D E V E L O P I N G T H E N E X T G E N E R AT I O N O F L E A D E R S F O R T H E B E S T B U S I N E S S E S I N S P O R T
Setbacks are part and parcel of the game and there isn’t one manager who hasn’t gone through them. CHRIS HUGHTON
EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW with the Brighton & Hove Albion manager
ROBERTO MARTINEZ on education for managers GABBY LOGAN on being a trailblazer NIALL QUINN on life as a player and owner KELLY CHAMBERS on the growth of women’s football Also inside…
Brexit How will the UK’s exit from the EU affect the sports industry? A W O R L D F I R S T I N S P O R T S E D U C AT I O N
Kick It Out at 25 How the equality body continues to build bridges
YOUR CAREER IN FOOTBALL AND SPORT A world first in higher education, UCFB is dedicated to the delivery of university degrees in the football and sports industry that prepare students for a life within the global multi-billion pound world of sports business.
UCFB WEMBLEY STUDENTS AT THE HOME OF ENGLISH FOOTBALL
With state-of-the-art facilities at campuses in London and Manchester, and a range of sector-leading industry partnerships connecting students with work placements at hundreds of sports organisations, the UCFB approach gives you the best chance of a successful career upon graduation. Find out more about the degrees on offer at UCFB and how to apply by calling 033 306 01973 or visit ucfb.com www.ucfb.com UCFB ucfbuk ucfbuk
THE UCFB ETIHAD CAMPUS WAS OPENED IN 2016
ucfbuk T: +44(0) 333 241 7333 E: info@ucfb.com
WELCOME
THE FUTURE OF SPORT IS HERE
UCFB CHAIRMAN BRENDAN FLOOD
to the second edition of Future Sport – thank you for picking us up. From the Premier W elcome League to eSports, we’ve got it covered in our latest edition. At UCFB we continue to drive change and innovation, evidence of which can be seen throughout this edition and none more so than in a feature with equality campaigners Kick It Out, who this year marked their 25th anniversary and partnered with UCFB to launch The Next 25 Scholarship. Between the two organisations, we will continue to champion equal opportunities for all in the football and sports industry. Equality and diversity is a big feature with our cover star, Brighton & Hove Albion manager Chris Hughton. In an exclusive interview with the Seagulls boss, Hughton shares his experiences in the game and how we can all play our part to make it as diverse and accessible as possible. Over two thirds of UCFB graduates work in the football and sports industry, and here we feature some of incredible alumni in their places of work. These young men and women are testament to the hard work and attitude we encourage all students to have to ensure they give themselves the very best chance of success in their chosen careers. Other features include us looking at the potential challenges the industry may face once the UK leaves the European Union, the increasing issue of doping and performance enhancement within a number of sports and what stadiums of the future may look like. When we were putting together the inaugural Future Sport in late 2017, little could we have predicated the year our cover star Gareth Southgate – and his waistcoat – were about to have. So, Brighton fans, if you’re a fan of omens, you can thank us in May!
BRENDAN FLOOD Chairman of UCFB Director at Burnley FC Co-founder of Orlando City SC
Tomorrow’s talent, today
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UCFB GRADUATE ALEXANDER BROWN NOW WORKS AS A VIDEO PRODUCER FOR THE FOOTBALL ASSOCIATION
CONTENTS
4 IN CONVERSATION WITH…
NIALL QUINN
The former Sunderland player, manager and chairman tells us about the ups and downs of the game
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WHERE ARE THEY NOW?
INDUSTRY INSIGHTS WITH…
INDUSTRY INSIGHTS WITH…
Highlighting the work UCFB students are doing with clubs around the country
BBC Sports’ leading light on breaking into mainstream media
Find out where UCFB’s graduates are working and influencing the future of the sports industry
THE NATIONAL LEAGUE
GABBY LOGAN
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THE GLASS CEILING
UCFB CHAIRMAN BRENDAN FLOOD
FUTURE SPORT COVER STAR
Growth, opportunity and leadership
Brighton manager Chris Hughton talks equality, diversity, being a role model, and biding his time for the big job
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IN CONVERSATION WITH…
BREXIT
We ask leading female figures in sport if there’s a glass ceiling for women in the industry
HOWARD WILKINSON The LMA chairman on the importance of creating a culture
ESPORTS IS NOW A $1.5BN INDUSTRY. FIND OUT MORE ON PAGE 58
ENGLAND TAKE ON CROATIA IN NOVEMBER 2018
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INDUSTRY INSIGHTS WITH…
EDUCATION IS EVERYTHING
THE RUGBY FOOTBALL LEAGUE
How the governing body and UCFB are helping to influence the future of the sport
Just what will Brexit mean for the UK sports industry? We take a look…
Belgium boss Roberto Martinez on the importance of education for the aspiring coach
WEMBLEY STADIUM IS PART OF THE CAMPUS AT UCFB WEMBLEY
44 INDUSTRY INSIGHTS WITH…
COVENTRY CITY
We find out how a unique deal is helping the League One club and UCFB students
CONTENTS
SUBJECT KEY
MEDIA
COACHING BUSINESS EVENTS
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STADIUMS OF THE FUTURE
IN CONVERSATION WITH…
An in-depth five page special on the affect modern stadiums are having on the sports and events industries in the UK and US
UCFB’s stadium guru chats modern stadiums and the fan experience
52 INDUSTRY INSIGHTS WITH…
NIKE
How the sportswear brand and UCFB are leading the way with innovation
JARNO STEGEMAN
55 FOOTBALL IS FOR EVERYONE
2018 saw Kick It Out mark its 25th year in operation. Here, we discuss their future plans
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ESPORTS – THE FUTURE IS NOW
BRANDON SMITH & RICHARD BUCKLEY
A $1.5bn industry and how two UCFB students are the voices of a generation – we’ve got it covered
The UCFB students taking the FIFA video game by storm tell us about the eSport and its bright future
FUTURE SPORT EDITORIAL // EDITOR Neil Hawkins // DEPUTY EDITORS William Brittlebank - James McKeown Ray Boggiano // PRODUCTION EDITOR Sonja Vanhanen // ART EDITOR Alex Cadoni // PHOTOGRAPHY Alex Dunn - Agnes Kotwinska Jamie Holker - Glen Demuth The FA via Getty Images All written content by Neil Hawkins unless credited INDUSTRY PARTNERS The Football Association League Managers Association The National League Kick It Out Nike The Rugby Football League English School’s FA Burnley FC Real Madrid Graduate School Bucks New University Special thanks to The Football Association Brighton & Hove Albion FC College Hill Press EDITORIAL COPYRIGHT
The contents of this magazine, both words
67 SPORTS FORECAST
Future Sport looks into its crystal ball to predict the coming years in the sports industry
72 IN CONVERSATION WITH…
KELLY CHAMBERS
We talk the future of the women’s game with the Reading FC Ladies’ legend
and statistics, are strictly copyright and the intellectual property of UCFB. Copying or reproduction may only be carried out with written permission of the publishers, which will normally not be withheld on payment of a fee. Article reprints: Most articles published in Future Sport are available as reprints by prior arrangement from the publishers. Normal minimum print run for reprints is 400 copies, although larger and smaller runs are possible.
www.ucfb.com footballisthebusiness ucfbuk ucfbuk ucfbuk T: +44(0) 333 241 7333 E: info@ucfb.com
MEDIA | COACHING | BUSINESS
IN CONVERSATION WITH
NIALL QUINN From your experience in numerous roles in the football industry, how do you see the role of modern day managers and coaches?
Player, pundit, coach, chairman, entrepreneur. If there’s a job in football, the chances are that Niall Quinn has already done it. From his playing days leading the line at Arsenal, Manchester City and Sunderland, to keeping fans entertained with his punditry skills on Sky Sports, and then returning to the Stadium of Light to lead the club as chairman, Quinn knows the game inside out. So who better to speak to about the intricacies of the football industry than a man who played in two World Cups for the Republic of Ireland…
Howard Kendall signed me for Manchester City and he made me feel like a million dollars. His man management, his motivational ability, the techniques he used would be scoffed at today. If I compare that to one of the finest managers of the current crop, Jose Mourinho, he blames players when things go wrong. That would not have happened when I was a player. I had one particularly awful game under Howard, and in the press conference afterwards he asked the press if they had seen the unheralded work Niall Quinn had put in. I went in to training on Monday, my boss had made me feel good in front of the public world, and I was ready to do anything for him. That’s the way it was in my day and I think now, talking to some of the managers, you daren’t even go that far in terms of getting the best out of them. I think that managers now have to wear gloves and treat players more preciously. How has it developed that way? I think there are a number of reasons – the Bosman rule, players getting all the power; after one row with a club they can go and join another one very easily. You couldn’t do that in the past, so for management, techniques have to be very different. You’ve played under some outstanding coaches, and coached in the Premier League yourself. What attributes do aspiring coaches and managers need to have if they want to excel in a professional environment?
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TITLE
NIALL QUINN SPOKE TO UCFB STUDENTS AT THE WEMBLEY CAMPUS
I think an individual’s coaching will be so much better if they understand the profile and the personality of the players involved. Some might be good, some might be bad, but understanding where each person is gives you an awful lot more scope to get a deeper, more meaningful approach and in turn lead to a better pathway for all of those players. To me that’s proper coaching, not showing a guy how to develop an overhead bicycle kick. I think it’s good that you can do that and have an extra strength, but to build a powerful player in terms of self-respect and the ambition players should have, find out the type of person that player is. Your experience in business has been wide and varied. Broadband, a publican, not to mention Sunderland. What’s next and how do you decide what to invest your time and money into?
