Springbok Rugby World Cup winning captain Siya Kolisi will work along Spain World Cup winner David Villa and WNBA star Skylar Diggins as part of Global Sports Group’s new Athlete Advisory Board.
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Private Equity firm CVC’s sports investment platform, Global Sport Group (GSG), is known worldwide for its investments in premier sports leagues, including La Liga, World Tennis Association (WTA), the 6 Nations, Volleyball World, and the United Rugby Championship (URC). Now, GSG, in partnership with Roc Nation Sports International (RNSI), is giving a voice to athletes by establishing an Athlete Advisory Board (AAB).
According to GSG, the advisory board “is designed to ensure the voices and perspectives of athletes sit at the centre of the group’s planning, league inputs and long-term strategy.” Initially, the AAB will include three international sports stars: South Africa rugby captain Siya Kolisi, Spanish FIFA World Cup winner David Villa, and seven-time WNBA All-Star Skylar Diggins.
The board is expected to meet regularly to discuss a variety of sporting topics such as commercialization, pathways for youth and female athletes, storytelling, and fan-player connections.
Kolisi is particularly excited to be part of the Board. He describes being Springbok captain as “one of the greatest honours of my life,” but acknowledges that leadership must come off the field as well. He sees GSG’s Athlete Advisory Board as another platform in which he can make a positive difference in other people’s lives.
Kolisi has already captained his country to back-to-back Rugby World Cups while further breaking down the longstanding barriers between the black and white communities in South Africa. As the Rainbow Nation’s first black captain, he is an inspiration to an entire generation of young men who can aspire to follow in his footsteps. Through the AAB, Kolisi hopes to represent athletes’ voices in the business space.
“I see it also as part of protecting, investing in, and growing the game itself, and ultimately making sure that other young children in different communities can continue to dream big,” Kolisi told me via email.
“GSG is built on the principle that sport’s long-term success depends on balancing commercial growth with respect for athletes and fans,” GSG Chairman Marc Allera said. “The Athlete Advisory Board gives us a structured way to bring those voices directly into our decision making, ensuring our leagues grow in ways that reflect the values and realities of the players themselves.”
Athlete Advisory Board Structure
The AAB is being launched in partnership with Roc Nation Sports International, the management company that represents Kolisi as well as Real Madrid’s Vinicius Junior, American Premier League defender Chris Richards, England teammates Marcus Smith and Ellis Genge, and organizations like Serie A challenger Como FC, and sustainability-focused championships E1 and SailGP.
RNSI has promised to assist the AAB by leveraging its expertise in athlete representation and by using its diverse talent roster to provide athlete insight to inform GSG’s investment strategy.
According to Allera, “Each member of the AAB has achieved excellence at the highest level, but more importantly, they each bring a different lens on how sport evolves.” The diversity of thought and approach is what GSG was after. After all, the purpose of the board is to poke holes in GSG’s investment priorities and make sure funds are being properly allocated to reinforce elements of the sector like pathway development models, fan data, athlete welfare, and commercial innovation.
Kolisi will be expected to provide feedback on player welfare, looking at both the mental and physical aspects of sports. He will also focus on development pathways, a topic he is passionate about, especially given the lack of resources young South Africans must cope with while pursuing their passions.
Diggins’s portfolio will focus on equitable and responsible investment with an eye on women’s sports. “My focus on the AAB will be on issues like fair wages and brand building,” she said. Meanwhile, Villa will be aiming to strengthen the fan-player connection. As he points out, athletes have some of the most trusted voices in the world, and he wants to help them communicate authentically with fans to help grow sports.
While no exact number of meetings per year was specified — likely due to the athletes’ varying schedules and commitments — the AAB will meet for the first time this November and will maintain constant contact, facilitating ongoing dialogue about important topics. Meetings will be held in-person and virtually, depending on convenience.
Skylar Diggins is taking her talents from the basketball court to the boardroom where she will fight for equity in sports and be a representative of female athletes.
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Athlete Advisory Board Function
Private equity investments are becoming a staple in the sports industry. The NFL has welcomed 10% private equity investment in ownership groups. College football is being circled by private equity groups, and sports leagues like Formula 1 and La Liga are examples of organizations that have been able to grow their business and fan base thanks to external investment.
Accepting such large sums of money can be a double-edged sword. With the money comes a certain loss of ownership, and with new voices, a shift away from the traditions and cultures that make sports great can happen quickly.
Kolisi welcomes private investment within reason. He says, “Investment in resources and in the sport itself can, of course, be hugely beneficial, provided that the heartbeat remains with the players, the fans, and the communities that love and enjoy the sport. It has to be a partnership.”
“The Board will help us pressure test ideas, refine priorities, and ultimately make smarter, more sustainable investments,” Allera told me via email. What he doesn’t expect is for the AAB to alter the fundamentals of GSG’s investment strategy. He imagines the Board will “strengthen how we make decisions.”
Allera assured me that the creation of the board is not a signal that GSG is looking to expand its investments, although M&A is always on the table for the company. Instead, the private equity sports investment platform is looking to incorporate elite athletes’ perspectives into its decision-making process. As he puts it, “This initiative is about enhancing collaboration, accelerating innovation, and making what we already have work even better and for the long term.”
As private equity’s role in sports continues to grow, oversight on investments will be increasingly necessary. Giving athletes, who have seen the flaws in the sector and know where money must be funneled, a space to voice their comments and concerns is an innovative approach to investing.
GSG’s Athlete Advisory Board allows for lived expertise to find a way into the boardroom, and gives the participating athletes experience in a business setting, should they wish to transition into that field at some point. If it works, it could be a win for the business world and the sports industry, seeing investment go to the right spaces, leveling the playing field, and providing true connections between athletes and communities.
