Rangers chief James Bisgrove set for significant revenue-driving mission for European club group
Rangers supremo James Bisgrove could be set for a significant revenue-driving mission with the European Club Association after the group invited him to step up his involvement with their organisation.
As he prepares to step into the chief executive role at Ibrox, he will have dealings with the ECA moving forward in terms of representing the Ibrox club.
The FCA is the prominent independent organisation for professional football clubs across Europe and recently they held a summit at Loch Lomond, with Rangers as well as Celtic, represented.
On that gathering and the rise of Scottish clubs in Europe, ECA chief exec Charlie Marshall spoke to the Daily Record on the current situation as well as a potential remit to follow, for Bisgrove.
“There’s a lot of change going on at Rangers,” he said.
“The outgoing CEO Stewart Robertson has been heavily involved with us on some of the financial topics, such as sustainability and analytics.
“I know James a little bit from UEFA, he’s got a marketing background and is more of a commercial guy. The door is wide open for someone like that to help us around media rights and sponsorship.
“We’ve done a lot with Rangers on the women’s game as well and have been here in the last six months because Rangers have an excellent women’s set-up.”
Bisgrove should be running through that open door, as it will benefit his standing personally as well as increase the profile, reach and status of Rangers if he is fulfilling a key role with the FCA.
Across the city, Peter Lawwell has gained influence with the same organisation and given the Ibrox chief’s background in marketing with UEFA, it is a no-brainer in terms of exploiting the opportunity if it does materialise.
Over recent seasons, the club has well and truly returned in Europe with forward strides made in the Europa League and then the return to the Champions League, as much as the outcome was particularly disappointing on that front, last season.
The more progress and prominence at the top level in Europe, on and off the pitch, the better.
As he takes over in full from Stewart Robertson in the next few weeks, Bisgrove needs to make a far-reaching impact in the top job at Ibrox.
In other Rangers news, Michael Beale is in the hunt to sign this “excellent” 24-year-old striker as a major roadblock is cleared – report.