You need to have a passion for what you do in business, and my businesses have always been loosely connected back to football. The latest venture I’ve started is Catch A Falling Star, which is about preparing footballers to enter into some form of transition to be ready and prepared for their life when they finish playing. In order to get that to work we need to change the culture in our dressing rooms; a culture understanding of a footballer’s behaviour, understanding of their partners and of their parents – of how influential they can be in providing a soft landing for when the career ends. Because quite frankly, if you forget about football for now, this is an industry that tells you you’re finished at 35. That’s the mentality in place now. Your life should be starting at 35. > ARTICLE CONTINUES Tomorrow’s talent, today
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IN CONVERSATION WITH: NIALL QUINN
You’ve famously played for and managed Sunderland. But what was it like to be chairman of the club and run things behind the scenes? Football has evolved into an incredible place. It’s funny, if a manager gets it wrong and the players play poorly on the pitch, the first thing the fans say is “sack the board”. It’s an amazing thing to be an administrative giant who’s brilliant at your job, but your life depends on how a few young lads on a football pitch get on every week. It’s a crazy place to be. Then again, you might not be as good at your job as others but the guys on the pitch are doing it and you look a million dollars. Somewhere in there you’ve got to have the conviction about yourself that what you’re doing is correct and, regardless of those around you, what you’re doing is enough to be bigger and better than looking over your shoulder all the time. I had many verticals that I’d never encountered in my life before in such an aggressive way, where people wanted so much news about the football club. As a player I had the odd reporter want to do an interview with me, but when I became chairman at Sunderland my day had a headache waiting at every meeting and every door that opened, be it sponsors, the local media or supporters’ groups. We couldn’t over promise and under deliver, we had to under promise and over deliver.
“YOU NEED TO HAVE A PASSION FOR WHAT YOU DO IN BUSINESS”
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Tomorrow’s talent, today
Wearing your TV hat, how do you think punditry and analysis of the game on television evolved over the years? Technically it’s advanced into an unbelievable space. The whole football analysis story has moved on so much from what I would have seen as the classic legends at this type of thing, like Brian Clough on a Sunday morning with Brian Moore. He used to come on as a big manager and do the big match stuff, and he was just dynamite because he could say anything he wanted on TV. It was provoking, it was really shoving it into the other managers and creating this most incredible resentment for him in many ways, but adoration from the public. I joined in when my career finished in 2003, and started working with Sky a couple of years before I went back to buy Sunderland. From Brian Clough’s time to then, it had changed totally. Obviously Sky had come in and done their bit, the BBC reacted and everybody was moving it to a different place. In the last few years I’ve been at Sky I’ve seen an evolution. There is a demand out there from the customer who has paid their money for this offering: “I want total analysis. I want the depth of analysis to be something that I can go to the pub and I can say to my mates ‘I know more than you’”, so you have to adapt to that.
THE WORLD’S LEADING AUTHORITY IN AMERICAN SPORTS SCHOLARSHIPS SINCE 2001. Created by athletes for athletes, FirstPoint USA is the original scholarship agency. Since it was founded in 2001, FirstPoint has secured scholarships in over 20 sports for over 7,000 sportsmen and women across the UK, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand. We have brokered over $150million in scholarship deals on their behalf in sports including football, rugby, golf, field hockey and lacrosse. Initially working with 14 athletes, FirstPoint now interviews over 26,000 applicants each year from around the world, with 600 scholarships secured by FirstPoint on an annual basis. Past FirstPoint USA students include 2016 Masters champion Danny Willet, former England hockey player Dulcie Davis and HSBC Shangai Masters champion Russell Knox. Danny Willett – 2016 US Masters winner, Ryder Cup player and FirstPoint USA scholar Danny signed with FirstPoint USA in 2005 and secured a golf scholarship to the NCAA Division I program at Jacksonville State University the same year. During his amateur career, he won the English Amateur Championship in 2007 before becoming the number one ranked amateur in the world in March 2008. Willett turned pro two months later and earned his European
info@firstpointusa.com Tel: 0871 641 3010
Tour card for the 2009 season coming through qualifying school, and the following year he entered the top 100 world rankings for the first time. His first success on the European Tour came in June 2012 at the BMW International Open in Cologne, beating Marcus Fraser on the fourth extra hole of a thrilling sudden death playoff. At the 2015 Open, Willett recorded his then-best major
finish with a tie for sixth on the famous Old Course at St. Andrews. The 2016 Masters though is where Willett made his name. A brilliant five under par final found at Augusta National saw the Englishman take advantage of a back nine collapse from home favourite Jordan Spieth to become the first Brit to win the famous green jacket for 20 years.
www.firstpointusa.com
MEDIA | COACHING | BUSINESS | EVENTS
WHERE ARE THEY NOW? AS PIONEERS IN THE GLOBAL SPORTS INDUSTRY, UCFB GRADUATES ARE WORKING AROUND THE WORLD IN A MULTITUDE OF DIFFERENT ROLES. AND WITH MORE THAN TWO-THIRDS OF ALUMNI WORKING IN THE WORLD OF SPORT, THEIR STORIES PROVIDE A FASCINATING INSIGHT INTO THE MOST EXCITING INDUSTRY ON THE PLANET. HERE, WE HIGHLIGHT SOME OF THE ROLES OPEN TO GRADUATES…
“My favourite aspect to working in sport is that every day is different. the people that you meet, the players that you meet and the impact you get to have on their journeys, for me it’s really valuable to know that you can look back and think you had an impact on them.”
JEMMA
ENTWISTLE
UCFB Graduate 2017
Co-founder at The Coaching Edge and Girls’ Regional Talent Club Coach at Blackburn Rovers
MEDIA ALEXANDER BROWN
UCFB Graduate 2015
BASTIAN
HILDEBRAND
UCFB Graduate 2017
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Tomorrow’s talent, today
COACHING
“We’re scouting players with the goal being to find a player in the next few years who can then move to Turin and hopefully make it all the way there. Home grown players are what fans always desire, but if they come from another country then even better because you can then build a fan base in that country as well.” Marketing Manager at Juventus Academy London
“Be patient, gain the knowledge, and if you want to be a player, coach, official, journalist, commentator, marketer, lawyer, consultant, chief executive, YouTuber or whatever – someone will pay you to do it.” Video Producer at The Football Association
MARKETING
WHERE ARE THEY NOW?
MEDIA LIANNA BAGLEY
UCFB Graduate 2018
“Initially it didn’t occur to me that I could work in the game that I love without being on the pitch. When you go to a match you don’t realise that if you’re in the stadium that there are people behind the scenes making it happen and helping the stadium operate.”
BEN
FRIEND
UCFB Graduate 2015
JAMES
SANDFORD
UCFB Graduate 2016
MIYASHITA
UCFB Graduate 2015
Radio Presenter at Wembley Live
EVENTS
Events Manager at The Football Association
BUSINESS
MANFREDI
“You might have a presenter role, but you’re not just going to be sat in front of a screen doing that. You are going to have to help with other bits like the editing; everyone has to play their part within a team.”
“A marketer needs to develop a ‘marketing mind-set’. Be constantly curious, always stay on the look-out for new opportunities and seek ways to add value in every relationship and situation you are in.”
“Have I always wanted to work in insurance? Probably not. But for someone who is a massive football and sports fan this job works really well. I get up in the morning and all I do is sport – it’s absolutely ideal.” Placing Broker at AON
MARKETING
Marketing and Sales Executive at Reset Group
Tomorrow’s talent, today
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WHERE ARE THEY NOW?
“Be confident in what you’re saying as a coach. That way the player has the verification of that you’re saying is true.”
WESLEY
MCGRATH
COACHING
Youth Football Coach
UCFB Graduate 2017
BUSINESS SAAD
WADIA
UCFB Graduate 2017
“A sport specific education is important because it gives you the understanding of how sport works – there are so many different areas to consider within any sport as a business.”
LINO
ALTIERI
UCFB Graduate 2015
LEAH
JAKEMAN
UCFB Graduate 2016
Tomorrow’s talent, today
Co-founder at Avalon Sports Group
EVENTS
Memberships & Events Coordinator at Leicester City
LAW
10
“There are so many positions within football clubs that are still growing; there are departments that don’t even exist right now. There are so many opportunities to jump in to and to create for yourself. That is so exciting.”
“I have showed what a personable and impressionable individual I am and that has gone a long way. Juggling study, a part-time job and experience in the profession I wish to pursue has been difficult but the hard-work has certainly paid off.” Legal Assistant at Milners Law
WHERE ARE THEY NOW?
LEWIS PAYNE
UCFB Graduate 2015
“In places such as North America there isn’t much between the likes of the NFL, NBA and MLB. You need to be able to transfer all skills not only between countries, but between sports in the same country at times in order to get to the top.” Event Operations Associate at EDP Soccer
“In sport, don’t be afraid of change because one day you could be doing one thing and the next day it takes a completely new direction.”
MARKETING HAYLEY REED
Marketing Executive at Chelsea FC
UCFB Graduate 2017
“Hard work is most important. Being willing to put in the hours, even when it gets tough and may be going beyond what’s expected of you, but if you’re willing to come in and do your best all the time that is really crucial. I love coming to work every day. Doing a six-day week doesn’t bother me because I love what I do.”
JOSH
ARNOLD
UCFB Graduate 2017
EVENTS
PHYSICAL EDUCATION
Sports Coach at Aldro Prep School for Boys
BUSINESS JOE
THOMPSON
UCFB Graduate 2017
“Traits I believe that are essential to working in the football industry are to be a good communicator and be confident in yourself and your abilities. Every day is a new challenge and something different is occurring, and I get that on a day-to-day basis.” Commercial Coordinator at Stoke City
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INDUSTRY INSIGHTS | THE NATIONAL LEAGUE MEDIA | COACHING | BUSINESS | EVENTS
LOOKING TO THE FUTURE: UCFB AND THE NATIONAL LEAGUE AN INNOVATIVE PARTNERSHIP BETWEEN UCFB AND THE NATIONAL LEAGUE HAS ENABLED STUDENTS TO VISIT THE CLUBS ACROSS THE THREE DIVISIONS TO BOOST STAFF NUMBERS ACROSS VARIOUS DEPARTMENTS AND SUPPORT THEIR EDUCATION IN THE PROFESSIONAL FOOTBALL ENVIRONMENT. FROM MEDIA TO COACHING, THESE PLACEMENTS NOT ONLY HELP STUDENTS GAIN THE NECESSARY EXPERIENCE TO SUCCEED IN THE SPORTS INDUSTRY, BUT IT ALSO ENABLES THE CLUBS TO FURTHER ENGAGE WITH THEIR FAN BASE. HERE, WE HIGHLIGHT JUST SOME OF THE GROUND-BREAKING WORK STUDENTS AND CLUBS ARE UNDERTAKING...
