Membership 2024
There is a change to the Association of Sporting Directors (ASD) membership. You must now select between one of three levels, (i) Member, (ii) Premium Member and (iii) Executive membership.
We have created the new membership to enhance how we can support, connect and develop sporting directors and future leaders globally.
Premium Membership
This is your opportunity to support the work of the ASD, to help us grow and enhance the impact of our work for you and other members. The subscription cost are per calendar year and outlined below. Please follow this link to make the payment. Benefit details outlined below.
Executive Membership
We are delighted to announce the launch of the ASD Executive Membership, which has the intention of supporting the success of senior football executives and leaders. The ASD has developed a professional development programme based on insights from world-leading experts in the fields of sporting directorship inside and out of football, learning and development, research and innovation, technology, football and executive leadership. Ultimately, this programme is about exposing football leaders to the most contemporary and cutting-edge insights to assist in every aspect of a football leadership role.
This level of membership offers a number of benefits outlined below, however notably this includes access to 20+ professional development sessions across 2024, covering five key themes which we believe are key to the success to any sporting director and football leader:
- Executive leaders as learners (led by Dr Ed Cope)
- Evidence informed performance (led by Professor Barry Drust)
- Lessons from outside the world of football: Learning from other sports (led by Joel Roberts)
- Research insights: Using research to inform decision-making (led by Dr Alex Bond)
- Global contexts: Learning from around the world (led by Dr Dan Parnell
Available from January 2024, there will be a learning workshop for each of these five themes to access. Each piece of learning from this first wave will be on demand and so available to access anytime and anywhere. As we build the learning offer from January 2024, there will be a range of ways you will be able to engage with the content and our expert speakers, which include:
- Online, pre-recorded, and live presentations.
- Roundtable discussions.
- Question and answer sessions.
- Critical conversations
Please see an overview of the different membership options:
Hudl.
Details on discounts for products and services will be shared with all members.
Career care (Hudl).
This is a limited opportunity for football leaders to access the Hudl team, products and services to best position their careers. Typically for people between roles.
xAI for Sporting directors.
Expected Artificial Intelligence (xAI) for Sporting Directors is a collaborative initiative between the ASD and Zone7 aimed at empowering you to enhance your skills in an era where familiarity with AI is becoming increasingly essential. Sporting Directors both present and future, will be ‘expected’ to make strategic decisions on the deployment of AI tools. This offering is tailored to equip you with the confidence to recognise practical use cases and effectively implement AI tools for positive outcomes within the football environment.
Deciding your member subscription
Ahead of the decision date on 1st January 2024, we are pleased to share details of how you can commence your membership for the period 1st January 2024 – 31st December 2024. Please see key information below:
- You need to make your membership decision by 31st December 2023
- Premium Membership subscription is £200 – register and subscribe here
- Executive Membership subscription is £400 – register and subscribe here
- Please make this decision anytime before 31st December 2023
If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact us. We will be contacting every member personally to update their current details.
Executive Membership Programme Development Programme
Detailed insight on the Executive Membership Professional Development Programme
Here is a detailed insight to our professional development programme. Our ambition is to provide evidence-informed, contemporary insights from world-leading experts. We want to provide you the very best insights to support you in your role as a Senior Leader working in football. You can view the detailed overview of the programme below developed and led by Dr Ed Cope.
Executive leaders as learners
Led by Dr Ed Cope
Communicating with impact
A conversation with Keith Daniell, an expert in communication training, who will assist executive leaders in communicating and presenting to have lasting impact.
Designing an organisation wide learning strategy
A presentation with Kim Hide, Head of Learning and Development at the Football Association, who will discuss how to retain and maximum staff potential through focussed professional staff development programmes.
Leaders as a learners
A presentation delivered by Dr Ed Cope, who will discuss the key features of how to develop a thriving learning culture.
Recruiting a new Head Coach
A conversation with Jez George and Michael Skubula of Lincoln FC who discuss the two-way of process of recruiting and being recruited into a Head Coaching position.
Transitioning from Academy Director to Chief Operating Officer
A presentation with Adam Underwood who will discuss his learnings through his transition from an Academy Director or a Chief Operating Officer at Leeds United.
