Officially designated the position of a Player Relations’ Manager, Wilbur’s passion for the beautiful game led him to this unconventional career path. And, today there is no one holding him back.

Day-to-day activities of a typical football agent

The job of a football agent in India is very tumultuous. While it has its own advantages of interacting with players on a regular basis, there are plenty of challenges in this industry.

If you think that is enough, Wilbur also works as a program coordinator with EMERITUS, an organization that collaborates between three top-ranked business schools- MIT Sloan, Columbia Business School & Tuck at Dartmouth.

‘Always felt like a brother than an agent’

Many fans believe that the agents only work as a mediator in the industry, pouncing on the commissions they earn. However, Wilbur explains there is more to it than that.

While many agents prefer to have only a business kinship with their clients, Wilbur shares a more personal relationship with them. The players, too, reciprocate accordingly. As a result, he has always felt more like a brother than an agent.

On Indian internationals Sahal Abdul Samad and Jobby Justin

Sahal Abdul Samad and Jobby Justin are Inventive Sports’ leading clients. Both of them were unheralded names in Indian football a couple of years ago but now they are invaluable assets for their respective clubs and prized possessions for the national team.

A club offers a player a long-term deal only if the player exceeds their expectations. And, Sahal has earned every bit of it.

Jobby Justin’s case is slightly different from that of Sahal Abdul. East Bengal officials wanted the Keralite to continue with the Red and Golds and the player wanted the same too. However, they were a bit “unprofessional in handling the situation” and Inventive Sports and Jobby later decided to sign with ATK.

Every season, the ISL sees a good number of foreigners coming to India to ply their trade for the first time. This year, Chennaiyin FC will witness Lithuanian striker Nerijus Valskis donning their jersey and Wilbur explains to us how Inventive Sports managed to break the deal.

A lot of player transfers get leaked in the media before the club makes an official announcement. Many times the deal is still in the negotiation phase and these media reports become hard for the clubs to negotiate.

On FC Pune City’s financial crisis

It is no secret that FC Pune City is in financial turmoil and are even considering to change their venue. A lot of players even wrote to AIFF regarding delayed payments. It is logical in that manner for an agency to prevent their players from signing with the club.

Wilbur and Inventive Sports, however, believe that it is just a bad phase for FC Pune City and in no way they will advise their players against signing for them.

Finding a team for players who are without a club

One of the toughest challenges for any player agency is to find clubs for players who were without one a season before. It becomes difficult for them to negotiate as the player had a year gap in his career.

One such player was Augustin Fernandes. Despite winning the 2015 SAFF Cup with India, representing the Blue Tigers in the 2018 FIFA World Cup Qualifiers, and playing regularly for FC Pune City and Atletico de Kolkata in ISL before, he had no club at the onset of the 2018-19 season. But, together they not only managed to bag a trial with Jamshedpur FC but also ensured he got a one-year extension.

Beikhokhei Beingaichho is in a similar state right now. But, Wilbur and his team are confident that they will be able to pull off a deal for him and he will have a club to play this season.

The road forward for him

Inventive Sports have their players playing for almost every club in India, except for two clubs- Mumbai City FC and FC Goa. Being a Mumbaikar, Wilbur and his team’s next target is to see their players play for them.

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