Professional football is a hyper-competitive industry. It can be ruthless, cutthroat, and overwhelmingly results-driven. But is there a place for kindness amidst all that intensity?
In Episode 67 of the Because Football Podcast, we welcome Matt Hancock, CEO of Port Vale Football Club, currently of EFL League One. Matt shares his personal journey from learning about the game and people in the weathered, pungent changing rooms of Wolstanton United, a local non-league club that his father led, to working in a variety of community football roles, to ultimately taking the helm of one of the oldest football clubs in the world.
Port Vale is celebrating its 150th year and the club leadership has made the brave decision to forego a front of shirt sponsor in order to maintain a classic design that has gone viral and drawn envy from around the world of football. We talk about the internal discussions that led to that decision and how, combined with a value-driven and authentic marketing strategy, sacrificing a six figure kit sponsor has actually led to commercial growth in other areas of the club.
We speak not only of football’s social obligation to be relevant and in service to its community, but also critical topics of sponsorships, partnerships, revenue generation, and workplace culture within a club.
Matt's trajectory is very different to most CEOs in the game. His 20+ years of experience has largely been in community football - as a coach and administrator -using the power of the game to support non-traditional groups at the Staffordshire FA and Burton Albion Community Trust.
These roles had the ultimate outcome of inclusion, participation, and health - not 3 points and revenue generation. - which is why his promotion from Community & CSR Director to Chief Executive Officer of Port Vale came as a surprise to many.
But, as Matt tells us in this episode, his experience and perspective have prepared him to lead a club that certainly seeks on the field success (and showed it with an immediate promotion back to League One after suffering relegation in his first season at the helm) but also serves as a priceless social hub in its home of Burslem, a town in Stoke-on-Trent that has endured poverty, unemployment, and substance abuse as its core industries of mining and pottery manufacturing have left the area.
This episode displays not only football’s important role in its local communities, but also the mentality of a leadership team that has turned the club around in recent years and is making news for all the right reasons.
Connect with Matt Hancock and Port Vale Football Club here:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/matt-hancock-653535136/
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