About Final Third
Using the power of sport to lead on sustainability, with people at the heart of the journey.
Final Third is a multi-award winning sport and sustainability consultancy, recognised by the EFL, BASIS, Social economy,
Sports Industry and Sport Positive.
We work with clubs, charities and organisations across sport to provide guidance, training and practical steps on sustainability, helping teams respond to growing environmental and social impact expectations with confidence and credibility.
Our work combines strategic advice, education and delivery, supporting organisations from early planning through to long-term implementation.
Our Experience
Final Third works across the sport sector, supporting organisations at different levels and stages of their sustainability journey.Our experience spans professional clubs and leagues, governing bodies, charities, community organisations and education partners. We work as a campaign partner, within organisations, communities and classrooms.Working across these different contexts allows us to bring perspective and credibility to complex challenges. We understand the realities of sport and the pressures organisations face in turning climate ambition into real, lasting impact.
Meet the Team
Final Third is supported by a growing team and strategic advisory board, bringing together expertise from sport, sustainability, education and community engagement.
Founder and Director
Richard Holmes
Rich is the Founder and Director of Final Third, with over 15 years’ experience across the professional football industry. Having worked within a Premier League and Championship club in coaching, business and education roles, he has led large teams and used sport to engage and empower diverse communities.
Since moving into the sport and climate space, Rich has supported more than 150 sporting organisations on their sustainability journeys, and led several of the world's biggest sport and climate campaigns across the UK and internationally. His projects have earned national recognition with 3 awards from the EFL and BASIS, and nominations with Sport Positive and the Social Economy Awards.
Rich completed an MBA with the University of York with Distinction, achieving two awards for the Highest Achieving Student and the Highest Capstone Project. He is also a Trustee at the Birmingham and Black Country Wildlife Trust.
Project Manager
Emma Bruton-Follis
Emma enjoyed a 15-year career as a professional footballer, representing Aston Villa, Seattle Reign, Seattle Sounders, Birmingham City, Reading and Charlton Athletic, alongside England call-ups at U19 and U23 level. She holds a degree in Sport & Exercise Science from the University of Birmingham and following her playing career, moved into interior design and operations. A passionate advocate for sustainability and climate action, Emma joined Final Third in September 2025 and now leads behaviour change campaigns and project delivery across our work.
Since becoming involved in Final Third's work, Emma has been instrumental in driving impact in grassroots sport - providing opportunities to protect and preserve the very foundations of sport, which is so fundamental to society, and was important in Emma's career and personal development.
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Project Coordinator
Hayley Ladd
Hayley plies her trade full-time in the Women's Super League for Crystal Palace FC, whilst also representing Wales at international level. Alongside her footballing commitments, Hayley works part-time with Final Third on a variety of projects.
With a career spanning nearly 13 years across the women's professional game, including Manchester United, Birmingham City and Bristol City, Hayley brings a unique perspective from inside the football industry.
Alongside her playing career, she developed a strong interest in environmental sustainability and the role football can play in driving meaningful change.
She recently completed an MBA with her thesis exploring the barriers and drivers to sustainability across the Premier League, using Manchester United as a case study.
Education Consultant
Kate Strong
Kate Strong is a behavioural change expert, author, speaker and eco-adventurer, as well as a multiple world record cyclist, age-group World Champion triathlete and former aerospace engineer. Her work blends elite performance with climate advocacy, using sport as a platform to inspire action.
She conceived and completed Climate Cycle, a 3,300-mile ride around mainland Britain on a handmade bamboo bike, engaging 50 communities and climate initiatives along the way. In 2025, she organised Taff Tidy, a mass-participation river clean-up world record, mobilising communities to rethink their impact and protect nature.
Kate supports Final Third with the delivery of educational courses, in particular the Carbon Literacy course which Kate is an experienced facilitator of.
Strategic Advisory Board
Supporting the team at Final Third, a board of experts from the worlds of sport, sustainability, business and academia has been assembled. These are non-executive, voluntary critical friends that meet quarterly and provide guidance, challenge, advice and networking for Final Third.