THE CLUB
WESTON-SUPER-MARE AFC
UCFB STUDENT
Areas that I look at include how many users are reached by social media posts and what the engagement rate of these posts are. From this data, I’m able to make recommendations based on what is working well and what isn’t. This is a vital role for any club as it gives concrete evidence of the content that fans enjoy. My role is the driving force behind what the marketing team create and put out to fans. JONATHAN GILDER BA (Hons) Football Business & Marketing
THE BOSS’ VIEW
“Jonny’s data skills and knowledge have really helped the marketing team to understand what our supporters want to see from the club online. The information he provides has helped us to break almost every social media related record the club had multiple times over. The club’s marketing strategy has been totally transformed this year, and Jonny’s role as our Marketing Data Analysist has certainly played a big part in that transformation.” ALEX CROWTHER | Marketing & Communications Manager at Weston-Super-Mare AFC
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INDUSTRY INSIGHTS
UCFB STUDENTS AT NATIONAL LEAGUE NORTH CLUB FC UNITED OF MANCHESTER
THE CLUB
AFC BARROW After the partnership between The National League and UCFB was announced, I was approached by Barrow to get involved with the marketing side of the club and help come up with ideas to increase footfall. I have since been working with the Managing Director to analyse fan behaviour and find out reasons as to why fans come and go. There can be very different attendances at Barrow, varying from 700 to 1,200 fans, so we are currently exploring why this might be in the hope of increasing the attendance and its overall consistency.
UCFB STUDENT
ANJA WOOD BA (Hons) Football Business & Marketing
THE BOSS’ VIEW
“Our partnership with UCFB has proved very valuable to a club like ours. Working with their students allows us to benefit from their knowledge and skills in a variety of different areas, whilst allowing them to learn in the busy environment of a professional football club. It is a unique tie-up that allows them to gain hands on experience whilst providing us with their energy and enthusiasm.” RYAN SUTHERLAND | Media Manager at AFC Barrow
Tomorrow’s talent, today
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THE CLUB
CURZON ASHTON
UCFB STUDENT My knowledge of coaching and managing skills, including different types of practices, coaching and how to approach match days, have improved massively over the 18 months I have been at the football club. The people I have met have been unbelievable and are giving me the extra education that will stay with me for the rest of my career. RORY SHADBOLT BA (Hons) Football Coaching & Management
THE BOSS’ VIEW
“We are delighted to give UCFB students experience in a range of departments at the club; we have found the partnership to be a very positive experience. The students we’ve had at the club, including Rory, have been very professional in all aspects of their involvement and we look forward to working with more UCFB students in the future.” MARK BRADSHAW | Head Coach at Curzon Ashton
THE CLUB
NUNEATON BOROUGH FC
UCFB STUDENT
This was a great opportunity for myself to gain some valuable experience at a football club like Nuneaton Borough. My work had a positive impact on the club during a busy and exciting period leading up to the 2018/19 season. With Boro being my local National League club, there was also an extra incentive to work hard and push the club’s media content forward. SAM BETTANY BA (Hons) Football Business & Media
THE BOSS’ VIEW
“Football is an incredibly competitive marketplace and opportunities can be scarce. I started out as a volunteer and that experience stood me in good stead to transition in to a full-time job, so I’m only too happy to help others get a foothold as they start their careers. Sam’s a bright young man and shows great work ethic, and we were delighted to have him on-board helping to improve the output of the club in what was a busy summer for us.” ADAM ETHERIDGE | Assistant Secretary at Nuneaton Borough
INDUSTRY INSIGHTS
THE CLUB
MAIDENHEAD UNITED
UCFB STUDENT
On a typical match day, I will prepare digital material and control the media accounts in the run-up to kick-off. Throughout the game, I provide online commentary and graphics for social media. Post-match is my busiest period, where I plan and conduct interviews with the management staff and players; which are then featured in The National League Highlights programme on BT Sport. GRACE SCOTT BA (Hons) Football Business & Media
THE BOSS’ VIEW
“Grace has made an immediate impact at the club with her efficient and polite manner and the quality of her work. From initially offering graphic design - a skillset our media team of volunteers were lacking - Grace’s confidence has quickly grown in so much as she can already be trusted with using her own initiative in conducting post match interviews and running the club’s match day Twitter commentary. Grace is a great ambassador for UCFB and for our football club, and our players even approach her to request their own bespoke designs following the success of her Wallpaper Wednesday creations!” NEIL MASKELL | Fixtures Secretary at Maidenhead United
Tomorrow’s talent, today
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INDUSTRY INSIGHTS
INDUSTRY INSIGHTS | GABBY LOGAN | MEDIA
Logan leads the way There are trailblazers, and then there’s Gabby Logan. As one of the BBC’s premier presenters, there isn’t a major sporting occasion she hasn’t fronted. From the FIFA World Cup to the Olympic Games, she’s done it all. At a time when broadcasters are more conscious than ever of female representation on our screens, Logan has been leading the way for all television personalities. A former Welsh international gymnast, Logan’s television career began in earnest in 1998 when she fronted ITV’s football show, On the Ball. Her broadcasting career at ITV included hosting two live UEFA Champions League Finals in 2005 and 2006. Since leaving for the BBC in 2006, Logan has been a focal point of Match of the Day, Final Score and the annual Sports Personality of the Year event. So it’s fair to say she has experience across the board, something Logan believes is key to any aspiring sports media professional. “We say get experience, but how do you do that?” she says. And while acknowledging nothing can beat the real thing of being in a newsroom or television studio, there are also a number of other initiatives. “You can go to a park, watch a game and write a match report on it and then see how it matches up against one from a national paper. That’s something that you can be practicing all the time.” Logan adds: “You can easily practice commentating or practice interviewing. What questions would you ask people from that game? Which player would you want to speak to? Why would you want to speak to that player? You can practice that by just watching TV.”
“I KEPT KNOCKING ON MY BOSS’S DOOR ASKING TO DO LIVE SPORT.”
GABBY LOGAN SPEAKING TO STUDENTS AT UCFB WEMBLEY Where Logan has led the way for female broadcasters in recent years, more great talent has followed. Jacqui Oatley and Alex Scott were front and centre of the World Cup coverage in Russia, and on Sky the likes of Kelly Cates and Laura Woods are regulars in their live Premier League coverage. When looking for that experience at the start of her career, Logan, 45, says she was maybe a bit more brazen than many other people might have been. She also admits that if there was a glass ceiling for women in sport, she certainly didn’t notice it. “If I look back now I think ‘wow, I can’t believe I asked those questions’”, Logan said. “I kept knocking on my boss’s door asking to do live sport. It wasn’t that I was impolite, I just wanted experience and to do things.” Sport and media is a tough industry to crack, but ultimately rewarding. There will be setbacks like everything in life, but those experiences make you a stronger individual. Logan adds: “I think you just have to have a bit of a thick skin and not take things too personally. There will be people who get pushed ahead of you when you think ‘I could have done that job’, but you just need to keep perspective on things.” Perspective, patience and persistence. As one of the leading authorities in British sports broadcasting, Logan’s advice is well worth heeding.
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MEDIA | COACHING | BUSINESS | EVENTS
IS THERE A GLASS CEILING FOR WOMEN IN SPORT? Governing bodies across the sports industry are now taking more action than ever before to drive inclusivity and equality, and the role of women in sport at all levels, on the pitch and behind the scenes, has never been more sharply in focus. FIFA recently grabbed the headlines by announcing their goal to double female participation in football around the world to 60 million by 2026, and ensure all member associations have at least one female on their board. Prize money in mixed gender sports is now beginning to reach parity too; a further sign that key decisionmakers in the world of sport now have equality high on the agenda. However, many argue there is still a long way to go. Here, we ask prominent women from within the sports industry their thoughts on the future of sport for females‌
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THE GLASS CEILING
CASEY STONEY WAS APPOINTED MANCHESTER UNITED WOMEN’S MANAGER IN 2018
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THE GLASS CEILING
Casey Stoney Manchester United Women’s Manager and former England Assistant Manager:
I agree and disagree, but there’s definitely a glass ceiling. Could a woman manage a Premier League team? No. So there’s definitely a glass ceiling there. There are no women in the entire EFL, so there’s a glass ceiling there too. Does it mean they can’t? No, but it’s about having the opportunity and I don’t think perceptions have changed enough in women’s football and coaching for that to happen at the moment. The future’s bright though; female coaches are improving and there’s more of them. There are also more female players and the game is changing. The most successful sports teams in this country are female. Cricket, rugby, football; it’s not a coincidence. So someone is doing something right. Keeley Baptista Programmes Manager at Kick It Out:
My personal opinion is that I don’t think there’s a concrete ceiling, and the glass ceiling is as thick as you want it to be. If you’re determined to progress in your career and get as high as you can, then absolutely be determined, get where you want to be and keep that drive going until you get there. I think if you can’t get there in your first instance then there will automatically be other ways and routes that you can work on, develop, and upskill yourself to be able to get to where you want to get to.
