying game. It sees beyond race, religion, orientation and intellectual and developmental disabilities, so when ISL was approached to take part in the second annual Celebrity Soccer Match hosted by Hard Rock Hotel & Casino event in Miami, Florida, we jumped at the chance to be involved.
From day one of ISL being formed, putting people first and giving back to the communities we have a presence in has been the root core of our value system. We are fortunate to have the relationships and ties we do into the sporting ecosystem, which affords us opportunities each day to thrive as a company. So, getting the chance to lend a helping hand to those in our community that need it most is a two fold blessing for them and us, especially around the holiday season.
It’s in that vein that we proudly support Best Buddies, an international organization who’s services includes, but not limited to, children and adults with Down Syndrome, Autism, Fragile X, Williams Syndrome, Cerebral Palsy, Traumatic Brain Injury and other undiagnosed disabilities. They are the world’s largest organization dedicated to ending the social, physical and economic isolation of the 200 million people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD). Their programs empower the unique abilities of people with IDD by helping them form meaningful friendships with their peers, securing successful jobs, live independently, improve public speaking, self-advocacy and communication skills, and feel valued by society.
Celebrities, soccer stars, models and their Buddies gathered for the ultimate Celebrity Beach Soccer Match in a unique fun-filled day of curated events that featured; 7-on-7 friendly matches, meet-n-greet, children’s clinics, soccer training fitness class, show-cases, brand activations and a whole lot more. Industry professionals, sport enthusiasts, local government, influencers as well as residents alike took part in a family-friendly event with individuals from different cultures and all over the world.
In support of the event, ISL organized and managed the Fan Zone experience during the event. Setting up experiences for participants to play, network and to make new friends. We’re proud of our involvement to make the Celebrity Soccer Match something memorable for everyone in attendance. ISL is an adaptable agency in that we offer an array of services that are customizable to the needs of each of the clients that we partner with from around the globe. It’s in that adaptability we were able to develop something unique to this special event, thinking out side of the box to support events close to home.
Once again the eyes of the soccer and sports business world were locked in on Miami for Soccerex 2019. Heavy hitters from around the globe converged on the magic city to discuss the current state of affairs of the beautiful game, what’s trending, along with what the “future forecasts” are and how the game could possibly improve and/or evolve in the U.S. and internationally. The event has been bringing together the football sphere to network in a unique environment away from the pitch for over twenty years and for two days our team immersed themselves in all that this industry leading networking event had to offer.
2019 was another terrific event, boasting a wide variety of leading senior soccer industry specialists with expertise in areas such as business strategy, broadcasting, stadia, grassroots, club soccer and new media. Topics relating to grassroots development projects was one close to the interests of ISL Agency. With our work across the country in Youth Soccer Academies, and International Youth Soccer Tournaments, ISL executives understand first hand the importance of leading these campaigns. Speakers this year included MLS Commissioner Don Garber, Fox Sports Analysts and personalities Alexi Lalas and Stuart Holden, NWSL President Amanda Duffy, and Inter Miami Co-Owner Jorge Mas.
ISL executives were on site during a busy two day of meetings and presentations from the game’s leaders. Now that Soccerex is held annually in Miami, FL, ISL executives make sure to take advantage of one of the worlds biggest soccer conventions.
As soccer continues to grow and thrive throughout the United States conferences like that of Soccerex will become increasingly more important to take part in, not just from a catching up stand point with old friends, but more so to connect with future business partners and to remain on the bleeding edge of the game that is uniting the world.
After months of coordination and planning between several departments at ISL, MIC Football USA officially made its debut this past weekend in South Florida. It signifies a milestone in the continued growth of ISL, and exemplifies the professionalism and quality which MIC Football USA will continue to bring to the youth soccer landscape in the United States.
The inaugural tournament was a huge success, and gave a preview of the future for MIC Football USA in regards to its ability to attract visitors to the South Florida region. Over 900 players and thousands of attendee’s enjoyed a weekend at Central Broward Regional Stadium and Park in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, filled with highly competitive matches and a soccer experience exported from one of Europes finest youth soccer establishments, MIC Football.
Clubs across U12, U14, and U16 age categories traveled from Colorado, Arizona, New York, Illinois and even featured an international club from the Dominican Republic. Supporters from those clubs tuned in for Live Streamed matches throughout the weekend, attracting over 10,000 Youtube views over 3 days.
Like other large scale events, MIC Football USA required extensive coordination and logistical planning. What takes the tournament to the next level and sets it apart is the professionalism, quality, and delicate brand management when matched up to similar events. ISL are proud of its Event Management team, and all it achieved with MIC Football USA. They will continue to provide an unmatched service, achieving unmatched results.
Legendary players like Lionel Messi, Neymar, and Gerrard Pique have competed in MIC Football in Costa Brava, Spain during its 20 year history. MIC Football USA exports this past and exists with the mission of becoming the most admired youth soccer tournament in America, making Fort Lauderdale a destination for the historic tournament. The tournament has been brought to the United States with the goal of raising the level of professionalism and quality currently seen in Youth Soccer Tournaments, and take the Youth Soccer Tournament landscape to a new level. Most importantly, MIC Football USA will continue providing young players the opportunities to compete against the best teams and players in the world.
Attendees, coaches and players were quick to voice their support of the tournament. Manager and Coach of Verum Academy from Orlando, and Champions of the U14 age group, said “It had everything you wanted out of a soccer experience. Everything was top class from the competition, to the administrative side, to the entertainment. The city is great obviously so we look forward to see it again in the Miami area next year. Now we get to look forward to competing in MIC Football in Spain.”