Integral And Family & Football Unveil Joint Venture Partnership To Develop Football In Africa

Integral and Family & Football has announced a new joint venture partnership focused on augmenting the level of football talent identification, development and management, on the African continent.

After almost a year of planning and working, Integral, the leading African sport management company, now enhances its service offering by adding comprehensive professional talent management services to its suite of services, having sealed this strategic alliance with one of the most prominent global football agencies, Family and Football.

Family & Football was founded by Dr. Erkut Sogut, a lawyer and registered FA intermediary, and has a foothold in many locations across the globe. The agency came into prominence by negotiating one of the most lucrative player contracts in Premiere League history for Arsenal’s Mesut Ozil whom it also represents. The joint venture partnership is a landmark achievement for Integral’s football division and the experience of Family & Football will assist the company in providing quality, first class representation to the flood of football talent dotted all over Africa.

Earlier in the year, Integral hosted Dr. Erkut Sogut when he visited Nigeria with his close friend and associate Misha Sher, VP Sport & Entertainment at Mediacom, who played a crucial role in forming the relationship between both companies.

Commenting on the partnership, Dr. Erkut Sogut said: “Nigeria, Africa and Integral are strategic partner for us. We believe in their potential. And with Integral we will showcase African footballers in a different way because they deserve it. The continent deserves it. It has some of the best talents I have ever seen like Jay – Jay Okocha, Kanu and many more like them. But our ties extend beyond football. I am passionate about education and I see the quality of people here; desirous of learning, of leaving a positive impact in the world. So together (with Integral) we will support them with our work”.

On his part Abimbola Ilo, Managing Director of Integral, commented thus: “We are extremely excited to be working fully now with Erkut and his team, joining forces together to become an even more dominant force in football representation, management and player trading. Importantly the scope of the joint venture extends beyond just the representation side of things and involves education and charity too which are equally important to us.” Based in Lagos in Nigeria, Integral is one of Africa’s leading sports management companies with industry leadership in media rights, sponsorships, talent management, hospitality and events. Recent mandates have included appointment as the exclusive sales agency in Nigeria for the Official Hospitality Programme for both the 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia and the 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup France, as well as the exclusive free-to-air media rights holder for the Premier League in the territory of Nigeria.

Founded in London, where the HQ still remains, Family & Football (www.FamandFoot.com) has opened branches in various countries across Europe including Austria, Germany & Spain as well as Turkey and the Middle East. The company currently represents senior players across the globe. It has now added a host of top youth talent to its roster, many of whom represent their countries on the world stage. Family and Football’s ethos remains working together with the family members of the players in an open and transparent way in order to maximum the on and off field potential of the player during and after his or her career.