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Casey, Rachel, Keeley and Kait were all addressing UCFB students as guest speakers Tomorrow’s talent - today
THE GLASS CEILING
Rachel Brown-Finnis BT Sport pundit and former England goalkeeper:
There’s never been a better time than now for women to be involved in every aspect of sport. There are so many role models from the elite side of sport and the teams that have been successful in recent times – the netball team, football team, hockey team. Also there are now so many visible female presenters, pundits and commentators across every sport, and if you look in the background of sport again there’s never been more women involved. I don’t believe in glass ceilings at all; I just think the lack of numbers of women within sport is down to the fact women don’t necessarily believe that there is a place for them in the industry, and that’s just a myth.
Kait Ludwig Club Marketing & Business Operations Manager at the Rugby Football League:
I think now is probably one of the best times to study sport and to get into the industry. I think we’ve had a whole bunch of incredible female trailblazers who for the past decades have worked really hard to establish themselves, and now it’s obviously led to a greater awareness of females in sport and the opportunities for females in sport. I think as long as you know your subject matter and you can prove that you’ve got the skills behind it, then equally you’ve got just as much chance of getting to the bigger roles as anybody else would.
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| BUSINESS
GROWTH, OPPORTUNITY AND LEADERSHIP Ever increasing student numbers, more and more graduates working at the forefront of the global football and sports industr y, a growing list of industr y leading partnerships and plans to go global, UCFB has come a long way since it began life in Burnley in 2011. In an exclusive column for Future Sport, UCFB chairman and Burnley FC director Brendan Flood outlines UCFB’s growing influence in football and sport and the institution’s exciting expansion plans...
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even years in, UCFB’s journey has been quite a ride. From Turf Moor to Wembley and now the Etihad Stadium, our rapid growth in student and staff numbers, not to mention facilities and industry leading partnerships, is proof that what we started in 2011 has earned its rightful place in the higher education sector. From the off we knew what we wanted to create and what we wanted to achieve – a market leading institution to train and educate the next generation of professionals in the football and sports industry. Today, we have graduates working in the Premier League, at governing bodies and launching their own businesses with innovative ideas and infectious enthusiasm.
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On top of the additional on-campus degree programmes we’ve recently launched, 2018 also saw UCFB announce its first ever online programme. Following the same syllabus as the popular MSc International Sport Management programme at UCFB Wembley, this flexible model allows students to study in their own time around family and work commitments, and is a model we’re sure will be hugely popular amongst those looking to add a Masters degree to their CV. Additionally, UCFB’s plans to build an independent facility opposite Wembley Stadium continue to gather pace. The First Way Campus development, set to open in 2020, will host seminar rooms, office space and student accommodation, and is further evidence of UCFB’s commitment to educating the future leaders of our industry
UCFB CHAIRMAN BRENDAN FLOOD
within state-of-the-art facilities and with academic excellence. Looking to the future, the global football industry is on the verge of the largest transformation in its history and the UK is in a unique position to spearhead this change. With international fan bases and investment at record levels, there has never been a higher demand for the strategic development of the global multi-billion-pound industry. As a world leader in both football and education, the UK has an opportunity to provide global football business education to drive the sustainable development of this unique industry worldwide. As a result, nations including the US, Canada, China, Australia, Singapore, Nigeria and Ghana are turning to the UK for the professionalisation of their football industries in areas such as the provision of coaching, media, strategic management, commercial operations and stadium development. At UCFB, we have sight of the strategic partnership opportunities between the UK’s booming education and football industries and its global counterparts in order to aid their sustainable development. The UK is the market leader in these integral sectors and will play an instrumental role in the future of the business and operational side of the beautiful game across the globe. I am passionate and excited about what the future holds. A lot has happened since 2011, all of which leaves us very excited about the immediate and long-term future of UCFB, our students, graduates and the industry they aspire to work in.
“THE FOOTBALL INDUSTRY IS ON THE VERGE OF THE LARGEST TRANSFORMATION IN ITS HISTORY.”
UCFB HAVE GRADUATES WORKING AT THE PREMIER LEAGUE, GOVERNING BODIES AND LAUNCHING THEIR OWN BUSINESSES
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FUTURE SPORT COVER STAR
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MEDIA | COACHING
THE PIONEER Chris Hughton has been breaking through barriers all his career, becoming the first mixedrace player to represent the Republic of Ireland in 1979, and currently leading the way for black and minority ethnic coaches in British football. Hughton met with us to discuss inclusivity in the game and advise students on pathways into the football industr y... >>
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FUTURE SPORT COVER STAR
“WE CERTAINLY WANT TO SEE INCLUSION IN OUR GAME.”
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hen Tony Collins was appointed manager of Rochdale Town in 1960, little did he know that he would still be part of a small minority almost a quarter of the way through the twenty-first century. As the first black manager in English football, his appointment should have been a watershed moment in British culture, let alone sport. Racial discrimination from the stands and on the pitch witnessed in subsequent decades suggests the moment passed by silently in the night. Since Collins was hired by Rochdale nearly 60 years ago, only 35 other black and minority ethnic (BAME) coaches have managed in one of England’s four professional leagues. Just 61 BAME appointments have been made overall during that time. As the most prominent BAME coach currently working in English football, Chris Hughton is well placed to assess the landscape. “There is no doubt that there is a lack of managerial and executive positions in the game for black and minority coaches,” the Brighton & Hove Albion manager said. “The stakeholders in our game have a real responsibility to redress the balance and to make those pathways easier and more comfortable.”
“THE STAKEHOLDERS IN OUR GAME HAVE A REAL RESPONSIBILITY TO REDRESS THE BALANCE” 26
Tomorrow’s talent, today
CHRIS HUGHTON
There are currently seven BAME first team managers across England’s 92 professional managerial positions – accounting for 7.6%. In the Premier League’s 26-year history, just 2.7% of permanent coaches have been from a minority ethnic background. When compared to the number of BAME players who were in the Premier League at the start of the 2017/18 season – 33% - the numbers backup Hughton’s analysis. He adds: “We certainly want to see inclusion in our game. I think that’s a responsibility that we all have but at the moment those are the facts. Certainly for any black and minority respective coaches and people that want to get into the game, it’s dealing with those facts.” Football authorities certainly now appear to be working to improve these figures. In August 2018, The Football Association and the Professional Footballer’s Association launched In Pursuit of Progress – a threeyear equality, diversity and inclusion plan, which will ensure every available coaching role across the English set-up has at least one BAME candidate interviewed for the post. Qualified minority ethnic coaches in the game will also assist the likes of Gareth Southgate on England duty. Except for a couple of caretaker positions, it took over 20 years as a coach for Hughton to
get his first job as the leader in the dugout. Despite working with 11 different managers during his time on the coaching staff at Tottenham Hotspur – following a 13-year playing career at White Hart Lane – it wasn’t until he joined Newcastle United in 2008 that his chance came. After first deputising for Kevin Keegan, Joe Kinnear and then Alan Shearer, Hughton was finally given the manager’s job permanently three months into the 2009/10 season after guiding the club to the top of the Championship as caretaker manager. Many would have given up hope of getting that elusive job, but Hughton is more determined than most. His will to succeed is a shining example in the ongoing struggle to redress the inequality in the game and help new coaches overcome the barriers faced by previous generations. “[You need] to see through those hurdles,” he tells us. “If you feel that you’ve got to try harder then that’s a course and a pathway that you’ve got to take. Don’t be put off by what the statistics are.” Hughton added: “Don’t be put off by the negativities in our game. You have to show that thirst for knowledge, that enthusiasm and want to succeed and work as hard as possible.”
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CHRIS HUGHTON
CHRIS HUGHTON WAS ANNOUNCED AS THE NEW BRIGHTON MANAGER IN DECEMBER 2014
As if ethnicity wasn’t a big enough challenge for managers like Hughton, the job itself is famously short-lived. Having a will to succeed is one thing, but being resilient is another. In what is now a regular feature of life at St James’s Park, Hughton was ruthlessly sacked in December 2010 just four months after returning the club to the Premier League at the first time of asking. His impressive win ratio in the North East stands at over 55%. Hughton found himself part of the managerial merry-go-round just a year after landing his first full-time managerial job. Unsurprisingly, the former Republic of Ireland international dealt with it with the kind of class and clarity we’ve come to expect from the FA Cup winning full back. Hughton says: “Setbacks are part and parcel of the game and there isn’t one top manager that hasn’t had to go through setbacks or lost their job.” True to character, Hughton adds: “It’s a massive part of the game. It’s important that you try to keep on an even keel as much as possible, which means that you
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“YOU HAVE TO SHOW THAT THIRST FOR KNOWLEDGE, THAT ENTHUSIASM AND WANT TO SUCCEED.”
try not to get too down when things aren’t going well and don’t get too excited when things are going well.” Following a year at Birmingham City, where Hughton took the club to the Championship play-offs, the Premier League came calling again when Norwich City approached the Midlands club. Premier League safety was the aim and was achieved in his first season at Carrow Road. A difficult second season saw Hughton leave the club in seventeenth place. It was another eight months before Hughton was back in the dugout on the south coast after being appointed Brighton’s new boss on New Year’s Eve 2014. The club was set up for the Premier League with a shining new 30,000 capacity Amex Stadium on the edge of the seaside town; and the category one training centre in Lancing is the envy of many Champions League clubs. Gus Poyet and Oscar Garcia led the club to the play-off semi-finals in previous seasons, but it was Hughton who took the club over the line.
