together for a better tomorrow in football!

Marcin Stefański, lawyer, COO in Polish Professional Football League Ekstraklasa SA, during his career he was Professional Football and Competition Committee Chairman in Polish Football Association, member of various other committees (disciplinary, legal, safety and security). Since establishment of the professional football league in Poland (October 2005) he is Head of Competition Department in Ekstraklasa.

Member of Social Dialogue Standing Committee member in Polish Football Association. Co-author of many domestic football regulations in professional sector (legal, contracts, disciplinary, licensing)

Until 2005, Head of Competition and Licensing Department in Polish Football Association and Deputy General Secretary in Polish Football Association

Almost 20 years in football business, starting the way as football fan and leader of fan block. Going through every position in football club from team manager to sports director and finisghing on club level after 8 years.

Next stop for just one season has been National football associaton, where he has been working as director of new National training centre in Poprad. As of 2014/2015 fully in charge of professional football league, especially responsible for all business related topics, such as naming rights and TV rights partners.

The growth in league revenues has been significant in last 6 seasons (10 times more in 2024 as in 2018).

Keen to educate himself, being sucessful graduate of UEFA CFM and DFLM and first edition of European leagues ELEVATE program.

From April 2024 member Board of directors of European leagues.

Gido Vader is one of the longest serving staff members of Feyenoord Rotterdam, having joined the Dutch giants in 2001.

After three seasons of being embedded in first team football as a reporter, he became the club’s press officer, a role he fulfilled during eight very hectic football seasons providing him with a big network in European football and in which he experienced up close the fall and rise of Dutch giants Feyenoord.

In 2012 Vader, who has a background in international communication and media, became the club’s first manager of international relations, with the task to extend the club’s profile and network abroad and enter into strategic alliances across the globe.

Since then, the club has been running football development programs and partnerships in/with near to 20 countries on 5 continents.

In 2023 Vader became part of the club’s new Global Football Department, which is responsible for international club partnerships and for finding and placing talent within its club network.

He began his professional career as a coach in amateur football in the region of Catalonia.

In 2007, he joined BARCA Escola, where he was initially an assistant coach, and then a coach until 2012.

In parallel, he is an analyst for the Barcelona U16 and U19 teams.

In 2012, he became the technical director of BARCA Academy, first in Delhi and then in Vancouver.

In 2017, he became the coordinator of BARCA Escola.

In 2018, he became the technical coordinator of BARCA Academy for the APAC, and in 2023, the Middle East was added to his responsibilities.

Flavio Lloris Margotto has been the general manager of Bologna’s football academy since 2023. He previously held the same position for 7 seasons at Atalanta.

Flavio Lloris played at the amateur level until 1992, after which he graduated from the coaching school in Coverciano.

Qualifications for sports director and manager of a football academy followed, which he received in 2019 again in Coverciano.

In 2013, he started working as the general manager of the football academy of Chievo Verona, for two seasons he was the sporting director of clubs in Serie C before joining Atalanta in 2016 and then Bologna.

Teodora has over 15 years of experience in building digital businesses in sport and media.

She spent 12 years at Google where she worked on scaling organisations and vertical strategies for Google Search and Play, leading Sports & Media partnerships and creating commercial relationships with the world’ largest data and content providers including BBC, FIFA, and Premier League.

Most recently, she led the European expansion for two innovators in sport tech: Infinite Athlete, where she was the GM for Europe, and Dapper Labs (NBA TopShot) where she served as VP of Platform Partnerships.

She has a dual Computer Science and Mathematics degree from Williams College and MBA from Harvard University.

A native of Bulgaria, Teodora currently resides in the UK with her two daughters.

From media related positions to his own retail business ends Michal in AC Sparta Praha. The biggest, the riches, the most succesful club in Czechia.

The club who hadn’t won the title for 6 years. Had not played UCL for 15 years. Its revenues had constantly fallen down. The club was already in the reconstruction but commercial part of it needed fresh approach.

Besides his business activities he was part of events like IIHF WC 2004, NHL games in Prague, leading multi-sport club association in Prague.

At Sparta he is responsible in creating innovative ways into partnerships, hospitality products and in the long term as a media provider.

Anđelko Ivanko joined the Croatian giants Dinamo Zagreb in 2008, where he became part of the club’s Academy. He initially performed the functions of Competition Manager and Assistant Coach in various age groups.

In 2014, he became the deputy director of the Dinamo Zagreb Academy and the school’s administrative director.

He holds a UEFA A coaching license and also a UEFA CFM certificate.

Bologna Academy’s head psychologist Paola Tamasotti will be part of FootballNext.

The charming Italian has been part of the club since 2015.

Before that, he worked briefly at AC Milan and the Italian Football Federation.

Tomasotti is a member of the Italian Federation of Sports Psychologists.

Only a few months after the end of his football career, Miralem Suleimani begins his new challenge – chief scout of the Serbian giant Partizan Belgrade.

The former Serbian international played for a long time in Ajax and Young Boys. For the Dutch giant, he played 103 games in which he scored 29 goals, and in Young Boys he had 166 games with 39 goals.

Also part of Partizan, Heerenveen and Benfica.

Three-time champion of the Netherlands, two-time champion of Portugal and four-time champion of Switzerland.

In 2008, he won the Johan Cruyff trophy and was also twice included in the Swiss team of the year in the 2017/18 and 2018/19 seasons.

Suleimani also has 20 matches for the national team of Serbia with 1 goal scored.