Emir Samancı is a multilingual sports executive, strategist, and consultant with a rare blend of corporate leadership, sports industry experience, and global perspective. Born and raised in Istanbul, he now lives in Geneva, Switzerland, where he has spent more than 13 years. His academic background includes an Abitur diploma from Deutsche Schule Istanbul, followed by a degree in International Trade and an MBA from Boğaziçi University.
Emir’s connection to football is deeply personal. A devoted Fenerbahçe fan since childhood, he found comfort and energy in the stadium after losing his father. That passion later shaped a bold career move. After 15 years mainly at Procter & Gamble, where he held regional and global roles across five continents, he joined Fenerbahçe SK in 2019 as Chief Revenue & Marketing Officer. Reporting directly to the club president, he led commercial and marketing operations at one of Turkey’s most complex multi-sport institutions.
At P&G, he gained end-to-end business management experience, led major brand transformations, and worked on high-profile ventures including an in-house innovation project in Silicon Valley. His time there shaped his approach to leadership, brand strategy, and operational excellence.
Following his time at Fenerbahçe, Emir moved back to Geneva and took on a central executive role at United World Group, a multi-club ownership group with investments in clubs across England (Sheffield United), Belgium (K. Beerschot V.A.), France (LB Châteauroux), the UAE (Al Hilal United), and India (Kerala United). As Group Director and Head of Commercial and Marketing, he managed the full off-the-pitch strategy and operations for all clubs, reporting to the Group CEO. His work there demonstrated the value of a “center of excellence” in a multi-club structure.
Among his key achievements are delivering double-digit yoy revenue growth across portfolio, establishing a shared strategic direction among clubs (incl. KPIs) and the creation of a unique group-wide technical kit partnership with Erreà. This first of its kind partnership doubled the commercial value of individual club deals and led to record top- & bottom-line performances at clubs’ retail. He is a strong advocate for scalable, long-term sponsorships and believes that strategic alignment between clubs and brands creates more value than one-off deals. His approach favors fewer but deeper partnerships that reflect mutual values and long-term goals.
Emir’s leadership style is defined by clarity, collaboration and resilience. He believes that people commit more when they are part of building something. His motto, “act with passion but ration,” captures his belief that success comes from balancing emotional drive with logical decision-making. He leads by involving others, staying hands-on, and empowering teams to grow through shared ownership and clear direction.
He speaks Turkish, English, German, and French fluently, which has been a key asset throughout his international career. At LB Châteauroux, where staff communication was mostly in French, Emir’s language skills helped him manage operations, including planning a full matchday experience for a French Cup game against Paris Saint-Germain in early 2023. For him, language and cultural fluency are essential tools for building trust and leading effectively in diverse environments.
What makes Emir unique in the football industry is his ability to navigate between traditional club structures and modern business frameworks. As football clubs face increasing influence from private equity and regulatory pressure from financial fair play, Emir has positioned himself as a bridge between the sporting and business sides of the game. He understands the challenges from both perspectives and is able to build alignment in and outside of the Boardroom.
He has also played a leading role in media and communications. At P&G Türkiye, he was the Director of Media, managing celebrity partnerships, agency relationships, and media strategy. At United World, he oversaw public messaging and shaped high-priority announcements. He recently participated in a football business panel and gave an interview about how brands can adapt to the rapidly changing football ownership landscape.
Emir is currently developing his own consulting practice. His mission is to help sports organizations modernize their revenue generation and commercial strategies, support brands in building meaningful partnerships, and create long-term value across the wider sports ecosystem. His framework focuses on brand equity, audience expansion, and strategic marketing across all touchpoints, from digital content to matchday experiences.
He believes that long-term planning is essential for short-term decision-making. Raised in a culture of internal talent development, he supports building pipelines and promoting from within, except in cases where key expertise must be brought in. For him, sustainable growth is tied to strong internal structures, forward-looking strategies, and continuous learning.
Emir also sees sporting success and commercial revenue as connected but not dependent on each other. He uses the analogy of flying a plane, where headwinds (poor results) and tailwinds (good results) affect speed and fuel use, but the pilot’s preparation and adaptability determine the outcome. He believes that commercial teams should not rely solely on sporting success and that football departments should be held accountable for the financial impact of their decisions, especially in player recruitment.
In his view, the future of football revenue will depend on long-term thinking, better fan segmentation, and innovative solutions that reflect changing fan behavior. As casual fans grow in number and lifelong loyalty declines, clubs will need to become smarter in retaining attention and converting passion into value. Emir emphasizes the importance of building fan loyalty early and delivering on expectations through intentional engagement strategies.
Through all his work, Emir brings a mix of strategic depth, operational excellence, emotional intelligence, high-integrity and passion. Whether leading a club’s commercial strategy, building a multi-market partnership, or advising on structural reform, he stays focused on creating sustainable, fast and high-quality growth. His ability to connect, adapt, and deliver across cultures and industries positions him as one of the most versatile professionals in modern football.
Our Exclusive Interview with Emir Samancı
Who is Emir Samancı outside of sports and business? How would you describe yourself beyond your professional identity?
I spend most of my leisure time with my family. To reenergize myself, I mostly read books, play football with my veteran team, and meet my dearest friends. Beyond that, I enjoy exploring new experiences and sharing my professional knowledge with younger generations.
How did leading multiple clubs across different countries shape your understanding of football’s global business landscape?
‘Football is never just football.’ Sports and football are among the most powerful global forces that unite people of all cultures, serve the well-being of communities, and boost the economy. Leading clubs across cultures has increased my overall awareness in life and sharpened my judgment as a professional executive.
What cultural changes do you believe are most urgent for clubs aiming to transform themselves?
What brought them here won’t take them there. Clubs need to embrace change, create genuinely inclusive management cultures, recruit experts to build new capabilities, and empower them to create high-performance organizations. Clubs that develop traits aligned with the needs of the times will thrive, while others will fall behind despite having abundant resources.
What are your long-term goals moving forward within the sports industry?
I want to be recognized as a change agent who leads with the heart of a fan and the mind of a new-generation professional, delivering sustainable growth on and off the pitch. Going forward, I look forward to helping more MCOs or sports clubs become faster, better, and stronger together.