FUTURE SPORT COVER STAR
CHRIS HUGHTON BECAME THE FIRST BLACK MANAGER TO WIN THE PREMIER LEAGUE MANAGER OF THE MONTH AWARD
The Seagulls experienced play-off heartbreak once again during his first full season at the club. But the signs in Sussex were obvious to all – it was just a matter of when, not if, they’d reach the Premier League for the first time. The players had bought into Hughton’s style, his staff, their experience and their methods. The culture at the club had shifted. But how? “The best culture that you can ever get is the culture where the expectation from the players themselves is of a high level,” Hughton says. “I think you can only have that when the training sessions that you do have a high demand from the players and that they have a consistency day in and day out.” Hughton has no doubt that it’s easier when a dressing room is on-board and things are going well. But he’s spent his entire career trying to harness and cultivate this
type of environment. It doesn’t just happen overnight. “If you can try and encourage that type of culture, then it’s consistent whether you’re going through a good or bad phase”, he adds. “When you can create that culture then I think you have a really good formula.” Brighton’s survival in the Premier League after their first season came with relative ease, not to mention famous home wins over Arsenal and Manchester United. Hughton also became the first black recipient of the top flight’s Manager of the Month award in February 2018. Quiet, determined, humble. Hughton, much like Collins, is a role model, and his influence on the game goes much further than his job as a Premier League manager.
CURRENT BAME MANAGERS IN THE PREMIER LEAGUE AND ENGLISH FOOTBALL LEAGUE: • Chris Hughton, Brighton & Hove Albion, 2014 • Nuno Espirito Santo, Wolverhampton Wanderers, 2017 • Jos Luhukay, Sheffield Wednesday, 2018 • Dino Maamria, Stevenage Borough, 2018 • Darren Moore, West Bromwich Albion, 2018 • Chris Powell, Southend United, 2018 • Sol Campbell, Macclesfield Town, 2018
CHRIS HUGHTON LED NEWCASTLE UNITED TO THE CHAMPIONSHIP TITLE IN 2010
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MSc INTERNATIONAL SPORT MANAGEMENT ONLINE A first for UCFB, students now have the opportunity to study the MSc International Sport Management programme, in an online delivery format. The programme has been developed for graduates of all disciplines, as well as for current professionals working within various sectors of the sports industry.
UNIVERSITY CAMPUS OF FOOTBALL BUSINESS
UCFB.com/ism-online
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ONLINE DEGREE
WE ARE THE LEAGUE MANAGERS ASSOCIATION The LMA is the representative association of the football managers, past and present, in the English professional game, including the Women’s Super League. The LMA is established to protect and represent the interests of our members, to have a positive impact on their careers, and to make a lasting contribution to the game. As the collective voice of our members, we represent their interests to the game and its stakeholders. In addition, we provide an extensive range of member services focused on three key areas: employment and legal services, health and wellbeing, and career and personal development.
www.leaguemanagers.com
UNIFIED | RESPECTED | FORWARD-THINKING | PRIDE | PASSION | EXPERTISE
| COACHING
IN CONVERSATION WITH
HOWARD WILKINSON
Is it now possible to create a team culture with a manager’s lifespan in a job being so short compared to when you managed?
WITH THE FORMATION OF THE LEAGUE MANAGERS ASSOCIATION COINCIDING WITH THE LAUNCH OF THE PREMIER LEAGUE 26 YEARS AGO, COACH EDUCATION AND SUPPORT FOR MANAGERS WITHIN THE GAME HAS UNDERGONE A RADICAL TRANSFORMATION. AS THE COLLECTIVE VOICE OF ALL MANAGERS IN ENGLISH FOOTBALL, THE LMA HAS GROWN TO BECOME AN INTEGRAL PART OF THE FOOTBALL INDUSTRY. THE LMA’S LEADERSHIP ROLE ON KEY ISSUES IN THE GAME IS EPITOMISED BY CHAIRMAN HOWARD WILKINSON. STILL IN THE RECORD BOOKS AS THE LAST ENGLISH MANAGER TO WIN THE ENGLISH TOP-FLIGHT LEAGUE TITLE, HIS APPOINTMENT AS THE FA’S TECHNICAL DIRECTOR IN 1997 LED TO THE LAUNCH OF A PROJECT FOR A NATIONAL FOOTBALL CENTRE - WHICH BECAME THE IMPRESSIVE ST GEORGE’S PARK COMPLEX. WE SAT DOWN WITH HOWARD TO DISCUSS THE IMPORTANCE OF EDUCATION, PSYCHOLOGY AND COMMUNICATION FOR A COACH...
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I think that the culture you personify and want to see in your team is the most important element in your tool bag, but you have to prioritise. If results are imperative, you have to look at what your priorities are and you have to say ‘What are they? What is the list? Where are the quick wins?’ I don’t think you can work properly with people if you don’t envisage there’s a long-term. How important is it to recognise the specific needs of individual players? There are people who think that every problem can be solved out on the training pitch, that tactics and teamwork are where we can solve all our problems. But my experience is, not just in football but in life, that’s not the case. People carry around with them a whole mix of feelings, thoughts, securities, insecurities – people learn differently. Some people can go out onto a football pitch and be a part of a tactical problem and pick it up easily, and some not so well, so you have to understand people because fundamentally, at the root of it, is a relationship between the manager and the player.
IN CONVERSATION WITH: HOWARD WILKINSON
How important is good communication between a manager, the owners, and Chief Executive of a club in ensuring they all share a common view? One of the biggest problems you will have as a manager is ensuring that you control all those factors which impinge on performance, and that isn’t just to do with what’s happening on the pitch and what is going on at the training ground. You have to make sure that the people in the boardroom understand the importance of this. In days gone by, a commercial manager may come in and say: ‘I’ve got a great deal with Audi down the road, we need a player appearance once a month on a Friday.’ We’ll say ‘sorry not Friday afternoon’ because the day before a game you aren’t doing anything other than getting yourself ready. So these creases need to be ironed out very, very early on in the process. All elite managers face major challenges. What insight would you pass on about building resilience and handling setbacks? Some people are naturally resilient, some are not, but the better ways of being resilient can be learnt. Ideally, when you say to yourself you want to be a manager, one of the questions you must ask yourself is: ‘Do I enjoy problems, and do I see them as an opportunity or something that I’d rather not have to deal with?’ It’s part of the job. If you want to be a surgeon, then you’re not going to be scared of blood and management is the same – if you want to be a manager, resilience is an absolute essential.
What has been your favourite moment in football? I think people expect me to say winning the championship or winning the cup, but I always found in achievements of that nature that your emotion at the end is ‘I’m tired.’ The moments I remember are players like Gary Speed at Leeds. When I got there, he was a young apprentice, a very shy boy, but he had ability and qualities which would make him eventually one of the best players in the country.
“THE BETTER WAYS OF BEING RESILIENT CAN BE LEARNT.” How important is the partnership between the LMA and UCFB? I would say our USP is looking after our members as well as we can, in whatever way we can and part of that is educating them and helping them get better and to grow. We ourselves have committed a lot of energy, a lot of thought and a lot of money into programmes that we run. Learning in a conventional sense, and education in a conventional sense, is part of that process. The more links we have with educational institutions like UCFB, the happier we are because what it says is people recognise what we do and why we do it, and that’s why they’re eager and I hope happy to become partners.
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BREXIT | BUSINESS | EVENTS
WHAT DOES BREXIT MEAN FOR THE UK SPORTS INDUSTRY? THERE ARE UNDOUBTEDLY MORE IMPORTANT ISSUES SURROUNDING BRITAIN’S EXIT FROM THE EUROPEAN UNION THAN THAT OF FOOTBALL CLUBS BEING ABLE TO ATTRACT PLAYERS, BUT IT’S JUST ONE OF A NUMBER OF KEY ISSUES THE FOOTBALL AND SPORTS INDUSTRY IS FACING AHEAD OF THE UK’S DEPARTURE FROM THE BLOC ON 29 MARCH 2019. WHETHER WE SEE A HARD BREXIT, SOFT BREXIT OR A RED, WHITE AND BLUE BREXIT, THE FREE MOVEMENT OF PLAYERS BETWEEN EU STATES IS ON THE MINDS OF CLUB OWNERS THROUGHOUT THE UK. THERE IS ALSO THE ISSUE OF THE VIABILITY OF STAGING MAJOR TOURNAMENTS, AS WELL AS HOW IT WILL AFFECT YOUNG ATHLETES AND PLAYERS CURRENTLY EXEMPT FROM TRANSFER RULES. HERE, FUTURE SPORT’S NEIL HAWKINS DELVES INTO SOME OF THOSE ISSUES AND HOW THEY MAY OR MAY NOT BE RECTIFIED...
