FIFA has appointed Romy Gai as its new Chief Business Officer, replacing Kay Madati who is set to depart his role as Chief Commercial Officer in the next few months.
Romy joins FIFA from AWE International Group, where he had been Chairman since 2015, and prior to that his career includes 14 years as Chief Revenue Officer and Marketing Director and CEO Assistant at Juventus FC in Italy, and a period as CEO of the UAE Football League (UFL).
On his new role, Gai stated: “FIFA has many opportunities to grow football in our fast-changing world, and I look forward to ensuring that our commercial team plays a substantial part in ensuring that world football’s governing body will be at the centre of all these important business developments in order to benefit our sport globally.”
Gai’s appointment coincides with the announcement of Mr Madati’s departure, which is said to have been for ‘personal reasons’, as the current CCO remains on-board until the end of June 2022 to ‘support the commercial division’ in managing the transition period.
“As Chief Business Officer, Romy’s appointment will further strengthen FIFA’s commitment to our commercial and marketing partners,” added FIFA Secretary General Fatma Samoura. “He has had a lifetime involvement in football, and we are delighted to have his expertise to help shape our future business ventures across the world.”
“I would also like to thank Kay for his commitment during his time with us. One of Kay’s mandates on arrival was to cultivate and develop the countless opportunities today’s virtual multimedia landscape offers football to fulfil our FIFA Vision 2020-2023 goal of making the game truly global.
“The launch of FIFA+ is testament to his work and to that of the team that Romy inherits as part of FIFA’s Commercial division.”
On his departure, Madati explained that the decision did not come lightly. He added: “It has been an honour and privilege to lead this dynamic commercial team, and work hand in hand with our partners and the FIFA management team to grow this beautiful game.
“I remain committed to collaborating closely with Romy to set him, our partners, and the entire FIFA team up for success as we collectively head towards a very special FIFA World Cup in Qatar.”
