R1 Advisory · Sports

Where football's
commercial and sporting
strategy meet.

R1 Advisory works with football clubs, investors, and operators at the intersection of boardroom and pitch — where the best decisions are made and most of the value is created.

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§ 01 Thesis

Most football clubs run sporting and commercial functions in parallel — rarely in alignment. The clubs that compound advantage do the opposite: they make recruitment, revenue, and capital decisions through a single strategic lens.

R1 Advisory works in that overlap. We bring institutional commercial discipline to sporting decisions, and sporting realism to commercial ones — the combination most advisors and most operators are missing.

§ 02

Three doors in.

Distinct service lines. One operating philosophy. Click to explore.

Building the football operation that fits the budget, the league, and the ambition — not the one borrowed from a club five tiers above.

i. Recruitment Strategy

Most clubs run recruitment as a list of names. We build it as a system: a clear playing identity translated into role profiles, a defined target market, a structured shortlisting framework, and a transparent decision process between sporting and executive leadership.

  • Role profiles. Position-by-position requirements tied to playing model and budget.
  • Market mapping. Identification of target leagues, agents, and recruitment pathways.
  • Shortlisting frameworks. Structured evaluation across sporting, commercial, and risk dimensions.

ii. Squad Planning & Cost Modelling

Squad cost is the largest controllable line on most clubs' P&L — and the one most often planned in isolation from commercial reality. We model squad cost, wage structure, and amortisation against revenue trajectory and league benchmarks.

  • Wage-bill modelling. Position-weighted spend benchmarked against league peers.
  • Squad cost ratios. Alignment with UEFA, league, and PSR frameworks.
  • Multi-season planning. Contract maturity, amortisation, and roster turnover.

iii. Sporting Director Advisory

For clubs without a full sporting department — or going through transition — we provide fractional and project support to sporting directors, heads of recruitment, and CEOs covering the sporting brief. Operating support, not commentary.

  • Process design. Recruitment committees, decision rights, and reporting cadence.
  • Coach & staff search. Specification, sourcing, and structured interview process.
  • Transition support. Bridging gaps between sporting director appointments.
"Recruitment should compound advantage, not reset it every window."

Building the income side of the club with the same rigour the sporting side gets — and with the operator credibility to land it inside the building.

i. Revenue Diagnostics & Growth Plans

We start by looking at the whole revenue stack — matchday, partnerships, broadcast, retail, hospitality, fan engagement — and identifying the two or three lines that genuinely move the P&L. Most clubs over-invest in everything and under-execute on what matters.

  • Revenue stack analysis. Where the club is, where peer clubs are, and where the gap is.
  • Opportunity mapping. Prioritised initiatives ranked by impact, effort, and capability fit.
  • Resource & capability gap. What the commercial team needs to actually deliver.

ii. Sponsorship & Commercial Assets

Sponsorship strategy that doesn't start with a rate card. We work with clubs to define the partnership categories that fit the brand, build the inventory that prospective partners actually value, and structure deals that survive beyond the launch press release.

  • Asset audit & inventory. What you have, what it's worth, and what's missing.
  • Category strategy. Which sectors to target, which to walk away from.
  • Pitch & deal structure. Narrative, deck, and commercial terms that scale.

iii. Fractional Commercial Leadership

For clubs between hires, in transition, or too small to justify a full-time commercial director — embedded leadership on a retained basis. Running the function, holding the team accountable, reporting to the CEO and board on commercial performance.

  • Fractional CRO / Commercial Director. Embedded operating leadership.
  • Head of Revenue Development. Pipeline and partnership execution.
  • Interim & transition cover. Bridging departures and new hires.
"Revenue is a sporting decision before it is a commercial one."

Commercial and sporting due diligence, sell-side preparation, and investor advisory on European football club transactions. Working alongside investment banks, legal counsel, and principals to surface the operational reality behind the numbers.

i. Commercial & Sporting Due Diligence

R1 Advisory has sat on the diligence side of European club transactions and knows what's actually in the data room — and more importantly, what isn't. We provide commercial and sporting due diligence to buy-side investors: revenue quality, contract risk, squad value, sporting trajectory.

  • Revenue quality. Recurring vs one-off, contract maturity, customer concentration.
  • Squad valuation. Asset analysis, contract structure, amortisation profile.
  • Sporting trajectory. League position risk, recruitment pipeline, coaching stability.

ii. Sell-Side Preparation & Positioning

For owners and boards considering a sale, recapitalisation, or minority partnership: preparing the club so that the commercial and sporting story holds up under scrutiny. Information memorandum support, data room readiness, and the operating narrative that drives valuation.

  • IM & positioning. Commercial and sporting narrative for the process.
  • Data room readiness. What buyers will ask for, prepared in advance.
  • Management Q&A support. Preparing leadership for buyer sessions.

iii. Investor Advisory & Market Mapping

For investors entering football for the first time, or expanding a multi-club portfolio: market mapping, opportunity identification, and operational due diligence on prospective targets.

  • Market mapping. League-by-league opportunity assessment and entry routes.
  • Target screening. Pre-process operational view of prospective acquisitions.
  • Post-acquisition advisory. First-100-days operational support for new owners.
"The financial story is half the story. We provide the other half."
§ 03 Points of View

We write because we think.

Essays, frameworks, and analysis on the questions that actually move clubs forward. Not commentary — operating perspective.

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§ 04

Discuss a brief.

R1 Advisory works on retainer, project, and advisory-board mandates. Tell us what you're working on.