How Decades of World Cup Experiences Helped Build the Foundation of SHG: 2006

Continued from How Decades of World Cup Experiences Helped Build the Foundation of SHG: 1994

The 2006 World Cup in Germany was a “pinch me” moment after 6 years of working in sports marketing in NYC. Serendipitously, we won a large RFP to execute World Cup hospitality across Germany and Joanna, my future wife and business partner, was the lead event manager for the program.

International travel and event execution were certainly part of our skill sets as I had previously helped to execute client golf events in Scotland and Barbados and Joanna had just returned from activating events at the 2006 Winter Olympics in Torino. We were both at the beginning of our careers in sports marketing and event hospitality unaware that this was to be an early step in a quarter-century journey that would culminate in the creation of our own agency, marriage and a now 6 year old son.  

Joanna and I hosted over 80 clients in the first two weeks during the group stages traveling by train to Berlin, Meinz, Gelsenkirchen, Kaiserslautern, and Nuremberg seeing USA vs Czech Republic, USA vs Italy, Mexico vs Portugal, Mexico vs Angola and Mexico vs Iran. Logistics at international events can be challenging and moving clients with luggage between cities via train around Germany, setting up customized pre-game hospitality in each location, managing game ticket inventory for matchups and organizing transportation logistics for World Cup gamedays were all certainly at that time new experiences.

Among our client group was Manuel Negrete, Mexican Soccer Legend, and everywhere we went he was mobbed by the traveling fans of Mexico. The games were incredible; the environment was electric, and the country was organized and ready. Germany hosted one of the best run tournaments in history. Joanna’s first soccer experience was the World Cup, and she fell in love with the tournament.