Association of Sporting Directors

What Association of Sporting Directors does

The Association of Sporting Directors (ASD) is a UK-based professional membership organization operating as the global body for Sporting Directors and senior technical leaders in professional football. Headquartered in Liverpool and operated through the legal entity ASD Next Gen Limited, ASD serves a community of 1,000+ members spanning 60+ countries, addressing professional isolation among senior technical football leaders and the absence of structured development pathways for the Sporting Director role.

ASD's product portfolio is built around an integrated ecosystem: membership tiers (Community free, Executive at £250+VAT/year, Club at £3,000+VAT/year), the ASDonline Education Platform for on-demand learning, the ASDX Knowledge Exchange offering four annual expert-led webinars, the Alt Sporting Director MBA as a 12-month executive programme, Performance Advisory Services for clubs and organizations, and the ASD Global Conference as a flagship event. Technology is delivered via the third-party MiMentor platform for membership management, course delivery, and event registration. Content is sourced from a Technical Committee of 30+ elite Sporting Directors (including Paul Mitchell, Dan Ashworth, Rebecca Caplehorn, Julian Ward, and Kevin Thelwell), with academic underpinning from the University of Birmingham.

Revenue is generated via annual membership subscriptions (the primary recurring engine), conference ticket sales, MBA tuition, ASDX webinar access for non-members, and bespoke advisory engagements. Go-to-market is community-led and event-driven, leveraging word-of-mouth within the global football elite, the annual flagship conference, and a strategic technology partnership ecosystem (Gemini Sports, Traits & Insights, SkillCorner, Teamworks, Eyeball). The organization is led by CEO Dr Daniel Parnell and Managing Director Joel Roberts, with board oversight from Mike Rigg and Alistair Milner.

Name

Association of Sporting Directors

Legal name

ASD Next Gen Limited

Website

https://associationofsportingdirectors.com

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

The Association of Sporting Directors is a UK-based global professional membership body for Sporting Directors and senior technical leaders in football, serving 1,000+ members across 60+ countries through tiered subscriptions, the ASDonline and ASDX education platforms, the Alt Sporting Director MBA, performance advisory services, and the annual ASD Global Conference.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Professional Sports Leadership Association

NAICS

Sports and Recreation Instruction (611620), Promoters of Performing Arts, Sports, and Similar Events (7113)

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600)

akta.pro primary industry

Sports Business Consulting & Advisory (Strategy, Valuation, Due Diligence) (MPAKAKAL)

Keywords

• Professional football membership
• Sporting director education
• Football leadership development
• Executive football training
• Sports industry networking

Headquarters

HQ city

Liverpool

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Community Membership: Free tier membership providing limited access to ASD community resources, pay-per-module online education, and pay-to-join ASDX Knowledge Exchange webinars.
2. Executive Membership: Annual subscription at £250 + VAT providing full lifetime access to ASDonline education platform, included ASDX Knowledge Exchange, 20% member discount on annual conference, and career/leadership advisory services.
3. Club Membership: Annual subscription at £3,000 + VAT providing executive membership for up to 15 nominated staff, dedicated Club Network Manager, quarterly communications, a club visit, and 20% discount on ASD Annual Conference.
4. Conference Tickets: ASD Global Conference 2027 tickets priced at £249 + VAT, with member discounts available.
5. ASDX Knowledge Exchange (Non-members): Annual fee of £120 + VAT for non-members to access the ASDX Knowledge Exchange webinars.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

The Association of Sporting Directors is the global professional membership body for Sporting Directors and senior technical leaders in football. It delivers tiered membership (Community, Executive, Club), online education through the ASDonline platform, expert-led webinars via ASDX Knowledge Exchange, a 12-month Alt Sporting Director MBA executive programme, the annual ASD Global Conference, and selective performance advisory services to clubs, leagues and governing bodies.

Product overview

The Association of Sporting Directors operates as a membership-based professional body offering a unified platform of interconnected services for football leadership development. The core offerings include: ASDonline Education Platform (on-demand learning modules), ASDX Knowledge Exchange (expert-led webinars), and the Alt Sporting Director MBA (12-month executive programme). Membership tiers (Community, Executive, Club) provide graduated access to these educational resources, exclusive events, and the annual ASD Global Conference. Performance Advisory Services offers bespoke consulting for clubs and organisations. These products function as an integrated ecosystem where membership enables access to education, events support professional development, and advisory services address strategic leadership challenges.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• ASDonline Education Platform: Flexible, on-demand learning platform designed by elite Sporting Directors and underpinned by academic expertise, providing education modules covering leadership in football.
• ASDX Knowledge Exchange
• Alt Sporting Director MBA

Products and services

• ASDonline Education Platform Flexible, on-demand online learning platform developed by elite Sporting Directors and underpinned by academic expertise, providing structured education modules covering the Sporting Director role for aspiring and established football leaders.
• ASDX Knowledge Exchange Flagship knowledge exchange programme offering four exclusive live webinars per year where leading Sporting Directors and football executives share real-world insight into leadership, recruitment, strategy and innovation in elite football.
• Alt Sporting Director MBA Transformational 12-month cohort-based executive programme designed by elite Sporting Directors and delivered alongside industry and academic experts, focused on strategic decision-making, governance and the modern Sporting Director role. Features mentorship, an Applied Impact Project, and live executive insight.
• ASD Membership Global membership community for Sporting Directors and senior technical leaders in football, offered in three tiers: Community (free), Executive (£250 + VAT/year with full education and ASDX access), and Club (£3,000 + VAT/year for up to 15 staff). Provides networking, professional development, career support and recognition.
• Performance Advisory Services Selective strategic advisory support for professional clubs, leagues, federations and ownership groups facing moments of change, pressure or transition. Covers performance and strategy, talent and workforce solutions including discovery, search, development and support.
• ASD Global Conference Flagship annual conference bringing together diverse football industry leaders for collaboration and networking, featuring world-class speakers, panels and bespoke breakout sessions on topics central to the Sporting Director role. 2027 tickets priced at £249 + VAT.
• ASD Events Programme Annual programme of networking events, workshops, webinars and member-exclusive opportunities including UK Leadership Summits, International Summits (e.g. Fussball Scouting Verband), and Alt SD MBA Masterclasses covering club strategy, high-performance culture, governance and multi-club leadership.

Named customers3 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Market position

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/association-of-sporting-directors

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Association of Sporting Directors