Interview with Mohammad Ali Abbaspour, the Founder and CEO of Sponix.
– When were you born and who were your parents?
I was born in 1984, in Tehran, Iran. I lived in Iran for about 30 years before moving to Dubai. I lived in Dubai for several years and I have been in Doha, Qatar ever since. My parents are university professors
– What was your favorite subject to study in school?
Though I liked studying, I always had a passion for football. I was a professional football player in Iran for a few years and a three-time best goal scorer in all the universities in Iran. Sports and football had always been my main interest. A few years later I found out that I have an affinity for technology.
– When did you finish your professional career in football?
By professional career, I don’t mean an international team, I played for a second division team in Iran. And to answer your question, I retired around 2015, about 6 to 7 years ago. One of the reasons was to focus on my business. And also, I had many knee injuries back then.
– What position did you play in football?
Usually, I played center forward. Sometimes, I played number 10 because I like being the playmaker. I liked making the pass more than scoring the goal. I do still play with some friends here in Qatar because here, they have some amateur leagues. I play with them often, maybe 2-3 times a week. I enjoy playing football a lot majorly because it’s my passion and it’s even more exciting that my business is related to my passion.
– Do you remember how many goals you scored?
No, I can’t remember (he smiles).
– How were you able to fend for yourself on the income of a second-division player?
Besides playing football, I always had other things going on. I had my first company, also relating to a sport-tech in 2011, I was a founder of a startup company during that time. So, I was always playing football and studying while also doing my business. I have always been of the opinion that if you are hoping to play football to increase your income, you should strive to be at the highest level of the game. However, I had very good proposals from higher-level teams but accepting them at that moment would mean that I had to stop other things like my business, and study to focus solely on football. Though I have a passion for football, I didn’t want to play football alone and so I decided to not pursue it to a higher level rather, I chose a path that will allow me to continue my study, business, and football altogether.
– What were your parents’ opinions of you playing football seeing that their career is more towards academia?
They were not very accepting of my playing football back then. My father was a little supportive though. Football wasn’t exactly a conventional career path for my family and this was challenging and also one of the reasons I chose not to continue to pursue football as my career path. However, they were so supportive of my startups in the sports world.
– Which University did you attend?
I studied Engineering and IT management. Sharif University of Technology.is the best university in Iran and one of the best in the region. Usually, the majority of the sharif’s alumni go to the USA and Europe’s top universities for further study. I continued my program in Iran but after that, I moved to UAE.
– How were you able to manage a football career and study engineering at the same time?
As I said earlier, I played for a second-tier football team. We trained five days a week and had one game. Sometimes we had two sessions per day. Right now, I am actively engaged and busy with Sponix and still, I play twice a week and for each match, I am engaged for at least 4 hours. It’s been more intense these days because it’s almost 10 days to the launch of our new technology. In all this, I still find time to play football and other things. I don’t feel any pressure because when you love what you do, you’ll be able to find time for anything else you like to do.
– Why did you choose to major in Engineering?
I started engineering in 2002, right after school. It was the best decision I ever made because it shaped my way of thinking on how to look at problems and how to look for solutions for those problems.Then I continued my study in the field of IT Management and it helped me to have a better vision for managing my startups later.
– Amidst the business and sports, did you find time to have a family? If yes, can you tell us about your family?
Of course. Family is the most important thing in the world. Here are my two daughters -the older one is Fatima and the younger Rihanna. Family is my top priority. Without any doubt, my wife is a big part of Sponix’s success. Although she is a teacher and has her duties, she helped me to focus on my many concerns in the company as well.
– When did you get married?
About 11 years ago.
– What are your favorite hobbies?
I play football with whatever free time I have. Sometimes I also play ESport and other games or watch movies and series.
