A Liverpool fan left a Manchester United-focused networking group stunned during a live online presentation, before going on to help launch the Liverpool chapter of a fast-growing business networking community for football fans.
Players Live is a business networking community that connects founders and small business owners across the North West, the UK and beyond, via online and in person events. The group combines business referrals with practical value, regularly featuring expert speakers who deliver sessions on topics ranging from sales and accounting to HR and online marketing.
Adam Osman, who runs a digital marketing agency, happens to be a lifelong Liverpool supporter, was invited to deliver one of those sessions on digital lead generation. He said: “When I was originally invited, United were struggling, so I thought it was a great opportunity to have a bit of fun with it. But by the time the presentation came around in February, United were above Liverpool in the table and I wasn’t looking forward to it quite as much.”
Keeping his Liverpool link a secret, Adam began the session professionally, before revealing five minutes in that he was wearing a Liverpool shirt.
“You could have heard a pin drop,” he said. “There were a few comments about kicking me off the call but it was all taken in good humour as I’d already made it clear I was a football fan first and foremost.”
What could have been an awkward moment instead highlighted the culture of Players Live, founder Simon Jones claimed: “Football is the hook, but it’s not the point,” Jones said. “We’ve created something where people connect through shared interests and they stay because of the relationships and business opportunities that come from it.”
Inspired by the experience, Osman began working with Jones to expand the concept and is helping to launch a Liverpool-focused chapter aimed at bringing business owners that support Liverpool into the network.
The enlarged group held a pre-launch event on 1st May with a walk at Delamere Forest, bringing together both Liverpool and Manchester United members in a show of collaboration beyond the rivalry.
“Rivalry will always be there in football,” Adam added. “But what the Players Live community shows is that it doesn’t have to stop people building something positive together. Members of both sides made valuable business connections and it was great to see the number of meetings and calls that resulted.”
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