Professional cricketer Marie Kelly has won a University Campus of Football Business Sports Entrepreneur Competition for her tech-enabled baseball cap.
The 29-year-old – who represents The Blaze and the Northern Superchargers in The Hundred – wowed the judges with her business, Versatail, a venture focused on developing caps designed specifically for women and girls in sport with trademarked technology to adjust the ponytail opening to suit a desired height and style.
Kelly wanted to solve an issue which has persisted with her and fellow players during her cricketing career. Her aim is to see female players being comfortable on the field, enabling them to perform to their highest potential.
The competition – inaugurated by UCFB to celebrate a decade of inspiring the next generation of sports business professionals in Manchester – gave aspiring sports innovators aged 18-30 based in the UK the chance to win £50,000 in value to support their business ideas with the potential to make a real impact in the industry.
The final, hosted at Manchester United’s Old Trafford football ground, saw nine shortlisted finalists present to an expert panel consisting of UCFB founder Brendan Flood; Andrea Chilton, CEO of the English Schools Football Association; Eni Shabani, founder of the Rising Ballers media company; Adrian Harris, chief supply chain officer of Castore; and Sam Mackenzie, CEO of National League football club, Altrincham.
The nine contestants were judged on five criteria – the market opportunity, innovation of the idea, its feasibility, the pitch quality, and the sustainability and impact of the idea.
“My main emotion is shock,” said Kelly of her competition win. “I really didn’t think I would win. I was here for the experience. The process really helped me strategize the business and really think about where I wanted to go with it. To be named the overall winner, I’m really delighted.
“The financial prize takes a bit of a weight off my mind about how to supply the demand that I’ve already got for my products and my caps. Hopefully I can just really develop the product so it’s even better – and service even more women and girls in sports.”
Brendan Flood, chief executive at UCFB, added: “As we mark 10 years in Manchester, we want to celebrate not just our own journey but empower the young entrepreneurs who will shape the future of sport.
“This competition reflected everything UCFB stands for; ambition, innovation, and the belief that the sports industry is powered by creative ideas. The calibre of the entries was incredible so everyone who made the final judging stage deserves immense credit, but Marie was the unanimous choice overall.
“She has done an incredible job establishing her brand and we hope that this financial reward can help Versatail continue to cater for the diverse needs of women and girls in sport at even greater scale.”
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Named in second place overall was Telford-based innovator, Ben Wiser, with his Touchline app development programme tailored specifically for non-league football clubs across the UK offering an easy-to-use, modular platform aimed to boost a club’s fan engagement and commercial opportunities.
Brendan Hourihan, a brand specialist at Amazon by day and founder of KnockOut Clean – a unique, reuseable boxing glove liner that prevents sweat and bacteria build-up – was selected in third place overall.
UCFB has become an established part of the higher education landscape in Manchester over the last decade and prides itself on offering innovative football and sports courses at undergraduate, postgraduate and executive education levels, which are tailor-made to give students and industry professionals the best possible chance of a successful career.
Since the opening of its first campus back at Burney in 2011, UCFB graduates have landed roles at each of the 92 professional football clubs competing across the 2025-26 season. This is in addition to graduates having worked at 12 of the 12 Women’s Super League clubs of 2025-26.