Member Spotlight: Cherrelle Jefferson Izod, MatchFit

28 May 2025

This month, we caught up with Cherrelle Jefferson Izod, Director at MatchFit, as she heads up the sports comms agency’s new Manchester division.

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Hi Cherrelle, welcome to Spring Gardens! How’s it going so far?

Nice to meet you too! It’s going really well, thank you. Jonny and Shaz have been incredibly welcoming and accommodating since I moved in. I’ve been here for a few weeks now, and I’m loving it.

Great to hear! Tell us a bit about MatchFit and what you do.

Absolutely! MatchFit is a specialist sports communications agency. We focus on PR, events, creative campaign planning and execution, strategy, influence and crisis management. Everyone here lives and breathes sport and is very passionate about what we do.

The agency was founded in 2020 and we have our HQ office in Shoreditch, London. I’ve recently joined as Director of MatchFit North, a new Manchester-based division that I’ll be heading up and overseeing. It’s a really exciting next step for the business and for me personally.

I’ve worked in PR for over eight years across consumer lifestyle and sports brands. Before MatchFit, I led the global Pepsi Football account at my previous agency, which was a lot of fun!

We’ve definitely got a few sports fans around Colony! Who are some of your clients?

One of our founding clients is Manchester City F.C., which is one of the many reasons for our expansion to the north. We do a lot of player profiling and coordinate interviews with their team, so being closer to the action up here felt like a no brainer!

Other accounts under the MatchFit North umbrella include GB Taekwondo, FotMob and MatchWornShirt who are based in Amsterdam but opening a warehouse here very soon.

That’s exciting - especially for our City supporters! Have you worked on any campaigns recently that stand out?

I’m still fairly new to MatchFit, but one standout project the team worked on recently that I loved was supporting the Women’s FA Cup Final, which was between Chelsea and Manchester United.

They took the trophy on a regional tour across the UK, including a stop on Oxford Road in Manchester, where we held community events. People could take part in fun activities like painting pottery shaped like the trophy or sharing score predictions. It was a brilliant way to bring fans into the experience across the country.

Love that! Did you move from London to Manchester to take on your new role?

The opportunity came hand-in-hand with the move. I’m originally from Surrey, but I’ve always loved visiting Manchester throughout my childhood to now, where I’d come up and watch the football with family. When the opportunity to lead MatchFit North presented itself, it felt like the right new challenge. I was excited to try something new.

I now live in West Didsbury, which I love, it’s vibrant and leafy, but still just a short tram ride into the city. And I definitely don’t miss my hour-and-a-half London commute I was doing before! It still blows my mind that I can hop on and off the tram at St Peter’s Square and be at Colony within 30 minutes from my house.

Cherrelle Jefferson Izod, Director at MatchFit

What made you choose a coworking space and why Colony Spring Gardens?

When I first moved, I was working from home full-time, and I quickly realised that wasn’t for me. I’ve always believed that creativity can spark from anywhere, a conversation, a new environment, even your morning commute – so being in a coworking space felt like a good next step.

I started looking into coworking spaces, mainly to connect with new people. I visited a few, including Jactin House and Piccadilly. Colony’s workspaces felt different to others in the city centre, certainly more vibey.

When I found out Spring Gardens was opening, it was perfect because it’s so close to the St Peter’s Square tram stop, and such a nice workspace. Everyone who’s visited has commented on how nice it is. It’s definitely a place I’d be proud to bring clients.

Sounds like a great match. Now that you’re settled in, what’s next for MatchFit North?

The vision is to build out a team here in Manchester, eventually of a similar size and set up to the one in London. Right now, I’m focused on growing our presence, building new business, and even finding new colleagues. So, if there are any sports brands at Colony, or anyone interested in sports PR, I’d love to connect!

Thanks, Cherrelle!If you'd like to hear more about what MatchFit North is up to, connect with Cherrelle on LinkedIn.

For those of you that would like to feature in our next Member Spotlight, email info@colonyco.work.