Playon is a global network of former sports professionals founded with the aim of maintaining players’ value after retirement. In addition to assisting with the transition into retirement, the network allows players to keep earning, playing and learning through a suite of services, events and tournaments. Ex-professional sports players, including individuals from football, golf, horse racing and cricket are involved in the scheme.
The Challenge
Playon decided to send a team of retired footballers to Hong Kong to participate in the 2017 Soccer Sevens, an international seven-a-side football tournament. The Playon team made their debut at the annual tournament. They believed it to be paramount to make the right impression with their players, such as ex-England stars Emile Heskey and David James, as well as their investors. The group would be made up of twenty individuals each with differing needs and expectations.
To help ensure their debut was a success Playon appointed ATPI SportsEvents as their official team travel partner for the tournament. ATPI Sports Events were chosen due to their experience of managing team and tournament travel for Premier League, Championship and National Football teams, as well as their global presence, which includes a wholly owned office in Hong Kong.
The Solution
As Playon’s travel partner for the tournament, ATPI Sports Events were responsible for managing the groups flights, accommodation and ground transportation. With Playon based in Cheshire the majority of the twenty person party flew business class from Manchester to Hong Kong, however some flew from London, Belfast, Amsterdam and Doha. The team stayed at a prestigious five star hotel in Hong Kong.
ATPI Sports Events also managed ground transportation which included transfers to and from the tournament and around the city, for events such as golf days, soccer schools and visits to local attractions. An experienced project manager from the ATPI Sports Events team in Manchester travelled out to Hong Kong to provide the group with on-site project management, additionally they were supported by ATPI’s Hong Kong office.
The Result
The competition was a great success for Playon, the team won the HK7 Plate at the well-respected tournament and thoroughly enjoyed their time in Hong Kong. The group benefited from seamless team travel and logistics organised by ATPI Sports Events therefore helping them to achieve their desired outcome of making a good impression with players and stakeholders. The tournament has become the basis for a strong relationship between Playon and ATPI.
Appointing ATPI to manage the logistics for our team travel to the Soccer Sevens was integral to the success of our participation in the tournament. The team’s understanding of our requirements, coupled with their on the ground support is invaluable and we’re looking forward to continuing our successful working relationship and success together.