The Backroom Staff

Kids in small towns often have no coach, no pitch & no organised football. Football For Kids provides a safe environment for kids in rural Kazakhstan to play football. At its peak, they reached >4k children in 8 countries. w/ Toktar Yeskendirov --> thebackroomstaff.com/blog/to…

Where does football data actually come from? For almost 15 years,Hristo Banchev worked behind the scenes at Wyscout & Hudl, building quality systems & training hundreds of analysts around the world. How is data collected? what makes a good analyst? --> thebackroomstaff.com/blog/hr…

'The match is not the event. The event is the event.' Daniel Carciug has spent a decade across nearly every aspect of football business - ticketing, sponsorship, strategy, & matchday operations. He sees details most people miss - & knows how to fix them. thebackroomstaff.com/blog/da…

"Once I decide something, I do it - whether someone likes it or not" Sarah Poni Jacob is the only woman in the South Sudan FA's media department. An ex-player, she now travels w/ every national team as photographer, writer, designer & press coach thebackroomstaff.com/blog/sa…

"The number one impact on performance isn’t sports science. It isn’t strength and conditioning, it isn’t data analysis, it’s not coaching or tactics - it’s life" Tristian Griffiths, founder of YEM Player Care Provision, shares why --> thebackroomstaff.com/blog/tr…

Luis Coll Jauregui is the founder of LAMSA, the first academy in a former refugee camp in Africa. He talks: building from scratch, earning community trust, partnering w/ FC Barcelona & Puma, & why the goal was never *just* to produce pro footballers. thebackroomstaff.com/blog/lu…

.@kiariemwangi has spent decades bringing football to the people the game forgets - older players, prisoners, communities post conflict. Today he's president of @walkfootball_ke : 450 players, deaf & visually impaired teams + more women than men players! thebackroomstaff.com/blog/ki…

Football is increasingly political. Hijab Shah, a PhD researcher at St Andrews, spends her time in football stadiums studying how fan culture gets pulled toward radicalization, and how people within the game push back. Excellent interview --> thebackroomstaff.com/blog/hi…

Josh Gloer spent three years following Global FC (@hopeinplay), a Kansas City club made up of refugee kids from conflict zones across the world, and came away with a film - Chasing Goals - premiering at the FIFA World Cup Fan Festival. thebackroomstaff.com/blog/jo…

Two people. One accidental flight to London. Three magazines later - we talked to @photo_curva about groundhopping, ultras and finding the fans that make football worth caring about. thebackroomstaff.com/blog/ph…

Krisztián Vadócz has had an incredible career as a footballer. From debuting at 17 to La Liga & representing his country >40x Still playing at 40 in Berlin’s lower leagues w/ Berlin Hilalspor, we spoke about the realities behind a “journeyman” career thebackroomstaff.com/blog/kr…

Football is full of great stories... that aren't being told Jordan Maciel spent 10yrs across UEFA & clubs like Bayern Munich, now he's helping others share authentic stories We spoke about the shift towards personal branding & controlling your narrative thebackroomstaff.com/blog/jo…

Ruža Ilić Pavkov has built a career across almost every layer of the game - from refereeing to grassroots development to int'l projects. We spoke about: – building football from the ground up – women’s football in Serbia – the pros of being a generalist thebackroomstaff.com/blog/ru…

Chris Yip-Au, Head Coach of the Seychelles women’s national team, is doing far more than coaching Setting up pitches, hauling water across the island, creating league structures & helping players find opportunities abroad, the role is as varied as it gets thebackroomstaff.com/blog/ch…

Ally Flan shares her journey from making her first video to working w/ some of the biggest brands & players in the game - & now, going full time as a creator. All in just a few years! A really interesting insight into one of football’s newer career paths thebackroomstaff.com/blog/al…

Before turning 18, @JamieMccreedy4 has already built a serious body of work in football media - 4+ years on the radio, two podcasts, 100+ interviews and a charity project in Kenya. He reflects on motivation, persistence & building credibility over clicks thebackroomstaff.com/blog/ja…

New interview with @JordanFlorit is live! Jordan is a leading expert on Venezuelan 🇻🇪 football, an author, journalist and chief scout at @PHXRisingFC. We discuss scouting, journalism, risk, transferable skills, and creating your own way into the game. thebackroomstaff.com/blog/jo…

New interview! At just 20 years old, Dominic has already coached in top divisions in Denmark and Slovakia and earned his UEFA A Licence In this interview, we talk about ambition, sacrifice, and what it really takes to build a career in modern football thebackroomstaff.com/blog/do…

New interview with Francis Muojindu! ⬇️ Francis shares his journey from law school to his initial 'break' on television and the realities of starting a career in football journalism today. thebackroomstaff.com/blog/fr…

First interview in 2026! Maltese coach and Balzan FC Academy Director Etienne Vella shares his journey from grassroots to the pro game, balancing coaching with a full-time career outside football, the UEFA Pro License and state of football in Malta 🇲🇹 thebackroomstaff.com/blog/et…