What is a KPI?
Most clubs say their KPI (Key Performance Indicators) are translated into the Points showed at the League Table.

Unfortunately (to some), it isn’t.

Points are a RESULT – are lagging indicators.

Points may tell you what has already happened.

But, they don’t tell you whether the Institution is healthy.

They don’t tell you whether Success is Sustainable.

They don’t tell you if collapse is already forming underneath.

And in Football, collapse rarely announces itself.

It accumulates, quietly, from small inefficiencies, small losses, lack of Consistency, Culture, etc.

Points Are Visible. 

Structure Is Not, in the great majority of the cases.

The Industry obsesses over:

• League position
• Short-term streaks
• Immediate Performance
• Headlines

But the question could easily be:

• What is actually Sustaining this Performance?

Because, one can assume Performance to be inflated by a thousand factors (mostly external).

Structure you cannot..

Do you want examples?
There are thousands, almost every Season – for the good and the bad.

Clubs getting relegated the year, or less than 3 years, after becoming surprisingly League Champions or playing on European Competitions, when no one expected.

Or Clubs preparing for success, with multiple and consistent good results, before the big win!

Because, in Football, one can win with:

• Momentum
• Individual Brilliance
• Emotional spikes
• Favourable Cycles

But you cannot Sustain without:

• Governance Clarity
• Financial Discipline
• Recruitment Alignment
• Institutional Continuity

Winning is visible, publicly loud – and everyone wants to show-up at the front!

Institutional Strength is silent.

But powerful.

If I had to define the real KPI of a Football Club, it would not be only the Points.

It would definitely be Competitive Stability.

And, for me, Competitive Stability depends on 4 (four) pillars:

1. Governance Clarity
2. Asset Growth
3. Financial Sustainability
4. Decision Alignment

Let’s break that down into questions, the ones you can use to build yours!

1. Governance Clarity

I’ve spoke about Governance before, some months back.

It’s not a flashy theme, or one that creates immediate reaction into the audience – regardless who you’re speaking with.

But, as mentioned then, “Theory supports the Practical side, always”.

Then, the most important questions are:

• What are the Values, Vision and Objectives?
• Are all at the Club aware of them?
• Then, who decides?
• Why?
• Based on what criteria?
• With what time horizon for accomplishing them?
• Is the staff aware of the Decision-Making Processes, and Chain of Command?
• How is that Hierarchy created? Why?

Simply put, Clubs that blur Decision-Making Authority eventually blur Accountability.

And when Accountability disappears, Performance becomes volatile – there’s no one Responsible for any, because the problem became global, institutional.

Structure is not Bureaucracy, if made right.

It is Protection.

Sometimes, against ourselves and our own success.

2. Asset Growth

Players are not just Athletes, but they are Sporting assets.

Clubs must understand:

• Acquisition Timings
• Development Cycles (ie. Enzo Fernandez remained at SL Benfica for less than 6 months, Darwin Nunez stayed for years before resale, Ederson or Oblak signed at a really young age and went through a different Development Cycle before sold. Same Club, different Strategies)
• Contract Planning (ie. Chelsea FC and their Contracts length to minimize immediate Financial impact)
• Resale Strategy (ie. Portuguese Clubs Investment Strategy as an European Hub for South Americans, or as their first step into a more mature markets, etc)

It starts with the Acquisition Timings – as evaluating a broader perspective of signing a Player, with elements as:

• When are we buying this Player (Summer or Winter Market)
• At what Stage we evaluate this Player (ie. To Develop, Young Star or Mature)
• At what price?
• What are the immediate Expectations?
• What is the Individual Plan for this Player?
• What Markets look for these Player Profiles?
• Do we have a strong Network at those Markets? Or History of successful sales?

A Club that wins but destroys Asset Value is not Healthy.

It is gambling.

Asset Growth reflects Strategic Maturity, on and off the field.

Consistency favors those that provide a context.

Just like Facilities aren’t just rocks and buildings, they are potential Revenue Streams – everything at a Football Club must be studied correctly, Promoted and Revenues maximized.

3. Financial Sustainability

Ambition without Liquidity Management is dangerous.

What determines Short-term spending?

One doesn’t need to be a genius to understand that this necessity creates:

• Wage inflation
• Contract rigidity
• Transfer dependency
• Operational instability

Only to chase immediate results!

Don’t get me wrong here, this can happen to everyone!
However, the great majority of the cases are predictable, expected, if one observes it from distance.

Financial Discipline is almost as a USP, a Competitive Intelligence (and Advantage).

Stable Cash-Flow protects Sporting Decision-Making.

4. Decision Alignment

Vision, Mission, Values and Objectives.

Strategic Planning.

Methodology.

Technical Detailed Direction.
Recruitment Guidelines, Players Profile & Policies.
Financial Principles & Planning.
Performance Model – adapting within definitive boundaries.

Departments Aligned.

All must point in the same Direction, with Clarity and Transparency.

One thing is sure, Misalignment does not appear immediately.

It appears 12–24 months later, depending on the the scoreline, and People at the Club.

Normally, when Performances and Results (consequently, always) drop, when Coaches change, when Identity dissolves.

Points don’t measure Alignment.

Structure does.

Another disclaimer here – Winning matters, regardless the age.

But it must be understood correctly, put into the right Context.

Winning is an OUTPUT.

Structure is the INPUT.

This is the point here.

The Real Executive Question cannot just be:

“How many points did we get?”

It has to include:

“If we repeat our Decisions for the next 3 Seasons, will we be stronger — or more fragile?”

That is the KPI of a Football Club.

Football is Emotional, always.

We cannot take the Emotional element of The Game.

It always will be.

But Leadership cannot be Reactive.

Leadership must be Structural.

Just like Coaches that are commenting the Game to their athletes are adding ZERO Value to their Game Knowledge growth, and expansion, but can’t prevent talking during the Games or Training Sessions.

It’s loud, sometimes even comfortable, just like the Points one has the League Table.

But the Clubs that truly Understand Performance know that Results fluctuate.

Institutions, on the other hand, endure.

And Endurance is designed.