Michał Latoś: Panthers Wrocław is distinguished by its image [INTERVIEW]

Speaking of the most interesting sports organizations in Poland, the American sports club from Lower Silesia should definitely be mentioned. Panthers Wrocław not only represent Poland in the European League of Football - a prestigious American football competition, but also play softball, lacrosse and ultimate frisbee, and their entire organization has over 350 members. What enables the club to develop so dynamically? What role does its owner, Jacek Tarczyński, play in the life of the organization? Why do companies decide to cooperate with Panthers Wrocław? And what does it take to manage such a powerful organization? We asked Michał Latoś, the president of the Wrocław club, about these and other issues.

Filip Skalski: What stage of preparations for the European League of Football season are Panthers Wrocław currently in?

Michał Latoś: We are currently holding the first pre-season camps, almost the entire training staff is already in place in Wrocław. Players from abroad will come to us in the last week of April, and in May they will start training with the entire team - in accordance with the league regulations. In the meantime, we will hold an away camp in Wałbrzych. The first game - a home game against Hamburg Sea Devils - will be played on June 3rd at the Olympic Stadium.

Are you satisfied with the work of the coaching staff? What did Dave Christensen, the new head coach, bring to the team?

Dave Christensen is a great professional with incredible football experience gained during 30 years of training NCAA Division One players. He has been with us for a few months and has already brought a lot of positive changes to the club. From our perspective, he is definitely a person we can trust.

This is the first time we reached for a coach outside our network of contacts, the process of finding him was extremely complicated. Christensen went through four stages of recruitment - an interview with me, the sports director, the defensive coordinator and - crucially - the owner of our club, Jacek Tarczyński. We had to make sure our vision was consistent. The common denominator turned out to be the goal, i.e. the desire to win the European Championship.

Christensen is a top-class coach - what made him come to Wrocław?

That's directly his wife. It was she who helped him make the final decision, asking what he was thinking about - after all - as she put it herself - "for two years in retirement, he didn't know what to do with himself." Christensen also liked our attitude - his first question to us was whether we really want to win the championship, and the second was whether we are able to do everything to achieve it. He also liked the order of our organization - he knew that he would not have to recruit players himself, because Jakub Samel - our sports director is responsible for providing him with the best package of players. In addition, he was obviously impressed with our stadium, the entire training base in Wrocław, as well as the city itself. The key factor, however, was the determination of our owner, who declared that he would do everything to achieve a common goal.

When you founded the club in 2013, did you have any ideas about how the organization should function a decade later?

At that time, I would not even have predicted that I would still be active in American football. However, our goal has always been to compete with the best in Europe and win against the strongest rivals. The dream we had from the beginning and which led us to create Panthers Wrocław was simply the desire to become a dominant force in Europe - and this is what we always strive for.

Looking across the board, our development can be seen with the naked eye. In the first year of operation, our entire club was located in an Iveco bus. Today we have our own office, physiotherapy room, three warehouses, two gyms, locker rooms and even a Melex. And all this at the beautiful Olympic Stadium in a wonderful location on the Great Island in Wrocław.

If you were to compare yourself to other top European teams, is there anything you still lack?

Time - we just can't make up for it. I visited many European organizations, I saw how they function from the inside, then we followed their example. Such comparisons have always pushed us forward and today we are at the forefront of Europe. In terms of sport, we are unquestionably among the top ten of the entire continent, and perhaps even in the top five in terms of organization.

As it has already been mentioned - the owner of Panthers Wrocław is Jacek Tarczyński - the creator of the Tarczyński brand. How much influence does his involvement have on the development of the club?

It is the fact that we have an owner that is, in my opinion, the most important factor thanks to which we can be such a developed organization. It is also something that definitely distinguishes us from other clubs - the American model of running a sports club with one private owner, actively involved in the functioning of the organization. You can look for similar entities in Poland with a candle - most often sports clubs are in the hands of many shareholders or the cities themselves, or both.

What opportunities does this bring?

It is hard to find someone with a better sense to run an organization than a businessman of such a format as Jacek Tarczyński. His experience in the world of business definitely also allows us to function better - primarily in terms of business. This aspect cannot be acquired simply, it is 30 years of experience. More than once, when I tried to go in a certain direction, he argued that it would be different than I assumed and he was always right - it's about feeling business. In addition, thanks to the involvement of such a powerful brand as Tarczyński, the door of any other company is also open to us. We can go to any director of any brand in Poland and make contact.

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Do other clubs in the European League of Football operate in a similar way?

Absolutely not. In Germany, each team has a large number of shareholders - there is not one person who is in charge. The exception may be Raiders Tirol from Austria, where the Swarovski family is involved. Our only 100% shareholder is Jacek Tarczyński – he is the boss. In turn, in other leagues, teams most often function thanks to the support of cities or the number of their co-owners is large and changes frequently.

What does the daily cooperation between the owner and the president look like?

We are in constant contact. Jacek Tarczyński is keenly interested in what is happening in our Club. I personally report our activities to him, we also hold numerous meetings during which we dictate various things related to the development of the organization - we draw our plan and vision for the coming years. Mr. Tarczyński is a person with more experience in business than my age, which in turn translates very strongly into functioning in sport.

Do the owner, sponsors and partners of Panthers Wrocław see measurable business results of their investments?

Of course, although it is always difficult to measure - an investment in sport is an investment in emotions, we are selling something intangible. However, all the companies that support us form something like a business club, which is part of Panthers Wrocław. Our partners know each other well and more than once the talks at our games have resulted in deals or new directions that could have occurred only because these people met in person. Among other things, for this reason, most companies have been with us for a long time - it is unlikely that someone entered our club and left it after a year. Of course, apart from that, we also provide all our partners with reports indicating the advertising equivalent we have generated for them, and this is very attractive.

