NASHVILLE, Tenn. (Feb. 8, 2017) – Nashville Soccer Club announced Wednesday that it has named James Cannon as vice president of marketing and communications.

Cannon comes to Nashville with more than a decade of experience in sports marketing, including serving as the commercial director of the National Basketball Association in Brazil.

In this role, he led the effort to build the NBA marketing partnerships and events platforms to include 15 sponsors of different events including NBA 3X tournaments in five different cities, Jr. NBA programs in two cities, NBA House at the Rio 2016 Olympics and three NBA pre-season games, including the first NBA game hosted in South America.

“It’s a dream come true to join Nashville SC and help expand its reach within the diverse community here,” Cannon said. “I’m honored to be part of the leadership team that will make Nashville’s professional soccer team something the entire city can be proud of.”

Fluent in Portuguese and Spanish, Cannon served as director and strategic consultant at Octagon Sports and Entertainment Agency and led consulting and client acquisition focused on Latin American properties, including the FIFA World Cup and the Rio 2016 Olympics. During this effort, he consulted to some of the globe’s most recognized brands and built marketing and hospitality programs for some of the largest sponsor programs of the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil.

“James checks every box of what we were looking for in terms of experience and understanding how to grow a local team with deep roots in the community,” said Nashville SC CEO Court Jeske. “He is the perfect person to make sure Nashville SC is dedicated to Nashville first, and I look forward to working with him.”

Most recently, Cannon served as the vice president of JMI Sports campus alliances and sponsorships, which develops total campus marketing programs that capitalize on the immense marketing power of a university. Cannon developed the partnership strategy for total campus marketing at Arizona State University, one of the largest universities in the country.

To find out more about Nashville SC, visit NashvilleSC.com.

Nashville SC is Nashville’s professional soccer team, slated to begin play in the USL in 2018. For more information, including how to place your club membership deposit, check out NashvilleSC.com.