Governor Biography
Shahzeb is President of World Group Pakistan who operate in 203 countries worldwide. His vision for 6 a side football saw Leisure Leagues expand in Pakistan. Launching with the “Ronaldinho And Friends” games that drew the biggest crowds in the history of 6 a side football. He has since gone on to preside over a rapid expansion into over 80 cities as Leisure Leagues received awards from the UN for their humanitarian work.
Governor Biography
Thanos leads the administrative team of the ISF with primary responsibility for the organisation and operation of all our events around the world. Thanos’ professional background is in marketing and he also owns one of the largest Sports Marketing Agencies in Greece.
Governor Biography
Tom has over a decade of experience operating hundreds of small-sided leagues and competitions across the UK and is highly experienced in the production of sports events and their implementation. As well as being a Director of Leisure Leagues, Tom has been the lead Director for the UK national finals, the biggest tournament ever staged in the UK.
Governor Biography
Waleed is the founder and CEO of the Sport Makers Company, from the Sultanate of Oman, which considered as one of the most prominent members representing their countries from the Middle East in the International Socca Federation, since its establishment in 2017 and its accession as a representative member of the Sultanate of Oman in the Socca Federation in 2018.
On the Arab Gulf level, Sport Makers is one of the leading companies in activating corporate and amateur sports in the Sultanate of Oman and the Arab Gulf states and has a proven track record in managing and organizing local tournaments and international participations representing the Sultanate of Oman in corporate and amateur world championships.
Governor Biography
Sergio is the President of the Mexican 6 a side Federation and heads up Leisure Leagues Mexico. His extensive business interests include being the CEO in one of the largest construction firms in his homeland. His encyclopedic knowledge of – and passion for – football make him perfect as the ISF expands into South America.
Governor Biography
Imad is one of the founder members of 2 Brothers Group, which is the leading company in creating and organizing corporate events in the Kingdom of Morocco. Over the course of more than 10 years since its establishment, the group has succeeded in making a leap in the quality and volume of major corporate sporting events in Morocco, by involving more than 18,000 participants, representing more than 430 companies – national and multinational – in various sports competitions. 2 Brothers Group is now recognized as the leading company in the management and execution of corporate sporting events in Morocco and Africa, and one of the most prominent players in this field in the Arab world.
Governor Biography
Christoph is a sponsorship expert and has decades of experience in procuring sponsorship across the world on behalf of sports organisations. Educated in England, where he developed a passion for Liverpool FC, he has been involved in 6 a side football for many years, running a network of 6 a side football leagues in his native Germany.
Governor Biography
Tibor has been involved in 6 a side football for more than 15 years. The development of this sport has always been a primiary motivation for him and his business plans. He holds degrees in both sports management and ecomomics, and hopes to use these to help achieve the enormous potential of 6 a side football in Hungary.
Governor Biography
As LOC President, Julia is responsible for the organization of the 2023 Socca World Cup in Essen, Germany. Julia is experienced in managing key events and ensures that, at tournament level, everything operates to world class standards.
Governor Biography
Kestutis is one of the biggest names in small sided football in Europe, thanks to not only his many years working in the industry in Lithuania, but also due to his arrangement of the highly successful Baltic Cup tournament, which sees Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia face off each year.
Governor Biography
Stephanie has over 20 years’ experience in organising and managing hundreds of leagues across the UK, America and Asia. She masterminded Leisure Leagues rise to be the biggest sports league provider in the World. She is the most revered operator and organiser of small-sided leagues and a fountain of knowledge. Stephanie has been in a number of leading positions within the small-sided industry in the UK including CEO, COO and Directorships across multiple leisure sectors.
Governor Biography
Mareks is one of the most experienced and respected referees in the Socca World. Currently President of the Latvia Socca Federation, he has previously refereed at all three Socca World Cups, in Lisbon, Crete and Budapest.
Governor Biography
One of the finest up and coming referees in Germany, Florian has shown his cool head and clear decision making abilities in numerous high-profile leagues and tournaments around the world. Promoted to a senior role after his showing in the 2018 Socca World Cup, Florian played an integral role in the Crete World Cup in 2019 and will continue to do so in the future tournaments.
Governor Biography
Peter is an ex professional referee who refereed in the Premier League for almost 10 years, as well as refereeing in both the FA Cup and League Cup finals in England.
After retiring from refereeing, he moved to the US to become general manager of the Professional Referee Organization in North America, overseeing all referees in the MLS and for the US national teams.
He now works as the lead referee analyst for BT Sport, covering both the Premier League and Champions League for one of the biggest TV providers in Europe.
Governor Biography
Commonly regarded as the finest match official in the world, Mark is one of our Referee Ambassadors. The youngest referee to appear in the English football league, he has blown the whistle in the Champions League final, refereed the FA Cup final and a host of other high-profile games. After giving up his career in England to pursue new challenges in the Middle East, he now works in China. Mark took up his position with the ISF in 2018 and was referee in the first World Cup Final in Lisbon, also appearing in Crete.
Governor Biography
Vedran has over 20 years working in the TV industry in his native Croatia, and has produced high level broadcasts for a variety of sports including football, basketball, handball, ice skating and Bocce ball.
He has previously been in charge of TV production at past Socca events including the 2019 World Cup in Crete and 2022 World Cup in Budapest.
Governor Biography
A fine photographer and videographer, Laurence was our roving lensman in Lisbon and Crete, heading up our dedicated team of cameramen. His wonderful eye for composition and his eye for the innovative angle, means his work compels. He went to Crete for two weeks before the World Cup in order to get a real flavour for the event and to watch the stadium being built, really being able to tell the story of the tournament.
Governor Biography
Ian is a Commercial Photographer, with over ten years in a wide range of projects covering a wide range of disciplines. Ian has been published in Several online and print magazines Ian’s work has featured across the world. He joined the team at ISF with a special responsibility for taking photos of the final stages.
Governor Biography
As well as his work with ISF, Richard held the role of the Clinical Director and Senior Surgeon at the Princess of Wales Hospital in Bridgend. Richard also worked for sports teams such as Crusaders RLFC, Wales RL, South Wales Scorpions RLFC, Cook Islands RL, Bridgend Ravens, Fiji National Team and Newport Gwent Dragons. Sadly, Richard lost his brave battle against cancer in 2022. He will be sorely missed by everyone in the Socca family.
Governor Biography
John Gwynne was a well-known British sports commentator and reporter, who was known to millions as the ‘voice of darts’ in the UK. He was also particularly famed for his work on Sky Sports presenting on Soccer Saturday. John sadly passed away in 2022, and will be dearly missed by all those who met and worked with him in the Socca Family.
Governor Biography
Howard Bentham is a renowned stadium announcer, presenter, reporter, and voiceover artist in the UK. He has acted as stadium announcer at the 2012 and 2016 Olympic Games as well as the 2015 Rugby Union World Cup and 2002 Commonwealth Games. He is the lead announcer for a range of sports in the UK including hockey, rugby, badminton, cricket and rowing. Bentham has also won a number of awards for his radio work.
Governor Biography
Andy is an experienced journalist with a first class honours degree in Sports Journalism. He has been a writer for almost 20 years, providing articles for national magazines and local newspapers. As well as working in the small sided football industry for almost 15 years, Andy is a respected music journalist. He is responsible for the content of the ISF website.