Samir Ceric
Samir Ceric is an investor, entrepreneur, board advisor, and mental health advocate with a background spanning family office investing, innovation, finance, sport, and emerging technologies. As Chairman of Ceric & Co Single Family Office, he brings a long-term investment perspective shaped by purpose, impact, and responsible leadership. Ceric's experience across innovation-led ventures and emerging technologies brings a valuable investor perspective to the conversation on scaling meaningful health tech and med tech solutions.
With a background as a former, and returning, elite athlete and football club chairman, Ceric brings a wealth of knowledge and a practical understanding of sports dynamics. His dedication to connecting traditional sports with cutting-edge technology has led him to advocate for the adoption of digital innovations, such as blockchain and AI, within the sports sector.
Ruth Shaw OBE
Ruth is an independent consultant with more than 25 years’ experience across sport, culture, and the charity sector, with a strong focus on leadership, social impact and sustainable organisational change. From 2018–2025, she was Chief Executive of the Premier League Foundation, one of the world’s largest sport charities. Previously, she was Chief Executive of the Sports Grounds Safety Authority, overseeing stadium and event safety in the UK and internationally.
She has held senior government roles, including at the Foreign Office and the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, where she worked on the successful London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Bid.
Awarded an OBE in 2024 for services to association football and gender equality, Ruth is a Trustee of the Wimbledon Foundation and a 2025 Churchill Fellow.
Alex Piper
Alex has experience in business strategy, partnerships and sustainability, having worked across men’s, women’s and grassroots football across the UK and Europe.
Whilst working at Liverpool Football Club, he bridged commercial strategy with sustainability impact and drove revenue growth while advancing The Red Way, the Club’s award-winning sustainability programme.
Alex is also a Trustee at sport and environmental charity, Pledgeball and in his spare time is a grassroots football coach.
Maddie Booth
Maddie Booth is a dynamic freelancer working at the cross-section of skills, sustainability, and entrepreneurship. Based in Denver, Colorado. She's had a vast history in the sustainability space, holding roles in the Science Based Targets Initiative, driving forward the SBTi Academy. She has also had roles working at the cross-section of central government in the UK, driving education and sustainability. As well as being a three-time founder. She is now a freelancer and works across multiple different areas, mainly working with corporates and workforce development within large organisations to ensure that green skills, AI skills, and mindset are embedded into employee development.
Dr. Mark Doidge
Dr Mark Doidge is currently a Reader in the School of Sport, Exercise and Health Sciences. After completing a Law degree at Kingston University in the 1990s, he worked in logistics in a multinational telecommunication company in Devon. After transferring the logistics to a new facility in China, he undertook an MA in Ancient History at Exeter University, before completing a PhD in Sociology on Italian football fandom. Mark is an active member of the British Sociological Association (BSA), where he is a trustee for Membership Services and convenor of the Sport Studies Group. He is also Director of the Anti-Discrimination Division of Football Supporters Europe (FSE), as well as being a trustee of Pledgeball (an environmental charity) and Love Football, Hate Racism, and an advisory group member of the Football Supporters Association’s Fans For Diversity.
Our Approach
Our approach is practical and sport-first.
We understand the realities organisations face, including competing priorities, limited capacity and growing expectations. Our role is to help teams make sense of what matters most and focus on action that is credible and achievable.
Rather than one-size-fits-all solutions,
we work collaboratively to support informed decision-making, delivery and long-term impact.
How we can help
Final Third supports organisations across sport through consultancy, campaigns, partnerships and education.
Our work includes strategic advice, campaign creation and delivery, partnership and commercial support, bid writing, education and training programmes, fan and community engagement and advisory and board-level support.
Our wide range of services allows organisations to work with us in different ways, depending on their needs, ambitions and stage of development.
Our Values
Our work is guided by clear principles. We believe sustainability and social impact work in sport should be credible, inclusive and grounded in reality. We prioritise collaboration, transparency and care and focus on delivering work that creates lasting value rather than short-term visibility. These principles shape how we work with partners and how we define success.
People-First
We put relationships and real-world impact at the heart of everything we do.
Purpose-Led
We take on work that aligns with our mission - no greenwash, no box-ticking.
Empowering
We equip people and organisations to lead on sustainability with confidence.
Innovative
We bring fresh thinking, creativity & practical solutions to complex challenges.