Goal and Mundial publisher Footballco has hired a new chief technology officer whose remit will include helping to continue growing its affiliate business.
Nigel Leigh has joined from sports and gaming digital media company XL Media where he was chief information officer.
Leigh has also previously worked as chief digital technology officer at Johnston Press and head of commercial platforms (digital) for Telegraph Media Group.
Responsible for leading Footballco’s design, product and engineering teams in the UK, Germany, Italy, Poland and the Middle East, Leigh will join the leadership team and report to chief executive Juan Delgado.
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Delgado said: “Since Footballco was spun out of DAZN in 2020, with backing from TPG, we’ve seen significant growth, with two times revenue as well as revenue diversification, making Footballco less reliant on the traditional ad media model.
“This has been aided by significant progress across affiliate revenue as well as growth in new markets, such as the Middle East and US.
“Nigel represents an important hire for the company to take this progress to the next level, as demonstrated by his time at XL Media PLC where he played an important role in growing the company’s affiliate business.
“Similarly, his time at Telegraph Media Group and Johnston Press demonstrated his ability to lead large teams across global offices and bring publisher brands together into single tech stacks.”
Referring to Footballco’s reach of 80 million to 100 million people globally each month, Leigh said: “Footballco’s scale in football is unmatched, but there’s also huge room for growth, in terms of new revenue streams, affiliates and new markets, whether they’re geographical or demographic, such as women’s football.”
Footballco’s EVP of content and operations James Lamon told Press Gazette late last year that the company was expecting affiliate revenue growth of 300% compared to 2022. “I know personally I get more conservative with each dollar I spend so I want to make sure that I’m spending on the right thing, and the idea that we can help consumers make the best choice is something that makes me happy,” he said.
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