UCFB announces judging panel for Sports Entrepreneur Competition

UCFB can officially announce the first two members of the judging panel of our Sports Entrepreneur Competition in Manchester. More to be announced in the coming days…

UCFB is marking ten years in Manchester with the competition, with a prize up to the value of £50,000 to the winning sports business pitch at the event in late October.

With a judging panel of five business-minded individuals from the world of sport, UCFB can announce the guests who will be analysing each pitch and deciding on the competition’s victor.

Eni Shabani

Eni Shabani is founder and director at Rising Ballers Group, one of the fastest growing football media brands in the game, partnering with like-minded global brands on award-winning campaigns. 

A passionate and purpose-led entrepreneur, Eni founded Rising Ballers to combat the lack of support and representation young and aspiring football players had. 

Originally working as a private equity consultant, Eni saw how disheartened his brother Brendon felt while playing at academy level and wanted to do something to help change that.

Recognising a gap in the digital market for a community platform that would speak directly to grassroots football fans, Eni set about building a network to shine a light on young ballers.

Fast forward to now, Rising Ballers Group is a fully-fledged football media brand and cultural impact studio on a mission to create culture and opportunity within football for the next wave – Eni’s impact spans far and wide. 

The Rising Ballers network, inclusive of women’s football brand, She’s A Baller, has one of the most engaged, authentic communities out there boasting a following of 15M+ and impressive repertoire of brands partnered with.

From activating successful campaigns and projects with the likes of Adidas, PlayStation and Premier League, to running grassroots talent-finding tournaments up and down the country, the Rising Ballers network educates and entertains communities while keeping young representation at its core. 

Brendan Flood

With more than 20 years’ experience working in football, Brendan Flood knows the industry inside and out.

Formerly a director of his hometown club Burnley FC, which he helped guide to the Premier League in the late 2000s, Brendan founded UCFB in 2011 at the club’s home ground, Turf Moor.

Starting with around 60 students at Turf Moor, UCFB has since gone on to open multiple campuses across the UK, and has become a globally recognised and respected name.

“I founded the university which I would’ve gone to when I was 18,” Brendan said.

Thousands of students have come through UCFB’s doors and gone on to thrive in successful careers across the football and wider sports industry.

In 2019, Brendan started the annual UCFB Entrepreneurship Award Scheme, hosted each year at Wembley Stadium in front of a panel of judges.

At the annual event, students can receive awards up to £5,000 for their sports-related business proposal.

Now, Brendan is celebrating ten years of UCFB having a northern base in Manchester with the UCFB Sports Entrepreneur Competition, where he will now sit as one of the panel’s judges.

Andrea Chilton

Andrea Chilton is the CEO of the English Schools Football Association, the governing body for football in the schools’ sector.

She’s been in the role for ten years and during that time, the organisation has seen significant growth in the number of players involved in football and a phenomenal increase in youngsters from under-represented groups who are now able to take part, thanks to the ESFA’s football inclusion programmes.

There are around 1,000,000 children estimated to take part in schools’ football either directly in the ESFA’s national programmes, or locally, through the network of volunteers who work with energy, commitment and vigour to provide local opportunities to play.

Andrea joined the ESFA after a 20-year career in education – in colleges, universities and policy-making bodies as well as education funders

She is now the non-executive Chair of ESFA Enterprises, the ESFA’s subsidiary company, which aims to generate profit to donate back to the ESFA charity.

As a volunteer, Andrea has also served on college boards, and has recently completed her tenure as the chair of oversight committee for Swim England, helping drive their improvements in safeguarding practice. She has now set my eyes on a new volunteering challenge with the RAF cadets.

Sam Mackenzie

Sam has been the chief executive officer of Altrincham FC since June 2024, having been involved with the club since 2021.

She arrived at the non-league side as director of partnerships and sponsorships, before taking on the role of CEO, initially on an interim basis, in December 2023.

Adrian Harris

Adrian is a member of the executive committee of Castore, responsible for supply chain. He is also a Non-Executive Director on the Board at Dormole Group.

His role in Castore is to ensure that the products move seamlessly from the factories to the clubs, their players, and fans. 

Castore is a UK-based sports brand that partners with clubs and sporting federations in the world of football, cricket, rugby, Formula One, golf and lacrosse. 

The business is truly international with clubs and federations from New Zealand, Australia, Hong Kong, Europe, United States of America and, of course, the UK.

Adrian started in the military, commissioning into the Royal Logistic Corps. 

On leaving the military he completed a Masters on Business Administration at Strathclyde University, before starting a career in retail.   As a supply chain director his career spanned Argos, Tesco, Amazon and Marks and Spencer, before moving into chief operating officer roles in Headlam Group.

His career at Castore began as operations and logistics director, before taking on his present role as chief supply chain officer, a role he has held since August 2024.

Learn more about the sports industry-focused undergraduate degree courses on offer at UCFB, tailored to fields such as sports coaching, sports business and sports media.

You can view a UCFB prospectus to find out all about our unique degree courses, see our campuses and learn about student life with us.