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FREE MOVEMENT OF PLAYERS eports suggest that the Premier League is wary of the impact of Brexit and is seeking to avoid new regulations on signing European players. While this will be the ideal outcome for owners, managers and fans, the reality is a little more complex. Currently, clubs can sign players without work permits from within the European Economic Area (EEA). Players from outside the EEA, however, must meet strict criteria to gain a work permit, in some instances having to have played up to 75% of their nations’ international games to qualify. While the likes of the Premier League, EFL and The FA wait for the outcome of the government’s anticipated Brexit deal, they insist that it’s vital for clubs to be able to continue to acquire players from the EU with the freedom they currently enjoy. A striking example of how a post-Brexit Premier
SPECIAL FEATURE - BREXIT & THE UK SPORTS INDUSTRY
BREXIT COULD AFFECT YOUNG ATHLETES AND PLAYERS CURRENTLY EXEMPT FROM TRANSFER RULES
League could be affected is that of 2016 winners N’Golo Kante and Riyad Mahrez. Both were born in France, but at the time of their transfers to Leicester City hadn’t played the required number of games for their respective nations, so the likelihood of them being granted work permits to play in England would have been highly doubtful. It’s talent like this that makes the Premier League one of the UK’s greatest exports, but the question remains – why should football clubs be exempt from the rules instead of, say, the NHS? IMPACT ON YOUNGER ATHLETES AND SMALL CLUBS Speaking to the People’s Vote campaign this year, Burnley chairman Mike Garlick warned that Brexit “threatens to make the widening inequality gap in our top division even worse”, adding that the “destructive path being pursued by the government” threatens to damage clubs around the UK. The worry from clubs outside of the Premier League elite is that should free movement become a thing of the past, a smaller talent pool to buy from will be dominated by teams with a bigger budget and loftier ambitions. The UK’s exit from the EU would mean that the Article 19 exemptions of the FIFA Regulations – access to players under the age of 18 – would no longer apply to British clubs. Without an alternative agreement arranged, a hard Brexit would mean transfers involving younger players like of Hector Bellerin,
Nathan Ake and Andreas Christensen would no longer be feasible. Stoke City chairman Peter Coates, who backed the Remain campaign in 2016, has said previously: “If this (the Brexit deal) goes badly, it will be places like Stoke that suffer the most.” While some will say this is the perfect opportunity to develop home-grown talent, others fear for the immediate future of their club. NO WORLD CUP IN 2030? A UK-wide bid to host the FIFA World Cup in 2030 has been discussed and is believed to be encouraged by FIFA, but could Brexit actually affect Britain’s ability to host major sporting tournaments? Higher costs for athlete visas, staff shortages due to rigorous immigration rules and increased wages for staff due to those shortages could well impact the profit margins for federations and governing bodies looking to host their showpiece events. Angus Bujalski from the Rugby Football Union has previously said the number of non-UK EU match-day staff at Twickenham is around 25%, and that he expects wages after the UK leaves the EU to increase due to a staff shortage, so it’s easy to imagine other major venues suffering a similar fate. Then there’s the ease of visiting the UK for travelling fans who often make major sporting occasions the memorable events they become. The fear among some is that the UK will become a less attractive place to host an event and a less desirable country for visitors to watch sport in. Tomorrow’s talent, today
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THE UNDISCOVERED COUNTRY
CRICKET CLUBS COULD BE AFFECTED BY CHANGES TO THE KOLPAK RULING
KOLPAK RULING Cricket and rugby clubs are waiting anxiously to see how Brexit will affect the Kolpak ruling. Named after Slovakian handball player Maros Kolpak, the rule allows citizens from a country that is part of the European Union Association Agreement to have the same rights as EU citizens. Currently, Rugby Football Union rules state a club can’t play more than two overseas players in a match, and English domestic cricket allows up to two overseas players in a Twenty20 game and one in a County Championship fixture. However, an athlete from the EU or a ‘Kolpak’ state doesn’t count as foreign. Similarly, the Cotonou Agreement – a treaty between the EU and African, Caribbean and Pacific Group of States – allows athletes to participate as ‘non-foreigners’ and have the same rights to freedom of movement and work as an EU national. If these players are to be treated as other foreign players post-Brexit, some say this will give more opportunities to young British athletes and thus have a beneficial impact on national teams across the UK. But there is also a viable argument to say great overseas talent helps to make British leagues some of the most competitive and exciting in the world.
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These are all ifs, buts and maybes, just like the final Brexit deal itself. The reality is that despite all the conjecture from the experts, no one really knows what the UK’s future outside of the EU will look like, and that’s especially true about the sports industry. The uncertainty has already shown how some football clubs are strategically positioning themselves in preparation for March 2019. Brighton & Hove Albion recently announced they had recruited FA Technical Director Dan Ashworth, credited for significant youth development and success at an international level. The club’s CEO explained the driver for the appointment: “[w]ith Brexit coming up, we really need to change the way we do things, we need to be proactive, we need to prepare as we are likely to need to develop more local players given the restrictions on signing EU players”. Notwithstanding an increased emphasis on youth development, a worst case scenario following a hard Brexit could involve a significant change in the quality of players available to clubs, meaning a Premier League with far less talent on show, which in turn would see worldwide television audiences dwindle, As broadcasters pull out of their billion-pound deals and money falls out of the league, the pool of talent would decrease further and the investment filtering down to grassroots level would further diminish. Worsening facilities for youngsters could then see them turn away from sport for good. This is of course venturing into “Project Fear” territory, but the fact remains that the UK’s sporting landscape could look very different in the years to come should a Brexit deal be agreed that doesn’t have sports’ best interests at heart. Like the rest of the UK, the football and sports industry is holding its breath.
A STRIKING EXAMPLE OF HOW A POST BREXIT PREMIER LEAGUE COULD BE AFFECTED IS THAT OF 2016 WINNER N’GOLO KANTÉ
BREXIT
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INDUSTRY INSIGHTS | RUGBY FOOTBALL LEAGUE | EVENTS
UCFB and the Rugby Football League
WINTER 2021 PROMISES TO BE A MEMORABLE TIME FOR RUGBY LEAGUE FANS IN ENGLAND WHEN THE WORLD CUP RETURNS TO THE COUNTRY. WITH THE MEN’S, WOMEN’S AND WHEELCHAIR EVENTS SET TO TAKE PLACE SIMULTANEOUSLY, THE COUNTDOWN IS ON AND EGG CHASERS WILL BE TREATED TO A FEAST OF ELITE RUGBY. The narrative for the men’s event is plain and simple – revenge. England were undone by a destructive Australia side in the 2017 final in Brisbane, and not many would bet against the pair meeting again in 2021. Revenge is a dish best served cold, so they say, which is just as well with the final taking place in November. Thanks to the partnership between the Rugby Football League and UCFB, chances are attendees at the tournament will come across UCFB students and graduates imparting their knowledge and experience at the event. The English governing body has been welcoming students in to the organisation in recent months to join the ranks, gain important work experience and use what they’ve learnt in the classroom to benefit the Rugby Football League. In return, senior staff from the governing body have been visiting UCFB to detail the work they do and advise students on how to develop a successful career in the sports industry. Australian Kait Ludwig, the Rugby Football League’s Club Marketing and Business Operations Manager, remains tight lipped on the 2017 final and the potential for a rematch in 2021, but spoke about the importance of working in higher education with UCFB and how the partnership has blossomed in recent months.
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KAIT LUDWIG OF THE RUGBY FOOTBALL LEAGUE
“WE HAVE EAGER STUDENTS COMING IN FROM UCFB WHO ARE REALLY ENGAGED”
INDUSTRY INSIGHTS
“THIS WORK EXPERIENCE IS ACTING AS A HUGE STEPPING STONE TOWARDS ME ACHIEVING MY GOALS” “For us it’s great because we have eager and intellectual students coming in from UCFB who are really switched on and engaged,” she says. “Equally, for us, we really feel we can tailor what it is that they do because we’ve got so many different parts of the sport that we are privileged enough to be able to work in.” UCFB and the Rugby Football League will soon become neighbours too, with the governing body set to move to the Etihad Campus before 2021. The new HQ is set to be named as the National Rugby League Centre, and will provide the sport with an iconic new home at one of Europe’s most exciting sports destinations. One student who has benefitted from the partnership is Ryan Booth, who has spent time
CATALANS DRAGONS TAKE ON WARRINGTON WOLVES IN THE 2018 CHALLENGE CUP FINAL
within the media teams at the Rugby Football league and at his boyhood club, Salford Red Devils. At both organisations, Ryan has upskilled himself within elite environments to boost his employment prospects ahead of graduating in 2019. He said: “This work experience is acting as a huge stepping stone towards me achieving my goals as I’m rapidly developing a significant portfolio and I’m constantly expanding my network within the game.” With Ryan just one of a number of students to have enjoyed time with the Rugby Football League, Kait, herself a graduate of a sportfocused institution in Australia, added: “I feel that because UCFB is so tailored specifically to sport, plus the network students have with sporting organisations, it is so beneficial.”
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EDUCATION IS EVERYTHING
| COACHING
‘EDUCATION IS EVERYTHING’ After arriving at Wigan Athletic – then in the fourth-tier of English football - in July 1995, Roberto Martinez has gone on to establish himself as one of the leading lights in the game, guiding the club to a famous FA Cup final win in 2013 and taking Belgium to a World Cup semi-final in Russia. During a recent visit to UCFB we sat down with Martinez to talk values, commitment and advice for the next generation of sports industr y professionals...
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EDUCATION IS EVERYTHING
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rom Motherwell to Moscow, Roberto Martinez’s journey to the top has taken him to some of the more unconventional footballing hotspots around Europe. So while the Spaniard was leading Belgium to their best ever finish in a World Cup in Russia, a rugbymad town in North West England could be forgiven for taking some of the credit for their adopted son’s meteoric rise. Wigan is best known for its famous rugby league team, the Warriors, but now, thanks to Martinez, their once lowly football team is etched into the fabric of the national game. When the man from Balaguer first came to Wigan in the 1990s, little did he or anyone know the impact he’d have on the small Lancashire town. First as player, then later as manager, Martinez’s relationship with owner and former player Dave Whelan would go on to shape his career in the game. In an era when it’s said managers and boardrooms have different agendas, the bond between Martinez and Whelan was as unexpected as it was vital. “For me it is always important to know that the chairman or the owner knows why we are doing things,” Martinez told us. “You could have lost a game but if you know why you lost it and in the manner that you lost it I think you can become better as a football club at the end of it.” During his four years in the dugout at the DW Stadium, Whelan never shied away from the reality of a bigger club coming in for his friend and star man, adding that he wouldn’t stand in his way. That the Spaniard left the club in 2013 for Everton after just beating Manchester City in the FA Cup final was a fitting end to a wonderful partnership.
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“THE MORE PREPARED YOU ARE THE EASIER IT WILL BE TO COME UP WITH A DECISION.” Martinez added: “The relationship between the manager and the chairman needs to be good so that you can be honest and help each other. You don’t have to agree all of the time, but you are setting the common goals of the football club and a way of working that helps every employee and every fan of the club.” For a purist whose belief in the beautiful game is steadfast, it’s sometimes hard to believe how the former Swansea boss survived his playing career in the lower leagues of English football and the Scottish Premier League. But it’s also the different leagues, players and experiences that have helped shape Martinez into the manager he is today. In every experience there is education, and according to the Spaniard, “education is everything”. Belgium were 20 minutes away from an embarrassing last-16 defeat to Japan during the World Cup. This was when Martinez had to dig deep into his past experience as a player and manager. “The more prepared you are the easier it will be to come up with a decision,” he explained during a visit to UCFB. “Those decisions can’t be gambles or hopes or emotions, so I think that’s where the more information you get, the more preparation you have to help you towards making the right call.”
