Furloughed brow

It’s become a topical issue, so thought I’d add my pennies worth. I refer to the ‘should they-shouldn’t they’ debate, surrounding whether professional football should furlough employees, thus taking advantage of the up to £2,500 incentives per person.

I have just listened to former club-owner, Simon Jordan, on TalkSport, slatting the sport for taking the the Government handout, arguing such a stance was almost unethical or immoral given their traditionally cash rich industry. I personally look at it from a business perspective and say that running a business is running a business, so decisions are taken around what has most beneficial commercial returns for any enterprise including survival. That is not to say that it would be unappreciated if these same EPL clubs might make donations or CSR payments to help fight this covid 19 pandemic. I say EPL, in that apparently some clubs, lower down the pyramid, now find themselves in so-called intensive care with matches and cashflow having dried-up.

This debating stance is separate from discussions around whether footballers should take paycuts. I’m with Gary Lineker on this. Footballers are an easy target due to the profile and popularity of the sector. There are other industrial sectors and leaders that perhaps should be targeted before this game, in order of priority. Pay reduction is a matter for individual clubs and players. Of course, those that can afford to lead by example will be recognised by their actions at this time of crisis. I understand Manchester United have agreed to 30% reductions under squad stewardship of Captain, Harry Maguire.

A political hot potato and people will have differing viewpoints. These are financial debating points, yet I seek to end with repetition of actions that apply to everyone. #staysafe #stayathome #protectourNHS 💙💙💙

‐———————————————————————————————–

Adrian Stores is CEO of ACROBAT FCSM, a sub-contract commercial resource available to sports clubs nationwide and globally; and FA Registered Intermediary at Ballon Sports Agency.

Contact: adrian.stores@acrobatfcsm.com

You could be missing this funding?

It’s our job to keep abreast of funding regimes – especially in those sectors that dominate our business, namely: sports, leisure and services. For a good few years, I have been preaching about Research and Development Tax Credit (R&D Tax). I confess in the early stages, I thought how can this be relevant, my clients don’t wear lab coats and show off large foreheads – but oh so wrong. Forget sterotyping or misconeptions, I have clients that have received significant financial gain in sports just by knowing the criteria for eligibility and approaching communication with the authorities in that informed, professional way. I make no apology for sharing the contents of one such Adviser that I work with for the benefits of my clients, @Sedulo (Manchester, Leeds, London and soon Liverpool).

“Essentially the Medical and Performance department is the one area of a sports club where much of the Research & Development naturally occurs. Sports Research & Development can include health and nutritional plans, dedicated exercises to aid in rest and recovery of athletes, warm-up designs, post-activation potentiation strategies and recovery techniques for example.

The Professional Sports sector is one of the many industries that does not take full advantage of the generous Research and Development Tax Relief that could be available. Qualifying Research and Development activities may be being carried out by professional sports clubs without them realising that a claim can be made. Therefore, due to the lack of advertising and information provided by the HMRC, this is still considered quite a niche sector and hasn’t yet been picked up in the Innovation and Research & Development storm.

Think:

1) Nutrition

2) Exercise

3) Recovery and Rehab

4) Equipment

5) Audiovisuals

6) CRM/Sales – Retail

7) Security

8) RFID/NFC – Sensors

9) Biofeedback

10) Uniforms

11) Pitch

12) Paint

13) Maintenance Systems

14) Civil Works

Plus:

Areas of Possible R&D?

i) Most physiological, biomechanical, motor control and strength and conditioning factors, that are able to predict human movement and sports performance. Also, there is an emphasis on computational fluid dynamics (CFD) applied to water sports and to special populations.

ii) The physical fitness levels of different populations and their relationships with health benefits and wellness. Corresponding projects in strength and conditioning, aiming at the development of reasonable and reproducible exercise prescriptions.

iii) “Marginal Gains Initiatives”

iv) Non-invasive recovery and rehab – holistic treatments, massage techniques, etc

v) Mental Health treatments/ hypnotherapy

vi) Some qualifying activities include rehabilitation development methods where public information is limited, head injury research and performance analysis tools.”

More information, you know where to find me: adrian.stores@acrobatfcsm.com