Brothers Godwin and Jeffrey Addai are showing it’s good to have goals, both on and off the soccer pitch, as they plan to scale their business with the help of investors.
Before immigrating to Canada, their father played soccer professionally, leading his sons to develop a passion for the sport. Born and raised in Ottawa, Godwin and Jeffrey grew up playing soccer at the community level. After years of hard work, Godwin got a soccer scholarship to Spring Arbor University in Michigan while pursuing a degree in human kinetics, which was followed by a professional career in Spain and New Zealand.
Three years Godwin’s junior, Jeffrey followed in his brother’s footsteps, securing a soccer scholarship at the University of South Carolina while pursuing a degree in sociology, which led to a professional career in North America and Europe.
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Throughout their university and professional careers, both brothers would make their way back to Ottawa during the summers to train local players. They would also help the local players to market themselves to universities for scholarships and help them advance their careers to the professional level.
“Anytime we would come back for the summers, we noticed a lot of kids in the community (that) needed assistance. We really started local, helping the youth in our city to get scholarships,” Jeffrey told OBJ.
As more players asked for their assistance, the brothers spoke to sports performance coach Jason Teale about their vision for a business venture. In 2017, Godwin incorporated what was then called Ottawa Pro Sports Management, a sports management company geared toward soccer players.
Godwin, who is a FIFA-licensed agent, said OPSM was built from personal experiences, both positive and negative.
“(When) Jeffrey was in Germany, he had an opportunity to go on trial with (another) club because I was speaking with this agent. (The agent) told me to send him $1,000 so Jeff could go on this trial. We weren’t educated on this, so I sent him the money. Jeff booked his plane ticket to go to Turkey. I called the agent and he ghosted me. It was a scam,” Godwin said.
Since 2017, OPSM has offered agency services to young soccer players, helping them to secure professional advancement. The agency also offers social media marketing and branding services, as well as help in securing sponsorships and legal advice. In addition, OPSM helps young players get university or college scholarships and hosts scouting events.
The target market is players at the beginning of their athletic careers, usually aged 14 to 24.
When scouting talent, Godwin said they look for “the four pillars” of a great player: technical, tactical, physical and mental.
“One of the first things we look for is how talented they are. Technically, are they able to play a five- to 10-yard pass clean? Tactically, do they see the game better and faster than other players? Are they physically fit? The mental side is the biggest for us. When we recruit players, we have interviews with them to get to know them as people,” Godwin said.
The venture was bootstrapped, Godwin said, using the money he made as a soccer trainer and the money Jeffrey made creating highlight videos for players to send to scouts and coaches.
OPSM receives five to 10 per cent of any professional contract it closes for its clients. Its collegiate scouting program generates revenue through a two-tiered subscription model and players pay a fee to take part.
Just before the pandemic in 2020, the company grew beyond Ottawa as Godwin started representing Jeffrey’s teammates at FC Tulsa in Ohio. So the name was changed to One Pro Sports Management, to keep the acronym they had become synonymous with.
As with many businesses, the pandemic was a period of uncertainty and hardships. Godwin said they had to think on their feet in order to keep OPSM afloat.
“It’s been a grind and hustle. There were times where we thought the business wasn’t going to continue because of financial reasons … When COVID happened, our company could’ve collapsed, but we were innovative,” Godwin said.
Though the Addai brothers have hung up their cleats, they said their athletic careers continue to fuel them as they run their business. Jeffrey, now OPSM’s CEO, said it takes perseverance and caring for others to play a sport and to run a business.
“I’ve torn my ACL two times and had two herniated surgeries. (It’s) just that pursuit of getting back on your feet and not thinking it’s over. That’s been the story of my career. And, really caring for people has been the biggest thing with OPSM. I don’t know how many times we’ve sponsored someone or given something to someone for free. We understand that it’s a business, but we never put that in front of just helping people,” Jeffrey said.
Godwin said playing sports allows people to understand what it means to be a leader. He added that personal faith gives them the drive to strive for better, on the field and in the boardroom.
“(It’s) just the teamwork and an environment you have to be in (to learn) leadership roles. Jeff, growing up, was always the captain of his team. So he always had that leadership role … The teamwork and culture we try to build at OPSM is very big within our organization. Culture is huge,” he said.
Today, OPSM represents players from teams across North America and Europe, such as the Ottawa Rapid FC, Atlético Ottawa, Texoma FC in Texas and Finnish Premier division team VPS.
Now, Godwin said OPSM is shooting for the million-dollar revenue goal. With current annual revenues around $600,000, he said the main goal is to become a seven-figure company in the near future. Though the brothers have bootstrapped up until now, Godwin added that OPSM is looking for investors to help them achieve this next step.
“Our goal, on the agency side, is to continue representing some of the biggest talent in the world. On the services side, OPSM Connect is the key … to scale,” Jeffrey said.
OPSM Connect, which is launching in September, involves harnessing artificial intelligence to build a recruitment platform to connect players with teams more quickly, Jeffrey said.
“We’ve used AI to create funnels to be able to match the right coach to the right player, based on our assessments and the level of the player, both from a college and professional standpoint. Before you needed hundreds of thousands of dollars to create a platform. Now, through AI, there are lots of ways that we’ve been able to develop this platform ourselves,” Jeffrey said.
Much like the current collegiate recruitment program, OPSM Connect will generate revenue through a three-tiered subscription model.
For a company for which the human element is central, the use of AI is being adopted cautiously.
“There’s still a personal touch. We’re not going to deviate from that. We’re always going to make sure there is a personal judge, but we feel that, in order for us to scale, we have to be smart and go with the times,” Godwin said.
As the client base grows to include players from Canada, the U.S., U.K. and Ghana, the brothers are continuing to add employees. OPSM now employs 15 people, from agents and talent scouts to marketing managers and event administrators located across Canada, the U.S. and Europe.
“To hire event administrators, we use (the University of Ottawa), which has a great internship program … We’re going to have to hire more people as the business has been growing and we’d love to look local first, just because we’re Ottawa-based,” Jeffrey said.
In eight years, OPSM has helped more than 2,000 families and secured more than $2 million in scholarships, according to the brothers.
“We’ve had such good feedback. People say we’re everywhere and it’s great to see that kind of growth and the impact that we’ve been able to make. We’ve gotten testimonials from families (with which) we’ve been working with since (the kids) were 11 to 15 and just helping guide them in their career,” Jeffrey said. “There’s nothing better than helping someone reach their dream.”
