Louis Saha Launches Professionals’ Network
Former Manchester United and France striker Louis Saha has entered the world of sports business with the launch of Axis Stars, a contract management and secure social network platform developed for sports athletes and professionals.
According to the brand, the platform ‘offers a secure environment for athletes, coaches and agents to communicate, share and make recommendations on a variety of topics such as lifestyle solutions, insurance, finance, physical therapists and sponsorship’.
Users can also view all of their own club, sponsorship, endorsement and insurance contracts in one place, providing a clear and transparent overview of their professional commitments and lives.
The project is co-founded by IT Executive Patrice Arnera, a leader in cloud and contract management solutions, and supported by international sports marketing figurehead Mike Farnan,
Louis Saha said of the platform: ‘I would have loved to be able to master my job better when I was playing but now I’ve retired, I still have a huge role to play sharing my experience with young players.’
‘I wish I had a platform like this as a player; it would have helped me manage my career and plan for the future a lot better. This is why Axis Stars is designed to not only help active professional players and athletes but also those in their post-career.’
‘The aim is to help drastically reduce the terrifying statistics which show that around 50% of sports professionals go bankrupt after retirement. I am more proud of this incredible project than all of my achievements on the pitch.’
Patrice Arnera added: ‘When Louis and I came up with the Axis Stars idea, it was important to select a robust technology offering bulletproof confidentiality and security. Salesforce.com and Apttus are the best solutions that I have worked with in my career and were ideal candidates. We wanted the strongest and safest vehicle to carry our value proposition for our members, and we have achieved this by deploying these existing platforms in a unique way that has never been done before.’
According to Axis Stars, the project has already attracted a number of high-profile professional footballers and coaches, including current and former Premier League stars Didier Drogba, Gaizka Mendieta, Phil Neville, Florent Malouda and Robert Pires.
Axis Stars will redistribute 10% of its profit to charity organisations selected by its members and help promote philanthropy amongst its members via a dedicated group.
