Star-Spangled Soccer

GARY HOPKINS has an MBA from Warwick Business School in the UK, a Sports Science degree from Loughborough University and is a qualified Teacher He is a passionate soccer fan supporting Coventry City , England the USA National Team (when they are not playing England) and D.C. United and has spent 20 years as a senior executive in the USA Soccer and Sports Marketing Industry. As President and CEO of API Soccer and API Sponsorship he oversaw the Commercial and Television rights for the United States Soccer Federation and the United States Youth Soccer Association raising millions of dollars in sponsorship revenue from corporate America, developing strategic Marketing plans to promote soccer at all levels and producing and airing over 70 USA National Team men's and women's game. API Soccer was also a founding investor in Major League Soccer and Managing Partner of DC United. Gary also co-authored a 1999 Major League Soccer market research report and in the early 90s Published Americas first full color monthly soccer magazine and owned the US Television rights to English League Soccer. As the Managing Director of Octagon's Sport Marketing Properties Division and Marketing Board Member he represented a multitude of other sports properties including 5 year highly successful partnership with the United States Track and Field Association where he negotiated the world largest apparel sponsorship for the sport He owes everything he learned about marketing and 'selling' soccer in America from a 4 year career selling for the Xerox organization fresh out of college ! An invaluable training ground for the early battles and rejections thrown US Soccer's way. Gary brings a unique perspective on the commercial development of the sport in the USA reflected upon by someone who was there from the beginning, engaged at the sharp end , understands the forces and events that have shaped soccer in America and has access to the key people and personalities that made it happen.

You're Playing the World Cup Where? Build It and They Will Come; Selling Soccer To America 1990-94 World Cup 94; Everyone's A Fan Soccer Goes Professional; the Launch of Major League Soccer Back From the Brink; The Turnaround and Rebirth of MLS Soccer United Marketing - It's 'Soccer' on The Phone The Agents Arrive; There Must Be Money Somewhere, or Is There? Pony Tails and Dollars; Anything A Man Can Do... The 'Business' of Youth Soccer in America Viva Futbol / Viva Mexico; Hispanic America and Soccer Young Americans; Transfers and Lost Dollars, the Missing Millions The Game's On; How The World Cup And International Soccer Is Changing The Face Of Televised Soccer The Making of a Soccer Nation; Why Soccer's March In the USA Is Unstoppable The World Cup Returns; Why FIFA Must Bring It Back and How Doing So Will Change American Sports Forever Back to the Beginning; the Reasons Why World Cup 94 Changed Everything