About
About Majid Lavji
More than 25 years working across football.
Majid Lavji is a football executive, businessman and adviser whose career has crossed several different areas of the professional game.
His journey has included football festivals, academy development, international football, player representation, commercial negotiations, football associations, branding, former-player organisations and major football events.
Rather than specialising in only one part of the industry, Majid's career has provided him with experience of football from multiple perspectives.
Today he draws those experiences together to work primarily on the business and club side of football.
Rather than specialising in only one part of the industry, Majid’s career has provided him with experience of football from multiple perspectives.
Where It Started
Football as an International Language
Majid's football journey developed from a belief that the sport could bring together communities that might otherwise have little interaction with one another.
In 1999 he created the AsiaEurope Football Festival.
The original concept was not simply to organise another football tournament.
The objective was to use football to create opportunities, increase participation and bring players and communities from different cultural backgrounds together.
That philosophy would subsequently influence much of Majid's career.
The AsiaEurope project expanded into football development, academies, consultancy, international relationships and commercial projects.
What began as a football festival ultimately became an entry point into the wider professional football industry.
Building Experience
From Events to the Business of Football
As Majid's network developed, so did the range of work.
His experience expanded into academy development, football education, sponsorship, player management, commercial negotiations and international football consultancy.
Projects were developed in the UK and overseas.
Relationships were created across Europe, Asia and Africa.
Football clubs, governing organisations, players and commercial partners all have different priorities.
Working across these different environments gave Majid an understanding not only of what each part of the football industry wants, but also how those interests interact.
Player Representation
Understanding the Player Market
Player representation formed an important part of Majid's football career.
Working around professional players and transfers provided first-hand experience of contracts, negotiations, agents, recruitment environments and the pressures surrounding professional football careers.
That experience remains relevant today.
A club executive does not need to be an agent.
But understanding how agents think, how players make decisions and how negotiations develop can be valuable when advising a football organisation.
Majid's player-representation years therefore remain part of his experience, rather than his present identity.
In 2023 the player-agency operation within The Football Group was separated from the wider business and sold.
Majid subsequently concentrated increasingly on the business, strategic and organisational side of sport.
International Football
Experience Beyond the UK
Football is international by nature.
Majid's career has included projects and relationships across the UK, Europe, Asia and Africa.
His work in The Gambia included football development, academy activity and a senior role with the country's football association.
Elsewhere, the AsiaEurope network was built around connecting different regions and cultures through football.
This international perspective remains an important part of Majid's approach today.
International development should not simply mean putting a club badge into another country.
Successful partnerships require an understanding of local culture, local football, commercial reality and long-term relationships.
The Football Group
Building The Football Group
In 2015/16, AsiaEurope Football Consultancy and the sports division of Middleton Solicitors came together to create The Football Group.
The objective was to bring complementary professional football services under one organisation.
The Football Group's activities went on to include football consultancy, legal support, player services, education, media and specialist projects.
Majid and his team subsequently took control of the wider business following the retirement of co-founder Alan Middleton.
The experience of building and developing The Football Group added another perspective to Majid's career: that of building organisations around football rather than simply advising individual football clients.
Today
The Next Chapter
Football has changed significantly since Majid first entered the industry.
So has his role within it.
Today, his focus is less on individual player representation and more on football clubs, businesses and organisations.
He is particularly interested in working alongside ambitious owners and boards where his experience can contribute to:
- Club development
- Commercial growth
- International strategy
- Partnerships
- Organisational projects
- Brand development
- Football-business strategy
- Special projects
His objective is straightforward:
To bring practical football experience, commercial thinking and an independent perspective to organisations that want to progress.
Currently
Current Roles
Managing Director — Sports Group
Majid leads Sports Group, a wider sporting organisation bringing together interests and projects across sport, media, events, football and related businesses.
The Football Group
Majid remains closely connected with The Football Group and its football-business network.
Founder — AsiaEurope Network
The AsiaEurope philosophy and international network continue to influence Majid's work.
Ambassador — Professional Football Scouts Association
Majid is an Ambassador of the PFSA, maintaining links with the scouting, recruitment and football-education community.
Philosophy
Football Has to Work On and Off the Pitch
A football club is unlike almost any conventional business.
- Its customers are supporters.
- Its history belongs emotionally to generations of families.
- Its most valuable assets are often human beings.
- Results can transform commercial performance in the space of a few weeks.
- And decisions made in a boardroom can have consequences throughout an entire community.
That is why football requires a different style of leadership.
- Commercial discipline matters.
- Strategy matters.
- Professional management matters.
But so do identity, trust, supporters and history.
Majid believes the strongest football organisations understand all of these factors.
Experience Matters. Perspective Matters More.
More than 25 years in football has given Majid experience.
Working across different sides of the industry has given him perspective.