A leading FIFA-football licensed agent, Dr Drew Uyi, has begun dotting the Is and crossing the Ts in readiness for the 2026 edition of the Deal Done Serbia after making a strong impact at the maiden edition of the football-business summit held in Stara Pazova, Serbia, last December.
The accomplished branding expert, who studied Sports Management in London, served as one of the keynote speakers at the two-day event, described the experience as an honour and hinted at an even bigger return when the conference comes up in June this year.
The event has quickly established itself as a meeting point where football power meets business vision.
The inaugural edition of Deal Done Serbia, staged at the FSS Sports Centre on December 13–14, 2025, attracted club executives, agents, investors and football administrators from across Europe. Designed as South-east Europe’s premier football business platform, the summit focused on networking, partnerships and commercial growth within the game.
Dr Uyi later reflected on his participation, saying, “To wrap up 2025, I had the honour of being a guest speaker at the maiden edition of the Deal Done Serbia Summit, held last December at the FSS Sports Centre in Stara Pazova—Southeast Europe’s premier football business event.”
During his keynote session titled “Speaking to Win: Influence, Authority, and Impact in Football Business,” Dr Uyi immediately captured the audience with a statement that became one of the most quoted moments of the conference.
He explored a reality often overlooked in sports commerce: deals are not just numbers — they are narratives.
Drawing from global case studies and personal experience advising leaders across industries, he broke down three pillars of persuasive public speaking in high-stakes environments: “Clarity Under Pressure – Negotiations collapse when messages blur”, “authority without arrogance – the balance that builds trust” and “storytelling for strategic influence – turning data into conviction”.
He challenged club directors to rethink how they present transfer strategies. He urged agents to refine their negotiation storytelling. He encouraged investors to communicate long-term vision, not just short-term Rerurn on Investment.
“Every sponsorship pitch is a performance,” he said “and every performance shapes perception,”.
According to one of the organizers, Edvard Markovic, the summit itself functioned as a marketplace of ideas, with discussions on transfer strategies, sponsorship activation and football innovation continuing beyond formal panels into networking spaces. Participants openly discussed improving academy presentations, investor relations and brand storytelling, reflecting how Dr Uyi’s message had shaped the conversations around them.
