There was talk last week of Harry After reversing his allegiance from Ireland to England but that amounted to idle gossip. More real and moving in the opposite direction, English based football agency and law firm Full Contact has opened up a new office in Dublin.
The move comes about as part of a merger with the Sandyford based Fuze Sport whose principal Patrick Cunliffe, a long term friend of Sport for Business, will be the Dublin lead.
Full Contact Ireland will combine the track record and reputation that Full Contact boast in England for identifying and nurturing fresh talent – often from non-league football – with Conliffe and his team’s longstanding expertise in spotting aspiring talent.
Soccer Only
In the early stages the firm will focus entirely on soccer. Fuze has previously represented Olympic Gymnast Kieran Behan and MMA fighter turned actor Cathal Pendred.
The first players to commit their future to Full Contact Ireland include Dundalk’s highly rated centre back Andy Boyle and Anderlecht’s Irish U21 goalkeeper Liam Bossin. Full Contact also represent Limerick’s Bermudan keeper Freddy Hall.
“We have for some time been fully aware of the vast depth of the talent in the Irish football scene and indeed represented numerous Irish players from our English base,” said Dan Chapman, Full Contact’s senior partner.
“Full Contact Ireland is a result of our exhaustive search to find the right opportunity to establish a physical presence in Ireland and to work with the right people who share our work ethic, ethos and values.”
Foothold
“With the extension of our brand in to Ireland, we believe we can establish a real foothold in the market here and do for Irish football what, in many ways, we have been able to do for non-league football in England.”
“I am delighted to have Patrick on board with us – he and I share very similar backgrounds and we really look forward to making a huge success of Full Contact Ireland.”
“What Full Contact have done for players in the lower leagues of England by transforming their careers and bringing them to the Championship and Premier League is truly remarkable and demonstrates a sophisticated and knowledgeable scouting and club contact network,” added Conliffe.
“We feel that this can be replicated here for Irish players and I felt that there was a gap in the market for a trustworthy and reputable agency in Ireland who know the business inside out.”
Allardyce
“Even before the recent crisis with Sam Allardyce and the FA we were strongly of the view that agencies needed to become more professional and transparent.”
Both Dan and I are fully dual qualified solicitors as well as registered agents and we believe that additional professional credibility will be important to players and their families as they make their way through the game.
Lee Payne, an experienced football agent who operated as a FA and FIFA Licensed Agent for many years prior to becoming a FA Registered Intermediary in 2015, is Full Contact’s Head of Football and he is no stranger to the talents of Irish footballers. His client roster throughout his career to date includes Paddy Kenny, Glenn Whelan, Stephen Ireland, Stephen Elliott, Willo Flood, Sean and Kevin Thornton – who have well over 100 full Irish caps between them.
“I am delighted that we now have Full Contact Ireland up and running and we are confident that we can assist a steady flow of exceptionally talented players to make the move to England as and when it is the right time, and that their careers will be properly managed both from Dublin and our English offices. Hopefully in a few years’ time we will proudly be enjoying many more clients pulling on the famous green jersey.”
