Robert Gevertz - Founder at First Five Yards
“Sport has always been the biggest passion in my life, so to be able to talk about it all day and actively seek out information about this industry is really all I’ve wanted to do”
After graduating University, Rob held various roles in clothing, media agencies and newspapers before taking a step into the sports industry with Sky Sports in 2011. Today, he draws on experience from those roles, as well as jobs at Manchester City and talkSPORT to run his own sports consultancy, First Five Yards.
Introduce yourself!
Rob Gevertz - Founder & Director of First Five Yards. Lifelong Londoner save for three years studying down in Bournemouth. I’m a huge fan of all sports with a particular focus on Football (Arsenal season ticket holder) and American sports. I played football and cricket from a young age through to my mid 30’s before life and children happened.
Tell us a little bit about First Five Yards and what your role is there.
Before I started my own business, I held senior roles at the intersection of digital, commercial and sport at organisations such as Sky Sports, TalkSport and latterly Manchester City (City Football Group). My role at City bridged the gap that most rights holders have between their commercial (sponsorship) and digital departments through the prism of how can we monetise our digital platforms. This involved collaborating with the Partnerships team on developing a digital strategy and creating assets for them to sell, as well as direct revenue responsibilities for areas such as broadcast rights, content syndication, licensing and Digital IP sales. Upon moving on from City, I realised that function was quite unique and that there weren’t many similar roles to step into and so I thought I could offer that function as a service as part of a wider consultancy. Over the past 3 years, the consultancy has evolved beyond purely the rights holder commercial strategy piece to now also include consulting for a variety of sports tech companies who are looking to engage with teams and governing bodies. This has covered a wide range of products and services including fan engagement platforms, podcasts, mobile games and NFTs.
Did you take on any higher education courses (university etc?) and if so, how does that relate to what you do now?
ish…. I studied Leisure Marketing at Bournemouth University. The course was quite broad and so the leisure aspect covered sport as well as events, attractions and venues. The main aspect that could have impacted on my career was the sandwich year (year 3 of the course) where you spend a year gaining work experience in industry. Whilst I tried my best to gain a place at a major sports PR agency, my CV actually gave their entire computer system a virus so I didn’t get that role…. I worked instead for a travel company for a year.
“I’m exited by the future fan experience that digital is going to provide”
What does your career history look like and how did you get into working in sport?
My first job was actually as a teenager, working at AE Sedgwicks Sports Outfitters in Walthamstow, East London. This was an amazing old school sports shop which was famous for being the place where David Beckham got his first pair of boots (one year he brought the first new pair of Adidas Predators to the store for the PR launch).
Upon leaving University, my first role was at a sportswear company who had the license to manufacture and distribute a number of global brands in the UK, including Head & Penn tennis, Converse (pre Nike purchase) and Le Coq Sportif. The LCS aspect gave me an insight into the commercial side of football, as the company had the kit contracts for teams such as Wolves, QPR, Leicester and Harchester United (from Sky One’s hit show Dream Team). From there, I managed to get into the media industry, working first at an agency (carat) before moving into a sales role at Metro Newspaper. Whilst at Metro, I was able to focus a little on the sports content side, building an understanding of the line between commercial and editorial that would help me throughout my career. I left Metro take up a role at Sky Sports in 2011 and have been in and around the sports industry ever since .
What do you enjoy most about working in the sport industry?
Sport has always been the biggest passion in my life, so to be able to talk about it all day and actively seek out information about this industry is really all I’ve wanted to do since I was a child.
Name one thing that excites you about the future of sport that you have learned from your role?
I’m exited by the future fan experience that digital is going to provide. From AR technology enhancing viewing experiences to the digital platforms themselves providing opportunities for fans to engage with their favourite sport/team wherever they are in the globe. I’m also intrigued to see how new sports / products that are born out of the digital age succeed without having any of the historical baggage surrounding traditional fandom.
“Figure out where you can add value - what makes you and your experience stand out?”
Share your favourite experience that has come as a result of your work in sport.
In my time at Man City, we created the first ever live sponsored match on Facebook Live. At the time I was tasked with selling broadcast rights for our Women’s UCL matches. Unfortunately the demand was not great and then I realised that we had the capacity internally to create and distribute the broadcasts ourselves and cover the costs through sponsorship. It was hugely satisfying to have an idea that solved a problem and then work collaboratively across a number of departments to deliver the product successfully.
If someone reading this is wondering how they take their first steps towards a career in sports, what would be your advice?
For anyone looking to get into the content side, just go out and do it yourself. Create your own stuff, build an audience and learn your craft. The experience you’ll get will be invaluable to potential employers. On the business side, agencies and rights holders are offering more opportunities to students and grads to gain experience through internships and work placements. From a personal point of view, I think any digital skills will prove invaluable as the industry looks to embrace digital transformation in the coming years.
How could someone try to elevate their chances of securing a job in sport?
Figure out where you can add value. Lots of people want to work in sport. What makes you and your experience stand out?
What is one piece of advice you would give to anyone with ambitions of a career in sport?
Most sports organisations (particularly outside of the playing/performance departments) are actually pretty small businesses and deal with the same challenges that other small businesses do - under resourced and under funded. It’s not going to be as rosy and environment as you think.
Want to connect with Rob or learn more about First Five Yards?
You can connect with Rob via LinkedIn, and learn more about First Five Yards via their website and LinkedIn page