“IF YOU DON’T CARRY ON EDUCATING YOURSELF, YOU’RE GOING TO MISS OUT.” In the 94th minute, Nacer Chadli won the game for Belgium and a place in the quarter finals was confirmed. “You hear a lot that football is always the same but that is probably the biggest error,” Martinez adds. “Everything is always changing so you always have to educate yourself to try and be on top of those changes and see how you can use them in the best possible way. If you don’t carry on educating yourself, you’re going to miss out.” Martinez’s visit to UCFB was an inspiring one for its students. Here in front of them was a man who has spent his life determined to make the most of his ability and the opportunities given to him, a key message presented to every student on a regular basis. While inspiring the students, his key message was one of defiance and individuality: “Find out what you’re good at and what your passion is, then work at making it exceptional.”
He tells us: “Throughout my early years in the British game, everybody spoke to me about weaknesses and how to become better at my weaknesses, but now I realise that that doesn’t take you anywhere.” Then what does? “When you’re working within sport, a business that revolves around winning and losing, you need to be very good at something. If you’re good at something, then you need to work at it to make it even better.” At first he was Wigan’s secret, then Britain’s. Now at 45, Martinez is a leading manager on the world stage, demonstrating that talent mixed with a thirst for knowledge and mental strength is a powerful combination.
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INDUSTRY INSIGHTS | COVENTRY CITY | COACHING
Scouting: A dying art or a skill further enhanced by the use of technology? Scouting has come a long way from the days of hiding behind a trench coat on Hackney Marshes. Where once it was thousands of motorway miles, tea from a polystyrene cup and stale cheese sandwiches at half-time, a scout can now sit in their warm living room pouring over thousands of hours of footage from leagues around the world. Technology and software such as OptaPro, Scout7, Wyscout and STATS (formerly Prozone) has revolutionised the recruitment side of the football industry in recent years. The old-school will tell you there’s nothing like assessing a player live, and they’d be right, but the level of analytical detail the likes of Wyscout can go into makes it indispensable to the twenty-first century football professional. Coventry City’s Head of Recruitment, Chris Badlan, recently visited UCFB to speak with Coaching & Analysis students. “Technology and statistics play a huge part within the processes,” Badlan explained. “Wyscout is basically YouTube for people in the game, and Opta provide stats where you can start thinking outside the box, not just on the pitch but outside of it as well. Football is always evolving and data has become a massive part of it.” However, the basics still apply to a player. Can they see a pass? Do they track back? Are they good in the air? And now, with teams desperate to develop a playing ‘philosophy’, scouts are tasked with finding players to fit in with that club’s vision. “I think it’s important for a club to have an identity
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COVENTRY CITY’S HEAD OF RECRUITMENT, CHRIS BEDLAN, ON A RECENT VISIT TO UCFB
first and then once they have that they can then look at the indicators and the players that fit that philosophy”, Badlan says. “We like to create a positon profile for every position, so every player will have a key performance indicator that you look for and the profile of the team would be the same. For example, you might want an attacking full back, so you look at how they get forward and what their delivery is like.” The League One side and UCFB recently joined forces in a partnership that will benefit both the Sky Blues and students at the pioneering higher education institution. Badlan and his colleagues meet with UCFB students to discuss the philosophies of their various teams, with students then supporting the club’s scouting activities to complement their degree studies. For Badlan, it’s a two-way street worth exploring. “Everyone has got the idea that it’s a big global game and it’s beautiful,” he says. “But there is a lot of hard work behind the scenes that doesn’t get noticed, so this partnership gives students a chance to see that and be involved in it. And from a selfish point of view, it enables us to mould these people into the scouts that we like and the players that we look for.”
INDUSTRY INSIGHTS
“IT’S IMPORTANT FOR A CLUB TO HAVE AN IDENTITY FIRST AND THEN ONCE THEY HAVE THAT THEY CAN THEN LOOK AT THE INDICATORS AND THE PLAYERS THAT FIT THAT PHILOSOPHY” Students therefore gain industry specific training and Coventry gain extra eyes and experience to bolster their ranks. It’s just another example of how UCFB ensures its students graduate with the knowledge and experience necessary to make an impact in the football industry.
>> ELABES HICA DICAPERTIL
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STADIUMS OF THE FUTURE | BUSINESS | EVENTS
STADIUMS OF THE FUTURE
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cheese room, micro-brewery and Michelin Star dining experience. Welcome to the Premier League in the 21st century. The Tottenham Hotspur Stadium – to give its current name – is promising to take the match day experience to a whole new level. A Sky Lounge bar hangs over the pitch, and fans with the deepest pockets will be able to drink their Pinot Noir whilst watching Harry Kane warm-up in the tunnel before then taking their seat behind Mauricio Pochettino. A stadium also built with the NFL in mind – a purpose built gridiron pitch lies below the retractable grass surface – the American sports experience is now well and truly embedded in British sport. According to Christopher Lee, a Populous architect behind the project, it will be “the most technologically advanced stadium in the world”. Much like Wembley and Etihad stadiums before it, the new White Hart Lane is being built as a 365day a year venue. As well as hosting other sports and some of the biggest names in music, there’s also more money to be made on a match day than ever before. In their last season at White Hart
Lane, Tottenham’s match receipts, which included gate and hospitality income, stood at around £50 million. A few miles down the Seven Sisters Road at Arsenal and that number more than doubled, so there are one hundred million reasons why the elite are keen to invest in and reinvent their homes. Chelsea have postponed their new stadium plans, but don’t be surprised to see the redevelopment of Stamford Bridge pick up speed again very soon. Unless hosting a World Cup, very few ‘superstadiums’ are built in any one country. Tottenham’s is only the fifth in England since the turn of the century, joining Arsenal’s Emirates Stadium, Wembley, the Etihad and the Olympic Stadium in Stratford, now the controversial home of West Ham United. UCFB is fortunate to count two of those as part of its iconic campuses, further showcasing the multiuse purpose of modern stadiums outside of a match day. “The Etihad is a fantastic example of the multiuse arena,” said UCFB director Paul Fletcher. “What they’ve got really works. The other by-product that we forget about is that if you build the correct stadium, it attracts investment.” Fletcher’s impressive CV – which includes roles as former Burnley and Bolton Wanderers striker and chief executive – also covers a wealth of experience in the development and management of stadiums. Having played a major part in the construction of Wembley, Bolton’s then Reebok Stadium, Huddersfield’s John
PAUL FLETCHER, DIRECTOR AT UCFB: "IF YOU BUILD THE CORRECT STADIUM, IT ATTRACTS INVESTMENT.”
WEMBLEY STADIUM
THE ETIHAD STADIUM WAS BUILT FOR THE 2002 COMMONWEALTH GAMES AND HAS A CAPACITY OF OVER 55,000
Smith’s Stadium and Coventry’s Ricoh Arena, Fletcher knows a thing or two about what makes a stadium work. However, he still feels that the brand new stadiums being built now are missing a trick to make their venues truly “multi-purpose”. This is where Fletcher’s proclaimed “stadium of the future” project – StadiArena – comes in to play. His vision is to see an emphasised commercial use of the footprint of a stadium, which would see traditional high street shops surround the perimeter of the building. The stadium itself would then exist over multiple levels with the pitch elevated to level two to allow for a car park and secondary recreational space below the playing surface. The structure would also have the potential to include a hotel, university and student accommodation. The stand-out feature though would see a giant “curtain” drop down behind a goal, turning the football stadium into a covered arena which would cater for events such as concerts and exhibitions. “This a real, genuine idea that works,” he said. “The problem I have is that architects don’t want to talk about it, they all want to build pretty buildings. They don’t want ones that look like a town centre - they want to win awards!”
Fletcher adds that when it comes to designing a stadium he “wears the hat of a fan.” “I don’t want it to look like a Christmas cake, he said. “I want to get to the toilet easily, I want a fantastic atmosphere when I get into the bowl and I want to feel safe. These are now standard, but then you speak to architects about designing-in a hotel and they run to the hills because it might affect the aesthetics of their building.” Fletcher’s stadium of the future has been realised in India, in the town of Ahmedabad. Taking his idea to the sub-continent, the 22,000 seater stadium opened in 2016 and features, as well as the pitch, a sports hall, retail and parking, a 5,000 seater basketball court and a swimming pool, among many other multipurpose features. Despite its success abroad, the UK market continues to follow a path separate to Fletcher. He added: “We’ve made some great progress but I still don’t think we’ve perfected getting as many people to a stadium on a non-match day as we do a match day.” The future success of stadiums for Tottenham, Chelsea et al remains to be seen, but one person will certainly be watching proceedings very closely.
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STADIUMS OF THE FUTURE
BIGGER, BOLDER AND EXPENSIVE – SPORTS ARENAS STATESIDE
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osting a mammoth US$1.6 billion, the Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta is the latest in a long line of innovative and imaginative super-stadiums in the United States. Home of NFL side Atlanta Falcons, and Atlanta United of the MLS, it will host the Super Bowl in February 2019 and features one of the most original design features ever seen on a sports stadium – a pin wheel shaped retractable roof which has the ability to open and close thanks to 16 individual tracks. Then there’s the largest video screen in world sport, a 360-degree HD ‘halo-board’ which measures over 1,000ft in circumference and sits just below the retractable roof. It really is a sight to behold. Its opening in 2017 followed hot on the heels of the U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, home of the Minnesota Vikings. The 66,000 capacity stadium is a glass cathedral right in the middle of downtown, featuring a 60% transparent roof that allows the playing field to be bathed in natural light. With seven levels of seating and five 95-feet high pivoting glass doors that open the stadium
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to a huge fan-filled plaza and city skyline, the stadium is another modern-marvel of American sports stadiums. Meanwhile, in sunny Los Angeles work continues on the new home of the LA Rams and LA Chargers in Inglewood ahead of a 2020 opening. Stadium bosses are promising even greater feats of engineering than that of their counterparts in Atlanta and Minneapolis. Now estimated to cost up to US$5 billion, it will be the most expensive stadium project in history, includes a casino, and will also be home for the new NFL Media studio campus. With open sides a major feature to take advantage of the Californian sunshine, the development site will also feature over 20 acres of public parks and walkways, not to mention 300 hotel rooms and 1.5 million square feet of retail and office space. Customer and fan experience has always been a major part of American sport. These mega-stadiums are just taking it to a whole new level.
