Dr. Erkut Sogut was born on the 17^th of September 1980 in Hanover, Germany and is a player agent, lawyer, lecturer and author. Dr. Sogut holds a doctorate in sports law. He has always been passionate about sport and especially football. Sogut is the founder of the player representation agency “Family & Football”. The agency is based in London and is the industry-leader in the education of player agents.

Businesses, Projects and Ventures:

• Agency Family & Football
• Launched the ‘M10’ brand
• Founder of Football Agent Institute
• Co-founder of Unity
• 39 Steps Coffee shop managing director

Family & Football is responsible for clients such as Mesut Özil, Kieran Gibbs, Kerem Aktürkoğlu, and many more and has operated successfully in the business for over fifteen years. The agency offers a holistic service, including contractual, commercial, and legal advice. Dr. Sogut develops personal relationships with each client, spending as much time as possible with the player, and working with their family members directly to ensure the best possible approach and results. From his work with Mesut Özil, Dr. Sogut is well-known for having negotiated the biggest Premier League contract in history in January 2018 for his client. He also negotiated the biggest contract in Turkish football history (on and off-the-pitch) with Özil’s move to Fenerbahce. Dr. Sogut’s role as an agent is not only confined to on-pitch matters.

He has also launched the ‘M10’ brand of his client Mesut Özil in 2015 and is responsible for the online channels of his client, boasting over 100 million followers across the major social media channels, making him the most followed German player and claimant of one of the largest social media followings worldwide.

Dr. Sogut has his own sports-education company called the Football Agent Institute and he is dedicated to the education of aspiring player agents to help professionalise the industry. His aim is to help the next generation of football agents to become the experts of tomorrow.

As player agents are not official stakeholders in the football industry, Dr. Sogut also founded the Professional Football Agents Association (PROFAA) in 2020. The aim is to make agents a stakeholder of the industry. PROFAA is the first global association of football agents, and its mission is divided into two parts. On the one hand, it is to safeguard and promote the interests of football agents from all around the world and, on the other, it is committed to helping and supporting football agents to ensure the industry always operates professionally.

Sogut is also co-founder and director of Unity, which specialises in sustainably packed cosmetic products and environmental awareness, together with ex-professional footballers Mathieu Flamini and Mesut Özil.

Moreover, Sogut is the managing director of the 39 Steps Coffee shop in London, a business that he owns together with his client Özil. These projects are part of Sogut’s service to his clients, which is to plan for „a career after being a footballer”.

SPORTS AGENT LICENCES

• Football (FA)
• Basketball (FIBA)
• Hockey (DEL)

LANGUAGES

• English
• German
• Turkish
• Spanish

EDUCATION

2001-2007 – Law Degree – Osnabrück University (Germany) with 1 year Erasmus at Dokuz Eylül University (Turkey)

2009-2013 – Doctor of Law (J.D.) PhD, Dr. iur, Sports Law – Osnabrück University (Germany)

2010-2011 – Sports law and sports management – Kadir Has University (Turkey)

2011-2012 – Master of Laws (LL.M.), International Law and Legal Studies – İstanbul Kültür University (Turkey)

2011-2012 – Master of Laws (LL.M.), International Law and Legal Studies – Ruhr University Bochum (Germany)