Global Football Solutions - at the business end of the game

Player Accessibility

Global Football Solutions offers a tried and tested player accessibility programme enabling European Football Clubs to gain access to otherwise potentially unavailable players from outside the European Economic Area. Our programme delivers a solution whether or not the player is eligible for a work permit or a visa.

Attracting and signing the best players from outside Europe at an affordable price is increasingly difficult for clubs to achieve. Competition to secure the best young players' signatures at the right fee and on suitable terms is intense. Work permit restrictions are increasingly stringent and EPL clubs, in particular, are already at a competitive disadvantage compared to many of their European counterparts. Financial Fair Play and Home Grown rules exacerbate the problem.

GFS provides a permanent solution to these issues. Our process is quick – with delivery from start to finish in around 12 weeks. Our services are guaranteed and deliver value-enhancing results for clubs, players and their agents.

Academy Creation

GFS, in conjunction with its Cypriot partner club, Anorthosis Famagusta FC, has committed to design, build and operate the only EPL Category 1 standard football academy in the Eastern Mediterranean, to be located in Cyprus.

GFS and Anorthosis have already formed a joint venture company called Reach for the Stars and our plans are well advanced. The Reach for the Stars academy will attract the best young players from around the globe (including local Cypriot talent and UK players) to continue their player development and, importantly, their wider education. Many will be supported by our scholarship scheme.

The academy will feature top-level schooling and a diploma stage college on site. Sports and education visas will be available for the stars of the future. The first phase of the academy project is expected to open in the near future with the facility operating at full capacity with around 80 players by 2020.

Intellectual Property

Clubs, players and agents alike increasingly look to exploit Intellectual Property Rights and player image rights to maximum effect. Not all of them structure this aspect of player remuneration in the optimal commercially and tax efficient manner.

Global Football Solutions provides innovative services to enable players to minimise their tax bills, legitimately and effectively, and helping clubs to reduce the overall cost of player remuneration.

Let GFS show you how this is achieved through our unique investment structures which are fully compliant with all applicable laws and regulations.

Our Team

We have a team of dedicated professionals with a wealth of experience in football, law and accountancy.

GFS - At the business end

Creating effective solutions for the global football industry specifically in the area of player recruitment and tax efficient planning for players with the potential to play in the English Premier League.

Paul Stretford

Chairman

Paul has worked full time in the Sports Agency field since 1988, founding Proactive Sports Management.
He previously worked in the advertising, sponsorship and events business both in an agency capacity and for HTV (part of the ITV network of broadcasters).
Paul led Proactive Sports Management from start-up to flotation on the London Aim listed market in 2002, making Proactive Sports Group PLC the first publicly listed Sports Management and Marketing agency in the world. He founded Triple S Sports & Entertainment Group in December 2008, alongside Freddy Shepherd (former Chairman/joint owner of Newcastle United FC) and Freddy’s son, Kenneth. During this period he has overseen the management of Wayne Rooney (Manchester United and England captain) taking him from 15-year-old schoolboy to the highest paid player in the EPL and one of the world’s leading commercially sponsored players.

Colin Massie

Chief Executive

Colin is a corporate lawyer (qualified 1994) with wide ranging corporate and commercial experience. He joined Scotland’s then largest law firm, Dundas & Wilson, in 1996 and was assumed as a partner in 2002. Colin’s specialist practice areas included M&A, private equity, joint ventures and reorganisations for a wide range of owner-managed businesses and institutional clients.
He was head of the Sports, Media & Entertainment, and Retail departments of D&W and served for many years as a non-executive member of his firm's board.
In 2013 he left private practice to co-found a start-up global wealth solutions business, now part of the GFS group, based in Cyprus and specialising in large finance projects, corporate structuring, investment opportunities and EU immigration investments for global clients.
Colin has been the GFS group CEO for nearly 3 years.

John Gregory

Director of football

John is a former professional footballer, coach and manager. His playing career started at Northampton Town before he joined Aston Villa in 1977.
His playing career included spells at Brighton & Hove Albion, QPR and Derby County. John also represented the England national team.
His coaching career started as first team coach at Leicester City with Brian Little and together they helped the Foxes secure promotion to the Premier League in 1994. They moved to Aston Villa where they enjoyed great success including a League Cup triumph in 1996.
John began his own managerial career at Wycombe Wanderers where early success meant he was quickly snapped up as manager by Aston Villa in 1998 where he accomplished many notable achievements – qualification for the UEFA Cup (3 times); top 6 league finishes every season; FA Cup runner up in 2000; and Intertoto Cup winners in 2001. John has also managed Derby County and QPR and has spells in coaching and management in Israel and Kazakhstan.

Anna Kyprianou

Offie manager - Limassol.

Anna is a qualified lawyer who was admitted by the Cyprus Bar Association in 2014. She joined GFS in 2015 as part of the management team.

Anna previously worked for international law firms based in Cyprus but left to pursue a career in sports administration. She is a holder of a Masters degree in International Sports Law, obtained from the ISDE in Madrid.

Anna is responsible for the operations of our office in Limassol. She organises GFS’ administrative matters and deals with the processing of our player naturalisation applications.