Sydney FC adds advertising boss to board after Matildas audience boom
Sydney FC has added the head of one of Australia’s biggest social media agencies to its board as it tries to turn a massive groundswell of support for soccer following the FIFA Women’s World Cup into a new fan base.
Suzie Shaw, the local boss of global ad agency We Are Social, has joined the six-person board of the Sydney-based A-League soccer team.
“Sydney FC is a football club, but it’s also a business. Like any business, there’s a need to market it. That’s what they felt would be advantageous, and there is a great opportunity,” Ms Shaw said.
Suzie Shaw from We Are Social has been named as a new Sydney FC board member.
“The media, frankly, under serve the audience. There is a much bigger appetite for this sport than the media give it credit,” she said.
“We are really focused on this window of opportunity that the Women’s World Cup has opened for the game. What gives me great confidence and hope and optimism is Australians have shown they’re interested in football.”
The Matildas broke television audience records when they played England in the recent FIFA Women’s World Cup, reaching more than 11 million Australians over the match. An average of 7.13 million people tuned in.
Football Australia boss James Johnson said he would look to leverage a new TV deal after the World Cup.
Scott Barlow, the chairman of Sydney FC, said Ms Shaw’s skills complemented the other members – chartered accountant Michael Crismale, former football coach Han Berger, former Bank of Queensland boss Jon Sutton and Peter Paradise, founder of Paradise Charnock O’Brien.
Ms Shaw said while other codes had invested more on marketing, soccer had an advantage: it’s huge grassroots numbers, as shown by the World Cup.
“Specifically, I think social media
Read more on afr.com
