Pinnock standing tall in male-dominated sports industry
Published:Sunday | December 5, 2021 | 12:12 AMRachid Parchment - Assistant Sports Editor
JAMAICA’S SPORTING industry is a male-dominated one, but Paula Pinnock is one woman who has made her mark in the field.
Noted as one of the leaders in the field of Sports Management, Pinnock has taken the experience she has gained to establish Free Your Image (FYI) Consultancy Group in 2013.
Although FYI’s focus is not limited to sports, it has played a role in major sporting events that have taken place in Jamaica over the last decade, including the FIFA World Cup Trophy Tour, the Samsung Cup (a local schoolboy football competition), Jamaica’s staging of the Concacaf Gold Cup football tournament in 2019, and most recently, the Jamaica Premier League.
Loving sports
Pinnock says that her inspiration for this career path came from growing up loving sports.
“I’ve always loved sports,” she shared. “I have been going to Champs since I was in high school. Sitting in the bleachers between Rabalac (Calabar High School fans) and JC (Jamaica College) and all the banter that used to happen back then, and I absolutely loved it.
“I remember saving my lunch money to go see the Reggae Boyz take on my favourite team, Brazil, ahead of the ‘98 World Cup. It’s not work for me, it’s doing what I love and I’m thankful I was given the opportunity to do it. Yvonne Wilks (Pinnock’s friend, a communications specialist) convinced me I would flourish in this male-dominated field and I have never looked back.”
Pinnock is not fazed by being a woman in a male-dominated field. She says she has overcome it by first accepting it as what it is, and not what she wants it to be.
“Sports is still a male-dominated industry and that’s a fact. I don’t let it bother me,” she said. “I have a great team around me and I take it one project at a time.
“I recall hosting a meeting once with JFF (Jamaica Football Federation) and Concacaf officials and Captain (Horace) Burrell (late former JFF president) saying to all the attendants before negotiations began, ‘Do not underestimate this lady, she’s small but she’s powerful.’
“That stuck with me, being the only female there. I know when I walk into a room, I will have to work a little harder, but I’m not intimidated by it. I relish the opportunity to let my work do the talking.”
Pinnock credits her mother as the example of the person she was to become.
“My biggest inspiration in life as a mom, as a businesswoman, as a human being, is my mother,” she said. “She literally pulled herself up from nothing by simply believing in herself. That’s my approach in everything I do.”
Pinnock has even bigger aims for FYI, but says its growth and the direction it takes over the next few years is up to God.
“It’s up to God and His plan for me,” she said. “I truly believe there’s a purpose for all of us and, most importantly, there’s a plan for all of us. So I’m open to whatever God has planned for me.”