350 people, 4 sports disciplines, 10 different sections - what makes such a wide expansion of the organization possible?

We want Panthers Wrocław to be a hub for American sports. This is our vision created together with the owner. Sections that joined us wanted to be under our wings, but their launch would not be possible without people involved in the club.

Each section has its own coordinator and trainers, and there are also people working in the office. Our entire organization is built on mutual respect and, above all, passion - here everyone is fixated on sport and it is this passion that keeps us moving forward - no one treats it as a full-time job or something that just must do. Everyone is fully involved, although most of us started as volunteers.

How do you all fit in this Olympic Stadium?!

We are well organized. One of our tools to sort it all out is the ProTrainUp app, thanks to which we combine all disciplines in one place. A great convenience is the built-in club calendar, in which we can plan training sessions for all teams. It can be used by office employees, coaches, section coordinators, as well as the players themselves.

When it comes to training and games, we obviously use the Olympic Stadium, the gym located there, as well as the nearby softball field or Mars Fields (name of nearby practice fields). All organizational aspects are controlled by people working full time in our office.

What benefits have softball, lacrosse or ultimate teams seen coming under the wings of Panthers Wrocław?

Certainly, above all, the fact that they enter a stable and well-managed organization. This is something that resounds very clearly on the outside - a niche sport, but run like a company - in an organized and professional way. In addition, of course, our training and game base, as well as business opportunities.

At the same time, these teams were at a stage where they were looking for opportunities to jump to the next level - just like we were a few years ago, and following the beaten path is always easier. This arrangement also suits the city, which prefers niche sports to be concentrated under one entity, and not broken up into many smaller ones.

How do you convince potential sponsors? What sets you apart from other clubs?

First of all, we are distinguished by our image - we do not sell a face or name, but American culture, emotions, an image combined with a football helmet, softball bat or lacrosse stick. The second thing is that we are unique in Poland and still appear as an "exotic" club. It is also about the way we create our social media or the number of engaged players, and therefore our army of influencers who can take care of the exposure of partners. In addition, we are flexible and open to various, innovative marketing campaigns - we do not cut coupons, we always try to come up with something new to reach the fans.

Would you agree that competing in the European League is a market game changer?

Definitely yes. Every week we play with clubs from the largest European metropolises, also our facility is one of the most beautiful in Europe. I'd be lying if I said that I'm not more excited about playing Frankfurt Galaxy in a full stadium than going to one of the Polish soccer games.

This certainly also distinguishes us, and on the other hand, for partners from Poland and abroad, it is an opportunity to appear on other markets, and vice versa. We are visible e.g. in Germany or Austria – generally, our games can be followed on 12 different televisions, including Polish. Our gameday exposure extends over three hours, during which we give companies many opportunities that they can't get in other sports to reach spectators.

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What makes your games different from other sports from a fan's perspective?

In soccer, you come to the match, you stand in a terribly long line to buy a beer or a hot dog, then you go back to the stands, you hear some profanity and insults, so you cover your children's ears. There is silence during the game itself, you can rarely hear some music, let alone the commentary, and additionally - especially in Polish conditions - the level of the show usually also fails.

When you come to an American football game, you can buy excellent dishes in the food truck zone, get club souvenirs, check attractions prepared by partners, let children have fun in a special entertainment zone for children - and all this many hours before the start of the game. After the game, there is an opportunity to meet the players or high five while they’re going down to the locker room. During the meeting itself, in addition to a sports spectacle at the highest European level, the time is made more pleasant by music played by a DJ, cheerleader shows, original competitions and professional commentary. All this most often with beautiful weather, because we play our games in the summer.

Do you also see an opportunity for partners and sponsors in the development of women's sections?

Certainly - if only because of the variety. Our girls form very strong teams, and in addition, they also play for the Polish national team and have had significant successes. This is also the more beautiful side of Panthers Wrocław. We believe that sports such as softball, lacrosse or frisbee are disciplines that suit us very well, and can also be a response to the needs of partners who, for example, would like to find their logo on a game jersey, but not necessarily of the American football section, but teams which also achieve very high results - e.g. our softball players are multiple Polish champions and also one of the leading teams in Europe.

Where can you watch Panthers Wrocław games? Who are your fans?

We are in advanced talks so that our meetings can be watched on TV again. In Poland, our game can generate an audience of 30,000 viewers, and in Germany the same game is watched by 300,000 fans. As Panthers Wrocław, we have a fan base not only in the country but also abroad, which is also beneficial for our sponsors.

We are somewhat recognizable in the US, we have a lot of fans in Germany, and even a large group of fans from Brazil visit our games. Behind our western border, we have seen fans in our T-shirts many times - for example during the NFL game in Munich. When we wanted to greet them, it turned out that they could not speak Polish. They explained that there is no ELF team in their city (it was before Ravens were announced), and that they follow the NFL and support the Carolina Panthers, so they started supporting us as well. It's definitely not an exaggeration to say that we have fans all over Europe.

Why is it worth following you in the upcoming season?

Because we can always surprise and we always fight for the championship - no matter which team we are talking about. Each of our games is always a great spectacle in the best European edition. However, our activities are not limited to talking about sports results, we also take part in various interesting campaigns and support interesting local initiatives. Recently, for example, we started to cooperate with the PWR Racing Team - a motorsport team of Wrocław students who will race in the USA, or together with our sponsor - TIM Catering, we adopted a panther from the Wrocław ZOO. We constantly provide a lot of interesting lifestyle content on social media.