I am widely recognised as the architect of five-a-side soccer in the UK — the person who opened the country's first commercial five-a-side center in Paisley, Scotland in 1987 and took the game from a niche activity to the most popular form of soccer participation in the country. The center I opened that year is still operating today.
Over the course of a 35-year career in the sector, I have built two businesses that now dominate the UK small-sided soccer market with 89 centers between them, delivered a five-times oversubscribed IPO on the London Stock Exchange, completed a £28m trade sale to 3i, and attracted a formal £73.1m takeover offer from the Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan — one of the world's largest institutional investors — which shareholders rejected in the belief the business was worth more.
The conviction has always been the same: invest in quality, take the game seriously as a business, and give people an experience worth returning to. It worked in the UK. It will work in the US.
Full career historyOpened the UK's first commercial five-a-side center in Paisley in 1987. Grew to 13 centers nationally. Sold to 3i for £28m. Now operates as Powerleague with 43 centers.
MBI of a three-center family business. Built to 46 centers. Five-times oversubscribed LSE IPO. £73.1m takeover offer from Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan.
Developing next-generation small-sided soccer centers across California, Florida, Georgia and Texas. 2026 World Cup on US soil — the timing has never been better.
"The small-sided soccer revolution that started on four tennis courts in Paisley in 1987 is coming to America."
Keith Rogers — Naples, Florida
The US small-sided soccer market today is where the UK market was in 1987. The demand is there. The participation base is there. What is missing is the infrastructure to meet it.
With the 2026 FIFA World Cup hosted across the US, Canada and Mexico, this is the most compelling moment in history to be building soccer infrastructure in America.
Read the full analysis