INTERVIEW
NICK KELLER Sports Management talks to Nick Keller, CEO of Beyond Sport, about
harnessing the power of sport to help shape communities across the world TOM WALKER • MANAGING EDITOR • SPORTS MANAGEMENT
business plan for ‘Sport United’ – a UK- based awards concept that recognised volunteers and the positive impact of sport to inspire communities – but shelved it due to a lack of interest. Today, after a subtle name change
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and International Olympic Committee recognition, Beyond Sport has a network which reaches 135 countries across the globe and is involved with hundreds of programmes which use sport as a tool to tackle social issues such as health, unemployment, conflict resolution, gang-related violence and education.
THE POWER OF SPORT Beyond Sport’s vision is to create social change through sport, business and philanthropy. It aims to do this
even years ago, Nick Keller, the founder of the UK’s prestigious and highly regarded annual BT Sport Industry Awards, wrote a
by bringing together individuals and institutions such as NGBs, governments, corporations, professional sports leagues and clubs. It recognises – and works towards harnessing – the power of sport to create change using a wide range of initiatives. According to Keller, Beyond Sport is a
result of his identifying an opportunity and also having a track record for delivering top-quality events. “I spotted a gap in the market and it seemed like a natural time to do something special,” he says. “Some of the early momentum was developed through our work with the Sport Industry Awards and the network of people we had built with that. “People trust us, as they’ve seen
that we’ve delivered with the BT Sport Industry Awards and we’ve always been true to our work. I’d like to think that if we say we’re going to do something, we go and do it. I think once you do that a few times people
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recognise that achievement and so it allows us to go to the likes of Barclays, PriceWaterhouseCoopers, Time magazine and other great partners – the good and the great of sports sponsorship.” Keller and his team have definitely
been busy. The organisation now runs the Beyond Sport Awards and a series of events – including the annual Summit and Beyond Sport United – which bring together the world’s leading social innovators as well as influential, global leaders in sport, business and government. He has also created an online networking platform, Beyond Sport World, which allows sports bodies and organisations across the world to interact and collaborate. There is also the Beyond Sport Foundation, which has so far invested nearly US$5m in inspirational people and projects in more than 40 countries. To top it all off, Keller has managed to recruit an impressive team of Beyond Sport Ambassadors – former
Issue 4 2013 © cybertrek 2013
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