Evidence-informed performance
Led by Professor Barry Drust
Recruiting a head of performance for an elite club
This will be a panel format discussion between senior football performance leaders with expertise in performance leadership covering insights from the USA, Australia, Italy and England.
Developing research and innovation strategies in elite football
Research and innovation is becoming an more important aspect of the sporting directors role. This panel discussion will include insights from performance and research leaders in football and rugby.
Developing, displaying and communicating data
This is a timely insight for football leaders and will include insights from performance leaders with experience in England and the USA.
Integrating high performance medical and sport science teams
This panel discussion will include football leaders from the English and Saudi Arabia.
Lessons from outside the world of football: Learning from other sports
Led by Joel Roberts
Team behind the Team: Red Bull Racing
This session will be a presentation and interview with David Osgathorp), where we will discuss ‘Effective Decision-making in Formula 1’.
Learning from other sectors: Barnardo’s
This will be a Q&A with Lynne Perry (MBE), Chief Executive of Barnardo’s which will seek to examine the complexities of leading a huge organisation, implementing a strategic plan, communicating effectively with a wide range of stakeholders, and promoting a cohesive culture within a diverse working environment.
Performance, Research & Innovation in Basketball
Influencing organisational communication and decision making through a people focused model. This session will be a presentation and interview with Dr Jon Bartlett where he will discuss the challenges of communicating effectively across a global network in Basketball.
Working as a Sporting Director: England Cricket
This session will be an interview with Ashley Giles (MBE), former Managing Director England Cricket and Sporting Director at both Warwickshire CC and Lancashire CC. The themes will include the transition from playing to leadership, emergence of the SD role in Cricket and ongoing definition, managing change and competing priorities, high-performance and the health of your people, successes and challenges, and subsequent reflection.
Research insights: Using research to inform decision-making
Led by Dr. Alex Bond
Understanding the Labour Market
This session will be insights and interviews with leading sport economic researchers where they will discuss their empirical research into the football labour market. Indicative themes will include transfer values, transfer market analysis, salary determination and trajectory, impacts of diverse teams and the role of agents.
Understanding Networks and Making Them Work for You
This session will be insights and interviews with leading researchers where they will discuss their empirical research into networks and relationships. Themes will include understanding the trust-information trade-off, social capital, strength of weak ties and brokerage in relationships.
Football, Financial Issues and Regulation
This session will be insights and interviews with leading researchers where they will discuss their empirical research into the finances of football and regulation. Indicative themes include Financial Regulation, Profit and Sustainability Rules, Parachute Payments, and the Future of Football Finance.
Issues and challenges in the football loan system
This session will be insights and interviews with leading researchers where they will discuss their empirical research into the loan system. Indicative themes include loan networks, how loans are used, the impacts on players, and commercialising the loan system.
Using Data-as-a-Service Systems to Inform Decisions
This session will be insights, interviews and practical examples with leading researchers, DaaS providers and DaaS users where they will discuss their empirical research into DaaS-informed decision-making. Indicative themes include understanding data-informed decision-making, DaaS, and practical run-through of using a DaaS system.
Global contexts: Learning from around the world
Led by Dr. Dan Parnell
Working as a Sporting Director: Italy
This session will be led by Jose Fontes of AS Roma and will include insights from Italian based Sporting Directors and technical leaders exploring ownership structures, playing culture, head coach relations, roles and responsibilities, applied challenges, player development and player trading.
Working as a Technical Director of a Member Association
Here Jelle Schelstraete of the Royal Belgian Football Association, will be interviewed by Gus Williams of the Football Association of Wales, examining the roles and responsibilities of a member association Technical Director, the unique football ecosystem present in Belgium, current and future challenges, player identification and development.
Working as a Sporting Director: Multi-club ownership
This session will be an interview with a number of leaders involved in multi-club ownership and networks, where we will discuss the strategic and operational roles, successes and challenges associated with multi-club ownership.
Working as a Sporting Director: Brazil
This session will be an interview with Sporting Directors with experience working in and with the Brazilian market, led by Bruno Costa of Abex Futebol. The themes will include ownership structures, playing culture, head coach relations, roles and responsibilities, applied challenges, player development and player trading.