Developing with experts in the industry: Matthieu Struyf Student Profile

Meet Matthieu Struyf. 

A FIFA-licensed international football agent, Matthieu began his Postgraduate Diploma in International Football Business with us at GIS last September, and spoke to us about his experience and career so far.

Studying at our Brussels campus, based in Lotto Park (home of R.S.C. Anderlecht), he simultaneously works as an agent for GROW, and has done since October 2023.

GROW is a football agency founded by Thomas Freismuth, who joined us on a Sports Entrepreneurship webinar we hosted as part of our GIS Insight Series recently. Thomas co-founded the agency alongside agent Dr. Erkut Sogut, who also hosted a conference alongside GIS last year.

Speaking with Erkut was something that Matthieu labelled as the ‘best moment of my career. ’He had this to say about the meeting:

“I really tried to reach him, and I had a difficult time because I sent a lot of messages, but got negative answers or it wasn’t him answering. But then, just with resilience, I succeeded in reaching out to the agency, and the CEO sent a message to my colleague in Belgium.

“The next week, we had already planned a call, and then we developed the relationship and had the chance to meet in Manchester. It was the first time I could mix business and passion, and it was amazing.”

Now working for GROW from Brussels, Matthieu oversees operations in Benelux markets and is responsible for guiding young talents and fostering their growth in the football industry.

Speaking about what it’s like being an agent, he mentioned that a lot of the trade is about “getting an understanding of what the club is looking for, increasing your network, and developing relationships with the club.”

The term ‘networking skills’ seems to come up often when industry professionals are giving advice, and Matthieu has embraced this by attending various events around Europe for the purpose of making connections, including the Industry Masterclass hosted by GIS at Wembley Stadium.

On his time with us so far, he commented, “GIS is a place where you can have your own ideas and develop with experts in the industry.

“I also think we have amazing teachers that know what they are talking about, and the content of the courses are really insightful and help you to grow in this industry.”

If you are interested in studying the same course as Matthieu at the iconic Lotto Park, or would like to browse any of our other degrees hosted at various sporting locations around the world, click here.

Article by Zakaria Anani