Gordon Kane Aspiring Author
About Gordon Kane
I'm an aspiring author with a deep love for thrillers and sport. Combining these two passions I hope to entertain (and maybe keep you up at night).
With over 30 years experience in sport management, I have been fortunate to write articles, contribute to books, and guest lecture at major universities about the future of sport. Naturally, I now want to add a few murders to my portfolio.
Publications
Sports Business Journal
Sports Business International
Books
"Sharp sponsors demand sharp ROI". 2003
"Memories of the greatest" (Ali). 2010
"2012 shaping up as a bright Olympic year". 2012
"IOC's Agenda 2020 details bold change". 2015
"2024 Bid a testament to global relationships"2015
"A shift in sponsorships ... toward B to B". 2019
" LA will once again rewrite the playbook" 2020
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​" Don't show me the money" 2004
"America adapting to the end of the monarchy". 2004
"A bold and ibnspirational choice" 2015
"Sports Sponsorship" - Contributor
- John Fortunato (author) 2011
"The Rise of Major League Soccer - Expert Perspective
- Burton and Reilly (authors) 2025
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University Presentations.
Presentations on campus focused on sports marketing, sports management, Olympic Movement , global and US soccer.
Schools include: University of Oregon, University of Wisconsin, University of Iowa, Marquette University, Miami University, University of Illinois, Northwestern University, Ohio State University and DePaul University
Senior Lecturer - Ohio State University
"Thank you once again for your great presentation. You are a perfect guest speaker. Thank you very much!!!"
Kellogg Marketing Club
"Crushed it!! So great to have you as our keynote this year"
Director of Sports Business Program - DePaul
"Gordon does an amazing job of combining storytelling with business lessons which leaves the students both entertained and smarter .... not easy to do. Always a highlight of the quarter"
ARTICLES
Once In A Lifetime - Again.
In 1998 Scotland (the land of my birth) was selected to play the opening match of the World Cup in Paris, against Brazil. I remember my father's sense of amazement. Imagine. Scotland. In Paris. Against Brazil, the best team in the world. It didn't take long to figure out that we had to go. We had to be there. This was going to be truly once in a lifetime.
Paris did not dissapoint. Thousands of Scots roaming the streets, the cafe's - and the occasional pubs - adorned in full Tartan Army attire. Embraced, before during and after the match, by the Brazilian fans, who, I think understood that we were at the center of a party that rarely invited the likes of us.Sport had put us at the center of something that was truly unique, and we were going to make sure we took full advantage of the moment.
In the 27 years since then, Scotland has failed to qualify for the World Cup. No parties, no Tartan Army, no visits to the world's stage. Until yesterday. In qualifying matches that defy description, concluded with a match at soggy Hampden that defied belief, Scotland have qualified for the 2026 World Cup.
The Tartan Army will be heading to North America. For a whole generation of Scots this will be their chance to see their team on the world's stage, to accept that illusive invitation to the party.Sport has given us a once in a lifetime opportunity - again.
FIFA Club World Cup:
The Good, the Bad and the (potentially) Ugly.
FIFA had a challenge. They generated $5.77 billion in revenues during the 2022 World Cup. UEFA (the European member of FIFA) generated $5.1 million from their European club cup competitions. FIFA owned a club competition of their own (Club World Cup) but it was being dwarfed by UEFA. From an offensive and defensive perspective FIFA needed to make their club competition bigger and more relevant. So - expand from 7 teams to 32 teams, dramatically increase the prize pool, bring it to huge venues in the USA and put it on TV globally. A quick recap on how it went:
1) Attendance: The "good" is that the final few matches all played in front of 70,000+. The whole tourney averaged around 35,000 per match (also good). The "bad" is that early rounds were poor, and many fans complained about exorbitant pricing for mediocre matches. FIFA even had to discount tickets for the final to ensure a sellout crowd on TV.
2) World Cup Planning: The "good" is that several Host Cities got a great test of their facilities/capabilities before next year. The "bad' was that teams complained of excess heat (water breaks each half became standard fair) and that many of the fields felt inferior to the players ("dead cat bounce" for example).
3) Predicability: The "bad" was that the betting lines didn't give any teams other than European teams any chance of winning. (If you end up with all European teams - you have just re-created the European Champions League). The good - in a word - Brazil. Fluminense and Palmeiras came to play (and brought great fans!). A terrific opportunity for Euro-centric fans to be introduced to players like Estevao, Aries, Hercules etc. Also - shout out to Al Hilal beating Manchester City - the upset of the tourney.
Conclusion: Was it a money grab by FIFA? Probably. Was it entertaining? Definitely. Does it have a future? Absolutely.
Caveat: Players will now go from a tough, heat-filled tournament to a full league season followed closely by a heat-filled US World Cup without much of a break (the players union just approved a mandatory 3 week break per year for players). Will we see an increase in injuries both during the upcoming league season and next summers World Cup - as we stretch these players to the absolute limit? I hope not - because that would be ugly.
Contact
For any inquiries, please feel free to e mail me:
Phone: 312 287 6402
Connect with me:
Linkedin.com/in/gordon-kane-victory