According to a press release from the company, music agency CODA Agency announced two major growth moves on Tuesday, December 11: the creation of a sports agency, CODA Independent Sports, and an expansion of their Brand Partnerships and Corporate team with the hiring of Debbie Ward.
CODA Independent Sports currently specializes in soccer and aims to become one of the top global sports agencies. The formation of the agency comes from a partnership between CODA and Paul and Barney Crockford of Crockford Management, as well as Independent Talent Group (ITG).
Crockford Management is a music management company, launched by Paul Crockford in 1987. In reference to the partnership with CODA, he said, “CODA Independent Sports is a unique offering combining business expertise with personal attention, and access to a global infrastructure across all media unparalleled in the sports field.”
CODA Sports’ current client roster includes elite players from across the UK including Premier League players Jordan Ibe, Kortney Hauseand Kadeem Harris.
To bolster its Brand Partnerships and Corporate team, the agency appointed music and live entertainment industry veteran, Debbie Ward, as its lead on Brand Partnerships, Sync and Corporate. Ward has over 20 years’ experience in the space. “I’m really looking forward to this new challenge – CODA has a stellar reputation and an epic portfolio of artists,” said Ward. “There’s so much opportunity to collaborate with brands and talent to create content-rich, engaging and potentially ground-breaking solutions.”
Last year, CODA partnered with Paradigm Talent Agency to launch Independent Talent Group. The joint venture has become the fastest growing European live music agency with an expansive client roster. CODA was recently named the Agency of the Year at the 2018 Festival Awards and is looking to take its live entertainment and music industry success to the world of sports representation.