A global innovative sports, entertainment and investment management company – changing the way the business of sport is played

Football is the farthest reaching, most loved sport on this planet. Yet unlike almost any other sport, it is lacking one of the most crucial elements to keep its players, and the entire industry, healthy.

Until now, elite footballers have not been offered authentic, talent-brand management. Unlike world-famous athletes such as Tiger Woods or Michael Jordan, players are lacking service companies which focus on all elements of an individual’s life, ensuring that their personal and professional growth is maximised.

This absence of custom-built management and assistance over the course of an athlete’s career can lead to weakened performance, the loss of sponsorship opportunities and can leave their image vulnerable and lacking guidance.

Although it can generate high earnings, football, like other sports, is a rather short career which can, at best, span a 20-year period. Top-level athletes often enter retirement unable to find a niche for themselves beyond their football careers and they are unprepared for what is to come.

To fill this vacuum, an elite sports and entertainment, talent-brand management and investment company, ON International, was developed and fully launched in 2007.

Founded by world-famous footballer Clarence Seedorf, the company is run by an international, highly-skilled and creative management team. It is a new-style, innovative organisation that makes a contribution to the personal and professional lives of elite athletes and performers. All services have been developed according to the wide range of needs of the company’s first, and premier client, Mr. Seedorf himself.

“The system that produced me is inherently flawed,” says Clarence. “We assume because a handful of players make it to the top that it is a good system. But we forget about the thousands of others who have the same amount of raw talent but are not encouraged, nurtured, inspired, monitored, developed and educated.”

At the helm of ON International is Geoffrey Schuhkraft, a key player in the Australian and international sports management and entertainment industries for over 30 years. “The goal of the company is to maintain integrity and highly professional services harmonious with the company’s values and also those of the players,” says Schuhkraft.

ON International created a package for Clarence that has provided concrete results both on and off the field. This includes a first-of-its-kind contract extending Clarence’s position with AC Milan until 2011, and a coherent media strategy that has helped to enhance his image in Holland.

“The services and assistance provided by ON International have sustained my growth and helped me concentrate on solidifying my performances on the pitch,” underlines Clarence. From scoring the pivotal goals that took AC Milan to Athens in May 2007, where he helped them win the Champions League final - the fourth victory in his career - to being named Europe’s Best Midfielder for the 2006/07 season at the 10th annual UEFA Club Football Awards; from securing a contract with the European Champions, which will take him through to 2011, to his return to the Dutch National Team, the past 12 months have been packed with success for Seedorf.

It is not just on the pitch that Clarence is thriving. Last July, he set off, armed with the UEFA Champions League trophy, to visit countries such as the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Djibouti and Suriname in a tireless effort to pull in donations for his foundation, Champions for Children, which will allow it to develop and manage projects in Kenya, Vietnam, Brazil and the country of his birth, Suriname.

“With the strategic guidance and logistical support of ON International, the last year has been one successful moment after another,” enthuses Clarence.

ON International’s head office is in Milan, Italy. The company plans to expand into other European and international locations in order to support its strategic goals, starting with the development of ON International Sport and Football-related business and investment strategies, with plenty of further exciting initiatives to come in the future.