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Celebrity or talent management is not a newly introduced concept in Pakistan. We sit comfortably amongst many top talent management agencies. Did you notice I used the word agency and not company?

The difference between an agency and a company lies in the thin line between a souteneur (pardon the obscene comparison) and a marketer. A management company is more interested in creating your brand name rather than focusing on the end-deal. In a country, where cricket is next to religion, there is certainly an astounding lack of athlete management companies or even niche agencies.

I mean, who manages your cricket stars?

Who looks after your hockey heroes?

Who takes care of the god-damn, Olympics winning team????

Who represents them in the commercial market?

Not that no-one, ever noticed this huge gap, but one man, against all odds (who by the way was not a millionaire at birth) decided to un-tap a market others perceived to be just cricketing stars and advertisements for a certain leading, soft-drink brand. (I am soooo getting spammed, once I post this online).

Allow me introduced to you, Arsalan H. Shah or known to his friends and peers as Arsalan Hyder. The one who knew there was more to athlete management than cricket and world cup campaigns. He is Founder and Director to Global Athlete Management Experts (GAME), Pakistan’s leading athlete/sports management company.

I was fortunate enough to request him for an exclusive, never-been-conceptualized-interview (and he even graciously agreed to pay for the coffee). The whole-point of this interview is to understand why a man, who comes from a learned family, leaves his well-established IT business and sets foot in the macabre that is athlete and sports management!

Location: Opera Cafe & Patisserie, Ramada Plaza, Karachi,
Time: 07:31 PM
Attire: Semi-formal
Status: Inkling
Photograph Courtesy: Mobeen Ansari

Ifrah Waqar – First of all thank you so very much for taking the time out for this exclusive piece of interview.

Arsalan Hyder – It’s my pleasure. Shoot!

Question – In a country where people only know agents and do not understand what managers are, you chose to call yourself a manager, why?

Answer – I knew that I wanted to change the whole perception. I wanted to above all, create awareness and make sure that people, athletes and the brands understood the difference between an agent and a manager. I was often asked to change myself to an agent to be able to land deals, but I did not intend to cut out a one-time deal, I wanted to work with leading athletes, set an example and bridge the way to an untapped market.

Question – What made you take this step? I mean why even consider establishing an athlete/sports management to stars already known and famous?

Answer – (Smiles) for me in Pakistan, where athletes/celebrities are only considered to attend weddings or appear as guests at events, I knew that there was no one to tell them of their market-worth. I wanted to eradicate this entire trend and bridge the gap between the brands and the stars.

Question – You decided to break away from norms and establish an athlete/sports management company. The obstacles must have been massive. Were they?

Answer – That’s the fun part! (Laughs) Lack of awareness for endorsements was something my team and I had to face a lot. The vision was limited. People have been involved in this business-model around the world and are creating employment, patronage and profitable opportunities every day. So why not in Pakistan! Other than that, finding the right formal people to work with and lack of professionalism is what my team and I have struggled with. But thankfully, and with the Grace of Almighty, I was blessed to receive tremendous encouragement from the industry and we are gearing towards the next level.

Question – Do you consider yourself a leader of this niche market?

Answer – Leader, manager, whatever you’d like to tag me. All I know that people in Pakistan and from around the world give me a call and inquire for an athlete who is not necessarily a cricketer. I want to be able to guide my team together as a unit towards a common goal.

Question – Do you exercise control around you?

Answer – Yes. I have to. Ideally this a one-man game but I believe in as I said in team work, I don’t shy away from delegating but yes I’d like to keep information of everyone and everything around me.

Question – What traits you think an athlete manager should possess?

Answer – Vision, perseverance, networking, and time Management and above all love what you do; do what you love.

Question – To what do you owe your success?

Answer – My team and hard work. Working with top professionals from around the world requires you to work with the best and I was blessed with an adequate learning curve and the best team possible.

Question – Can you tell us about a few of your clients?

Answer – We have worked with leading international brands like Pepsi, Procter and Gamble, Ariel, MoneyGram, Tack Kuwait, Shirzanan Global, Viacom18, Air Tel, as well as catered to big names in Pakistan including Ufone, QMobile, HBL, Voice, Dany Technologies, HELLO Pakistan! And this just makes 10% of our portfolio.

I have worked with leading Pakistani athletes like Jehangir Khan, Sohail Abbas, Shoaib Akhtar, Kiran Khan, Saeed Ajmal, Shahid Afridi, Ahmed Shehzad, Umar Akmal, Misbah-ul-Haq,Umar Gul, Inzamam-ul-Haq, Azhar Mehmood, Saqlain Mushtaq, Moin Khan, Muhammd Yusuf etc as well many international names like Brett Lee, Yusuf Pathan, Yuvraj, Scott Styris, Herschelle Gibbs, Adam Hollioake and more.

I take pride in exclusively taking care of the Legend, Wasim Akram’s business and philanthropic engagements. (Smiles) But there can altogether be a whole other interview on him. I owe my success in this field to the mentorship from Wasim Akram and I cannot be more thankful to this trust within my decisions and strategies.

Question – You have recently surfaced as the Manager and Treasurer to ‘The Akram Foundation’. Can you tell us a little about your plans for the foundation?

Answer – The foundation is the brainchild of Wasim and Shaniera Akram, and together with their support, we as TeamTAF plan to initiate and establish a platform where anyone and everyone can come forward with a cause. If you or anyone has a project or need any kind of aid, please come forward, we make certain the end-goal is in-sync with our objective and we strike. We uphold our motto: Help Us, Help Pakistan very seriously. Go online, share your project, and my team and I will take care of the rest.

Question – What advice would you give to future athlete managers in the country?

Answer – Take the right counsel. Study the pioneers and follow your heart. Network and bond with your client. And the money will eventually flow.

Question – Marketing, Advertising, Information Technology and now Philanthropy; what is next for Arsalan Hyder?

Answer – For now my focus remains in expanding my company particularly in the Europe and the Middle East and make continued efforts to taking ‘The Akram Foundation’ globally. I would like to invite the youth of Pakistan to join our efforts and fight illiteracy and insolvency right out.

Ifrah Waqar – Thank you so much for your time and your valuable insights.

Arsalan Hyder – My pleasure.