Day 1 - January 9th, 2023 (4hrs)

The first day of my mentorship with Warubi Sports started with two extensive zoom calls with my mentor Herbert Biste. Before the start of this mentorship, I was quite nervous as I did not know what to expect, but this feeling slowly faded away during this first call. Herbert introduced me to the company of Athletes USA (Which is a part of the service offered by Warubi Sports) and how he started with them as a student similar to my situation, about 20 years ago. Additionally, he gave me some insights on Warubi Sports and how the two companies are interconnected. Herbert is the CEO as well as founder of Warubi Sports and a head of recruitment for Athletes USA.

The first zoom meeting with Herbert was to give me some insight into Athletes USA and how the company works, what the basic services are as well as the philosophy of the company. Athletes USA is a recruitment agency that connects athletes from all around the world with colleges in the United States and to potentially earn athletic scholarships. The interesting part about this agency is that they do not only help athletes to find a school and then disappear, but stick with the athlete throughout their college career and even further. One of the main factors about Athletes USA that sets the agency apart from other competitors is their unique business philosophy of work now, pay later. Customers only pay the full-service price after a successful placement with a college in the United States, otherwise the customer does not have to pay any service fee.

The second call with Herbert later in the day was all about his own company, Warubi Sports. Warubi is a start-up located in Miami, Florida just like Athletes USA. While working with the recruitment agency, Herbert noticed a missing part to the process, which includes the connection of US athletes as well as coaches to European soccer. Warubi Sports is a full-service soccer management company that does not just offer the typical scholarship marketing process, but also connects American athletes with youth academies in Germany, hosts camps and other soccer related events in Germany together with the DFB and lastly, offers American coaches to travel to Germany to gain UEFA coaching licenses.

One of the main services of Warubi Sports is the college soccer recruiting service, which the company offers through Athletes USA. Both companies work hand in hand together as partners in the college recruitment business, and therefore Athletes USA is a part of the service offered by Warubi Sports. During my internship with Warubi, I will mostly work in the college recruitment division and therefore with Athletes USA, while also getting insight into all of the other divisions and services that Warubi Sports offers.

It was extremely interesting to learn about the background of both companies and how they work hand in hand. After getting an extensive introduction to both agencies, it is clear why Warubi Sports and Athletes USA together build the biggest and most successful network that connects football from Europe with soccer in the United States.