Football Focus 'Ahmet Schaefer's disruptor model for the beautiful game'
Ahmet Schaefer’s disruptor business model for the beautiful game is an antidote to the old-guard corporate-run clubs – and it’s proving to be a winning formula.
For any football team, being promoted to the premier league is the stuff of sporting dreams. In 2021, it happened to France’s Clermont Foot 63 for the first time in its history, having beaten powerhouse sides Nice and Marseille. A year later, SC Austria Lustenau returned to the Bundesliga after 22 years. What unites the pair is Core Sports Capital, founded by a Swiss entrepreneur and disruptor in the world of football who has completely thrown away the rule book on how to run a club. ‘Success was much quicker than we had hoped, especially in France,’ confirms Ahmet, whose company only purchased Clermont two seasons before they advanced to Ligue 1. ‘It’s about working out how to make a difference with players who earn a fraction of the likes of Lionel Messi.’
On paper, Clermont was the perfect match for Ahmet’s start-up mentality. Previous owner, Claude Michy’s ground-breaking initiatives included employing a female coach, Corinne Diacre, and creating a joint rugby-football academy in the town – not only to pool financial resources but also to exchange ideas on issues such as injury prevention. ‘We try to continue Claude’s pioneering spirit. He could have gotten four times the price if he had sold the club to a Chinese or Middle East buyer but he decided to go with us because our model is innovative,’ recalls Ahmet of the takeover.
His model positions Clermont as ‘the engine in the middle’ with two partner platforms: Lustenau and recent Swiss acquisition, FC Biel-Bienne 1896, in the third tier promotion league (Core Sports Capital owns a 25 percent and 33 percent stake respectively, and manages the sporting decisions at both clubs). It also has an atypical horizontal structure. ‘The idea was always to have three clubs. To create an interconnected alliance between them we can’t have a vertical approach so there’s no CEO or sporting director. Instead, there is an overarching holding level and 15 full time scouts who bring onboard undervalued players from lower leagues who we can nurture,’ says Ahmet of his top-down, micro-management style.
Many players also come up through Clermont’s training centre (as well as the Jean-Marc Guillou Academy in Africa). ‘It’s a ruthless selection process as a high-performance environment has to be, but we have a social, cultural and educational responsibility,’ explains Ahmet. ‘We have experts who come in and teach everyone in the academy basic life skills such as how to open a bank account and fill out a tax form. Only a small fraction make it, and those who don’t, we put in touch with an intermediary to help them find a job.’
'Those who do', he says, 'are an enterprise. Because we are not Manchester United or Real Madrid, we know that they won’t retire here: that’s not our objective and it’s not their objective.’ Recognising that his company can’t compete with the sky-high transfer fees of the corporate giants (the highest ever paid by Core Sports Capital was 3.5 million euros for a central defender), Ahmet utilises the alliance to loan players from Clermont to the other two clubs in order for them to develop and have maximum exposure on the pitch. After a few years, they are sold, usually in France which has the highest transfer market of the three countries. ‘The Swiss and Austrian clubs have their own DNA and objectives but all clubs must follow the same philosophy and tactical approach to the game,’ he continues.
Off the pitch synergy is important too: Uhlsport is the equipment partner for two of the clubs; the architects behind the design of the new stadiums for Clermont and Lustenau are sharing best practice; and the VIPs of FC Biel-Bienne 1896 can go on a money-can’t-buy weekend experience in France, which includes watching a Clermont match. Crucially though, a horizontal structure means there is better communication and closer proximity to both the coach and players. ‘A locker room is so fragile; to be able to anticipate tensions I need to have my antenna always on and be present. I’m constantly managing people and expectations and igniting the fire when necessary,’ says Ahmet, who believes in getting the balance of involvement right. ‘I am the first one to go crazy with the players when we win but I know when it’s time to crunch the numbers.’
Another key point of difference is transparency. Most football clubs operate shrouded in secrecy but Core Sports Capital has an open-door policy as part of its advisory service. ‘For instance, we opened up to the Austrians about how we run Clermont, from our youth development to working with nutritionists. We all use the same ingredients and I’ve got nothing to hide,’ says Ahmet, whose future plans include possible partnerships on the east coast of America and in Saudi Arabia, bringing untapped talent into the alliance.
Considering his success so far, it’s hard to believe that this is Ahmet’s first experience of day-to-day football club management. While studying economics at the University of Zurich he realised he could connect passion for football with a profession, and began his career as personal assistant to the FIFA president. ‘Comparing the football world to finance, FIFA is the world bank, setting the tone and general rules of conduct whereas running a club is like being on a trading floor in the 1990s,’ he says. A stint leading the implementation of the international acquisition strategy at global sports media and marketing agency MP & Silva followed, then he co-created the Arab Gulf Cup Football Federation before investing in Clermont. ‘My desire was to be in the core of football, where the energy is.'
However, unlike many of the premier league clubs with seemingly endless funds, a restricted budget means keeping costs tightly under control. ‘We try to be extremely sensible and rigid with costings. Sometimes we are criticised for that, for being unfashionable or unsexy to some. In football, you are only interesting if you overspend and have a huge structural deficit so in that respect, we are traditional and boring,’ he concludes. ‘I want to continue to work in a very agile way, taking decisions in an uncomplicated, direct manner. Being the underdog is challenging but it also makes you wake up an hour before anyone else because you must be creative and think outside the box.’