The Cup, a pre-season tournament for the youth teams of clubs like FC Barcelona, RCD Espanyol, Atlético de Madrid, Real Sociedad, Valencia and Real Zaragoza, is an event organized by a former student of the Master in Sport Management at Johan Cruyff Institute
The future promises of FC Barcelona, RCD Espanyol, Atlético de Madrid, Real Sociedad, Valencia CF, Real Zaragoza, Girona FC and Atlètic Club Sant Pol, will include in their summer preparation a pre-season tournament organized by a former student of the Master in Sport Management in Barcelona at Johan Cruyff Institute, which is also one of the sponsors.
The Cup is the event that Manu Campás has spent half a year working on in order to position it as “the leading pre-season tournament for high-level junior category teams”. For the first edition, to be held in the town of Sant Pol de Mar from 18 to 21 August, he has already managed to attract the interest of major international brands who are supporting the tournament with their patronage. Besides Johan Cruyff Institute, other brands what will also be present are Coca-Cola, Haribo, Nutella and El Corte Inglés, to name a few.
The Master in Sport Management gave Manu Campás the push he needed to create his own company in the sports industry: Auria Sports, a company specializing in the provision of promotion and sponsorship services for sporting events, teams and individual athletes. “I created the company while I was studying the Master at the Johan Cruyff Institute, and I also started working at CreativiaLab, which gave me the opportunity to work with brands like Movistar, BMW and Vichy Catalan, activating the brand,” says Manu.
The Cup is his big project and here he tells us all about it.
What is the purpose of The Cup?
The purpose of the Cup is for it to be the leading pre-season tournament for high-level junior category teams. Our goal is to win the confidence of players, sponsors and the public so as to guarantee future editions.
How did you get the chance to organize the tournament?
Thanks to the board of Atlètic Club Sant Pol. I had played there for four years in the first team and, thanks to my experience gained in recent years in sport marketing, they offered me the chance to organize and recommend sponsorship for the tournament. And I threw myself into it because I think I’m capable and I see it as a very interesting tournament.
What are your duties as project manager of the tournament?
I started recommending sponsorship, focusing on a sponsorship program for brands to see if they could collaborate in the tournament and, in a second phase, I’m now dedicated to organizing the sport side of things.
What was your previous experience in sport marketing with your business, Auria Sports?
While I was studying the Master in Sport Management at Johan Cruyff Institute, I created my company, Auria Sports, with which we made two sports mosaics for Club Joventut Badalona during the matches against Real Madrid and FC Barcelona. Following these two activations, I started working at CreativiaLab and I now work with brands like Movistar, BMW and Vichy Catalan, activating the brand.
How do you convince clubs like Barça, Espanyol, Atlético de Madrid, etc, that this is the tournament they should be taking part in?
One of our goals is to make The Cup a leading pre-season tournament and we knew that it had to have a high competitive level. We made a sponsorship program and a very solid and professional project so that all of them would take part. Fortunately, the eight teams that are coming are of a high level and we are very happy that they are participating in the first edition of The Cup.
And what about your team?
We have a great team. To start with, there’s the board of Atlètic Club Sant Pol, the organizing club. Then there’s Luis Carreras, as adviser of the tournament. We have a digital area very focused on social media and the website, and another area in charge of the audiovisuals (the tournament will have a 6x3m LED screen that, as well as being the scoreboard, will also be used for activating the brands of the sponsors). And we have the volunteers. In total, we have a team of 65 people to organize the tournament.
Lluis Carreras, former player of La Liga, is the adviser of The Cup. In this picture, he stands with the kids of his campus
What would you say is the most difficult part to organize?
I think the most complicated thing was to prepare a good sponsorship program so that the brands can trust in the Cup. The response has been positive because we have the support of Johan Cruyff Institute, of local brands Sauleda and Cultbikes, and of other international brands like Agua de Veri, Coca-Cola, Haribo, Nocilla, El Corte Inglés, to name a few.
And what is the most satisfying part?
The most satisfying thing is, without doubt, having started with great enthusiasm and with a lot of people who want to collaborate with the tournament and seeing that, little by little, things are working out each week and the tournament is taking shape. It’s satisfying every day.
Is the MIC a reference for The Cup in terms of organization?
Wiithout a doubt. For us, the Mediterranean International Cup is in another league, but it is undoubtedly a reference tournament for us and, on our own scale, we are going to try and imitate it as much as possible because it is a benchmark. In the long term, we want to open up The Cup to other centers and international teams.
Related study programs
Johan Cruyff Institute uses a rich learning environment that fosters educational tools based on a
student interaction model. We aim for a mix of students from sports and business sectors, which also enables students to share their unique experiences and learn from each other. Students will engage actively in creative challenges that require effort, commitment and intuitive thinking. Visit these web pages to find out more about our programs:
- Master in Sport Management (Start: September 20, Amsterdam, in English)
- Master in Sport Management Online (Start: September 19, in English or Spanish)
- Postgraduate Diploma in Football Business Online (Start: October 10, in English or Spanish)
- Football Business Fundamentals Online (Start: September 26, in Dutch, English or Spanish)
