ABOUT US
BLB Soccer is an exclusive group of highly experienced soccer industry professionals whose purpose is to help companies develop and grow their investments in the challenging global soccer business.
Through a worldwide network of relationships with International Federations, Leagues, Clubs, Investors, and Individuals, we are uniquely positioned to help our clients realize opportunities in existing and emerging soccer markets.
What makes BLB Soccer different from the rest is our broad international network combined with the first-hand working knowledge of our team. Take a look at our bios to see just how our experience and reach can help your organization meet its goals.
Our network of business professionals has experience across Europe, North America, South America, and Asia.
Our team
John BONNER
CHAIRMAN
An engineering graduate, John’s formative career was in the UK gaming industry where he created and sold two businesses in the 80s and 90s.
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From 2000 on he worked in the world of venture capital, helping to create over 30 businesses across a wide variety of industries. Most notable successes include Cursor Controls, Big Fin Seafood Kitchen, Regal Real estate and Orlando City Soccer Club. John continues to have interests in some 20 small business ventures today.
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On the soccer front he partnered with Phil Rawlins as Phil developed the USL franchise Orlando City. They became partners in late 2010 to create Orlando City with the clear vision of bringing Major League Soccer (MLS) to Orlando. This they achieved with Orlando playing its first MLS game, just five years later, in front of 62,510 fans at the Citrus Bowl on March 8th, 2015.
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John is passionate about the beautiful game and is a lifetime Nottingham Forest fan. He spends most of his time between his homes in Monaco, UK and the USA. He is a strong supporter of North American soccer and firmly believes in the significant potential of the US soccer market.
PAUL MCDONOUGH
CEO
Paul has over 30 years of experience as a college soccer coach, agent for professional players and executive for multiple clubs in the United States. Coaching at collegiate powerhouses like Wake Forest, South Carolina and UConn allowed Paul to focus on player recruitment and the day to day running of the programs. A move away from the college game to focus on athlete representation as VP of Global Soccer at Wasserman exposed Paul to contract negotiations with clubs and player endorsement deals.
Paul has been directly involved in the launch of three professional soccer clubs (Orlando City, Atlanta United and Inter Miami) in MLS. Paul has set up soccer operations. development of multiple youth academies and been in charge of building two training facilities (Atlanta and Miami) as well as a stadium (Miami).
Paul's diverse experiences in scouting, club building and facilities are unique in the US soccer landscape.
PHIL RAWLINS
DIRECTOR
Phil possesses more than 17 years of expertise in the high technology sector and more than 20 years of expertise in professional sports leadership and management.
Having sold his tech business in early 2000 Rawlins became an owner and Director of his hometown football team Stoke City F.C. At the time Stoke City were languishing in the third tier of English football. During his time on the Board at Stoke the club rose from Division One to the English Premier League, acquired its stadium and developed their own state-of-the-art training facility.
In 2010 Rawlins acquired the United Soccer League (USL) franchise for Orlando, Florida. The new club, Orlando City, began playing in USL Championship in 2011 and over the next four years they dominated the League winning three Championships (2011, 2012 & 2014). Late in 2013 Orlando City was awarded a MLS franchise and began playing Major League Soccer in March 2015.
From 2010 until early 2017 Rawlins led the club as Founder and President. During this time Orlando won numerous awards from both USL and MLS, sold out the Citrus Bowl twice (62,000+ fans), opened a brand-new purpose-built soccer stadium in downtown Orlando (Exploria stadium). In 2015 the club was awarded a women’s pro franchise in the NWSL for the Orlando Pride.
In early 2017 Rawlins stepped back from day-to-day operations to become Life-President. During his time in Orlando, he was inducted into the USL Hall of Fame (2014), awarded the E&Y Entrepreneur of the Year and Orlando CEO of the Year. He was also named Humanitarian of the Year in 2016 for his work and leadership following the Pulse mass shootings.
Rawlins, an avid skier, lives with his wife Carrie and their two children in Steamboat Springs, CO.
TOM BONNER
DIRECTOR
Tom studied Real Estate at Nottingham Trent University before taking his first role with Knight Frank in the Cayman Islands.
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After successful spells in both commercial and high end residential real estate Tom joined Chris Christensen in 2014 to help develop Regal Real Estate into one of the most successful, high-end, residential brokerages in Central Florida, with six offices across the region.
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Regal was sold to Sotheby’s in 2020 by which time Tom was focused on acquiring land for hedge funds to build large subdivisions. He continues to deal in real estate working with Caldwell Banker and is involved with several high end multi home projects across Florida.
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In addition to his real estate roles Tom helped form an angel investment fund specializing in acquiring capital for tech startups in the Central Florida area.
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On the soccer side Tom loves the game and, like his father John, is a lifelong Nottingham Forest fan. He assisted in the early years with Orlando City working in ticketing, merchandise, and marketing.
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Tom is a people person, a deal maker, with a strong “can-do” attitude. He lives with his wife, Emily, and their two sons in Orlando, FL.
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