The Brisbane Lions are proud to showcase the people who work tirelessly behind the scenes to bring to life all the amazing things the Club does both off and on field.

As part of a new series, the Club will highlight staff members from various departments, their roles, background, challenges and advice, to give a snapshot of what it is like to work for the Brisbane Lions.

Matt Headon is the current Business Development Executive at the Club - selling seats and corporate spaces is his forte, as is helping to create a positive image for the Lions both within the AFL industry and beyond.

Matt ensures the Gabba is at capacity come game day, helping our commercial partners and special guests navigate their way around the ground, is one of the key roles he plays at the Club.

We sat down with Matt as he gave us insight into what it is like to be a part of the Lions pride.

How long have you been at the Club and what different roles have you been involved in?

I have been fortunate enough to have been with the Lions since November 2021, with the opportunity to work remotely from Melbourne until the beginning of 2022 in a Sales Consultancy role within the Consumer team.

At the beginning of the 2023 season, I was then provided a chance to change things up and join the Commercial team as a Business Development Executive.

“It’s been a terrific experience, focusing predominantly on match day hospitality for both seasonal clients and single game clients.

What are a few of the best things about working at the Brisbane Lions?

As a sports nuffie, the chance to work at a professional sporting organisation is hard to go past.

Within that of course, there’s plenty of great things about the Lions.

The people are all incredibly welcoming and the flexibility the club provides staff is second to none.

Not to mention the additional benefits of accessing a free state of the art gym, lap pool and sponsor/partner discounts.

What are some of the challenges of working in sport?

Giving up weekends is always a challenge, particularly if your social circles are full of people working regular 9-5 jobs.

Depending on how passionate you are about the club/organisation you work for, on-field performance can also make a big difference on your state of mind.

Being in sales-based roles, things can be significantly harder to sell if the team isn’t going so well (but that’s where you get creative with how you go about it!).

As someone who is now a new parent, I’m looking forward to embracing the challenges that will undoubtedly pop up as I balance parenthood with a career in the world’s best industry.

What are some of the lessons you’ve learnt during your time at the Club?

During my two (and a bit) years at the Lions, there’s been plenty of lessons learnt.

A couple of key takeaways for me are around not being hesitant to make decisions, creativity is applicable to all roles and no question is a bad question.

It’s also amazing to see firsthand, the amount of work that goes into a match day (or any official Lions event for that matter) for both our Men’s and Women’s programs.

What is some advice you’d give to young people wanting to get involved in the industry?

As someone who came along to the industry a little later than most, don’t turn down a role just because it doesn’t tick all of your boxes.

Often within the sports industry, the demand for roles is significantly higher than the supply of roles.

Once you’re inside the four walls, say yes to every opportunity that comes along and you’ll be surprised at the doors that will open for you.

The sports industry in Australia as a whole is quite a close-knit community and word spreads quickly of young up and coming talent.

What would be your goal song?

The Killers – Mr Brightside

Favourite player/players?

If I’m being forced to pick a Lions player, it’d have to be Cobra Kai (Lohmann) – absolute jet and love to see him getting a sustained crack at the top level.

Growing up as a non-Lions supporter, Liam Baker from the Tigers and Scott Pendlebury from the Magpies are also standouts for different reasons.

Favourite moment or experience from working at the Lions?

While the Grand Final is high on a lot of people’s lists, as someone who plays a part in trying to fill the Gabbatoir for our home games, anytime we get a sellout and the Gabba is pumping, makes you feel great about your job!

Elimination final against Richmond in 2022 and Preliminary Final against the Blues in 2023 definitely make the highlight reel.