Football, Finance and Society

Manchester in the late 1800s was a city facing many challenges: gangs, poverty, homelessness, unemployment. The vicar of St Mark’s church in East Manchester was called to tackle this. His solution was to create a football club – that football club was Manchester City.

Today, Manchester City’s owners’ investment has not just changed the club’s commercial image but the community that exists immediately around it as well, with social living standards improving in the areas nearest the Etihad Stadium in east Manchester, areas like Ardwick, Ancoats and Miles Platting.

Panellists

• Omar Berrada, Chief Operating Officer, Manchester City FC will speak about City’s global network and how the club is spreading its brand and attracting local supporters to each of its clubs while adding to the value of commercial deals, in ways unavailable to the biggest European clubs. He will talk candidly about the club’s ambition to be the first truly global football organisation and its potential to have a positive impact on societies and individuals, both in our local communities and across the globe.

• Sholto Douglas-Home, the Chief Marketing Officer of Hays Worldwide, one of the world’s leading recruiting experts in qualified, professional and skilled people, will talk about the renewal of its global partnership with Manchester City and the reasons why the relationship has been such a success for both sides.

• Sheona Southern, Managing Director of Marketing Manchester. Sheona will discuss how sport and football support Marketing Manchester’s work in promoting the Greater Manchester region both on a national and international stage.

• Colin Bridgford, Manchester FA, Chief Executive Officer is responsible for the development and governance of football within Greater Manchester. He’ll join the panel to give his views on how football and society are linked in the Greater Manchester region.

The event will be facilitated by BBC Sport’s Eilidh Barbour. Eilidh can regularly be heard reporting from Premier League grounds for BBC Final Score and live FA Cup matches whilst is charged with asking the questions as trackside reporter for BT Sport in their Champions League coverage as well as live Scottish Premiership and Scottish League Cup matches.