Brief History

WHO ARE WE ?

Footballtradedirectory.com is jointly owned by George Moss (MD) and John Booth (Commercial Director) through the trading name sportsglobal (uk) ltd. The company is based in Blackburn, Lancashitre.

George Moss, 55, has been involved in professional and semi-professional football for over 25 years. He has held senior management positions from FD to MD in the manufacturing and service sectors and he helped found the business with his business partner after holding a senior management position at Preston North End FC.
 
John Booth, 52, has worked in football at a senior level since 1996, including three years as Commercial Director at Stoke City FC and nine years at Preston North End FC finishing as general manager. He joined the business full-time in 2007.

THE AIM OF THE SITE

YELL.com FOR FOOTBALL

In simple terms, the ‘Football Trade Directory’ is a ‘Yell.com’ for football. The Directors’ own experiences helped them identify a gap in the market place.  Income streams from advertising, marketing and consultancy have been developed.

“Football clubs are traditionally under-resourced at administrative level, with volunteers doing the donkey work at most amateur clubs. Even professional clubs only account for 7% of their annual expenditure, on administration.”  (DeLoitte & Touché)

The site evolved from personal experience. Both Directors have been hands on in running well know professional football clubs. It was apparent from their own experience that there was no single, up to date, source of commercial information – suppliers – services – location- current contact details (email/telephone number) etc that those working in football could call upon.

‘The idea was born out of my own frustration at trying to source some alternative kit suppliers for Stoke City FC. I had to trawl through a whole series of leads to achieve potential contacts. It was time consuming and frustrating. The idea of a ‘one stop shop’ based on the internet emerged.’ John Booth, Commercial Director

'In a nutshell the football trade directory puts business in front of clubs and clubs in front of business.'

It was always envisaged that the site had to be easy to use and be FREE for clubs to access. 

The concept of the 'Footballtradedirectory.com' site was launched in October 2007 alongside a published, paper, version of the Football Trade Directory under the old name of sportsglobal.co.uk. 

It has made an immediate impact with both clubs and suppliers alike. The Directory has already attracted support from top names in football, across a whole range of services. These include:

JD Sports, Pukka Pies, Mitre, Action Images, Forbes Solicitors, MG Sports Wear, Teamcard, Carlotti, Hollands Pies, Azure, Pru HealthCare, Poker Heaven, S1 Shinguards,  Just Keepers, Relay Station, The Promotion Group, Orange, Mercer Print, Icons, JFK, McArdle AstroTurf, The Lindley Group, Sells Goalkeeper Products, Ticketmaster, See Tickets, Medoc, Soccer Speakers, Lancast Sporstwear, Dream Keepers, Sheards Financial Services, Regal Litho, FWP, ARCADIS, Bloemers, Zap, Wiladoo, Cavalier Studios, Eternity Clothing, Rebus Technology, Brick Technology, Iris, Eurosport, Soccer Destinations, Simply Egypt, Teritex, The Weather Lottery, Zebra Finance, Kestral, Tradewinds, and many others.

NOT IN THE DIRECTORY?

To register either your CLUB or BUSINESS click the approprite link on the home page. Access and registration for clubs is FREE at all times.

Companies receive a basic two line entry for FREE. This is our Bronze membership. For a more interactive advert, and access to our wide range of services and databases, you can upgrade your FREE membership on the website. As you can see from the list above you will be in good company.

PRINTED FORMAT

In addition to this website, the Football Trade Directory is published in a printed format. The 2009/10 edition (out in October) will be the third volume. Sent Free to 1,000s of clubs, the directory is an invaluable reference source for football professionals. For advertisers it offers a unique vehicle for delivering your message to 1,000s of football professionals.