THE MERCEDES-BENZ STADIUM COST $1.6BN AND HOSTS NFL AND MLS MATCHES
TITLE
Jason Blake, UCFB’s Director of Football Operations, leading an academy coaching session
PLAY WHILE YOU LEARN AT:
Undergraduate Academy 92 Manchester UCFB, a world first in football education, runs an innovative academy for players released from England’s 92 professional clubs. At Undergraduate Academy 92 Manchester, footballers benefit from a tailored training and playing programme led by world-class coaches, whilst studying for a university degree in the football industry. To talk to us about creating a pathway for your club’s released academy players, email ua92club@ucfb.com or visit ucfb.com/ua92.
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| EVENTS
IN CONVERSATION WITH
JARNO STEGEMAN THE OPERATIONAL AND MANAGEMENT SIDE OF STADIUMS IS BECOMING INCREASINGLY IMPORTANT AS MORE AND MORE EVENTS TAKE PLACE INSIDE OUR MEGA-ARENAS. FROM SECURITY TO TECHNOLOGY, AND FROM FAN ENGAGEMENT TO ACCESSIBILITY, STADIUMS IN THE 21ST CENTURY ARE MORE ADVANCED THAN EVER. WE SAT DOWN WITH UCFB’S JARNO STEGEMAN, A SPECIALIST IN EVENT MANAGEMENT AND SAFETY, TO DISCUSS ALL OF THIS AND MORE…
“FANS WANT TO EXPERIENCE AN EVENT FROM MULTI-DIMENSIONAL ANGLES.”
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How have mega stadiums like Wembley changed the game for big event management, whether sport, music or otherwise? I’m not sure if mega stadiums have changed the game for big events or vice versa. There have always been big events; some took place in stadia – think of the gladiators in colosseums – and others take place in greenfield sites across the country. Big stadiums offer the opportunity to organise events more easily because most the infrastructure is already there. Mega acts, like an Adele or Ed Sheeran (pictured, opposite), can sell out a venue like Wembley but there are not that many musicians that can fill a stadium, so it’s a difficult question to answer. Have stadiums changed the game? No, I don’t think so. Do they add more to the choice of finding the right venue or location for an event? Yes, definitely.
IN CONVERSATION WITH: JARNO STEGEMAN
How important and widespread is technology – CCTV, fan engagement tools etc. – in modern stadiums? Incredibly important. Technology is widespread in stadiums, sport and event management. From a safety point of view, you can think of CCTV, communication, RFID (radio-frequency identification) payments and ticketing. From a marketing point of view we’re talking about fan engagement, social media, marketing, and data. Any business that has the consumer at its core is using technology to enhance its performance. A stadium, as it is a business, is doing the same thing. In your opinion, how has the fan experience changed of going to stadiums to watch events in the last 20 years? There’s a bigger emphasis on safety at large gatherings. Don’t get me wrong, safety measurements in stadiums had already increased after the Hillsborough disaster. The threat of a potential terrorist attack is now much more on everyone’s mind, so this means more security in and around a stadium. Technology is becoming bigger as well, in the form of involvement in the game or the event.
PHOTO CREDIT: © IAN HUGHES
What aspects of modern stadiums do you think have improved the most for fans and staff alike over the years? Accessibility, at least the stadiums I have been to as a fan. From using public transport to actually finding your seat in the stadium, the whole get-in-get-out system has become quite efficient. What do you think the future of stadiums and major events looks like? Fans want to be included in what is happening. They want to experience an event from multi-dimensional angles. Last year in Japan a hologram “artist” went on tour and had fans flocking to venues, so my guess is that we’ll see that much more in the future. And if it works in music then why not in sport? People come to events because they want to experience it and escape the daily routine. That’s what sport and music events have in common: you can forget your problems and step into a different world.
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INDUSTRY INSIGHTS | NIKE | BUSINESS
Leading the way with innovation When brainstorming the latest technology that could help fire Cristiano Ronaldo to his next Ballon d’Or, Nike can afford to be selective with who they take guidance from. The fact UCFB students are part of that exclusive group shows the level of trust the world’s biggest sportswear brand have in UCFB and its students. “I’ve worked with UCFB for a while now, and I think we’re very similar in our traits and similar in our vision,” says Lee Molyneaux, Nike’s senior insights analyst. “UCFB are very innovative, as are we, and I think they lead in the way that they approach education. Nike are very much product based but it’s the same morals and standards that they stand for.” Set up in early 2018, the working partnership between UCFB and Nike shouldn’t surprise many. For a brand responsible for iconic footwear such as the Air Max and Mercurial boot – the latter worn by World Cup winning Brazilian Ronaldo – teaming up with the world’s first higher education provider dedicated to the football and sports industry is a natural fit. Both are innovators, and both are leaders in their respective fields. Always looking to be several steps ahead of their rivals, the partnership allows Nike to better understand their marketplace and the products their ever-growing audience demand. Similarly, UCFB’s students get a first-hand look at the inner workings of a global sports brand, and one that counts England, FC Barcelona and Neymar Jr among its elite clients. And for those students who aspire to work at somewhere like Nike, according to Kylee Barton, the brand’s senior product manager, it comes down to one major thing: passion. “You have to have passion to create the future,” she says. “If you’re always content
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NIKE COUNTS THE ENGLAND NATIONAL FOOTBALL TEAM AMONG ITS ELITE CLIENTS to stay with what you know, you’ll never take the business to a new place, and that’s what Nike has always prided itself over the last 40 years.” Barton added: “That, and we hire some really, really talented people! We’ve got probably the best design team in the world, and I think we invest a lot of time and resources into that innovation space.” Molyneaux was keen to stress the importance of his brand’s need to stay ahead of the game. “Innovation is the way we lead,” he said. “We don’t just make it up ourselves, we go out there and speak to consumers. We go around the world and make sure we’re going after the right things. We go after things that people might see as impossible, or what people might see as ‘not cool’, but we predict the future through what they’re saying.”
The partnership between UCFB and Nike builds on the existing exclusive kit partnership where Nike provides all of UCFB’s kits for its numerous sports teams.
The Premier Sports is a unique and private network that focuses on areas of Finance, Player Care, and Sports Sponsorship. The series of invite-only events builds a community to share ideas and promote education to increase awareness in best practice being shared from some of the worlds most well-known sports organisations, federations and agencies.
EVENTS FOR 2019 Finance in Sport (Mar) Behind-the-Scenes Awards Ceremony (May) PSN Golf Tour (Oct) International Player Care Conference (Nov)
0208 4191100 enquiries@premiersportsnetwork.com @PSportsNetwork premiersportsnetwork.com
“The Premier Sports Network are market leaders in bringing together some of the worlds most influential sports figures, especially when it comes to the topic of Player Care” 53 Tomorrow’s talent - today The Guardian
FOOTBALL IS FOR EVERYONE
MEDIA | COACHING | BUSINESS | EVENTS
FOOTBALL IS FOR EVERYONE Football’s leading equality and inclusion body recently launched The Next 25 Scholarship along with UCFB to educate tomorrow’s leaders on the importance of diversity within the global game. Here, we speak with members of Kick It Out’s inspiring team to discuss the fund, the work they’ve done so far and how education can help create a fairer, more equal society... >>
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ick It Out turned 25 in 2018. The milestone was marked, but there were no fireworks or celebrations. After all, the organisation exists to help stamp out discrimination in football; if the game was free of prejudice then there would be no need for Kick It Out. So, instead, on they go fighting the good fight, campaigning and seeking to educate on the importance of equality and inclusion. Their work has certainly influenced the game over the last quarter of a century. The rise of the women’s game at all levels; more families and communities attending games; greater representation of black and minority ethnic players at grassroots level and an increase in disabled facilities at stadiums are just some of the legacies Kick It Out can be proud to have played a part in. They are nowhere near done though. “We’ve come a long, long way on the pitch,” says Programmes Manager Keeley Baptista. “But we’re still seeing those all male, all white boardrooms, so we need to see more diversity at the top of the game. That comes from the leagues and the governing bodies, but also there needs to be more opportunity to diversify those boardrooms.”
>> KICK IT OUT'S KEELEY BAPTISTA AT THE LAUNCH OF THE NEXT 25 SCHOLARSHIP AT UCFB ETIHAD CAMPUS
KICK IT OUT’S PROGRAMMES MANAGER KEELEY BAPTISTA, CENTRE, SPEAKS WITH 56 Tomorrow’s talent - today UCFB’S BRENDAN FLOOD
Further education is clearly needed, and not just at the professional level. The Next 25 Scholarship – launched with UCFB to coincide with Kick It Out’s 25th birthday - has seen 25 students awarded funds to study a degree with the higher education institution. As well as studying for a degree, the scholars will also become peer educators for Kick It Out, joining the body at industry events to act as ambassadors to promote diversity and equality. Osei Sankofa, Education Officer at Kick It Out, told us: “For a long time football has been a game that has been represented by few, when really it is a game enjoyed by many people; so everyone should have the same equal opportunity to enjoy the game. These scholars will be able to filter down messages to up-andcoming generations so that discrimination can become a thing of the past.” UCFB’s Chairman and Chief Executive, Brendan Flood, added: “This is a game for everyone. The more people we can have leading the industry through education and doing the right thing, the better.” The Burnley FC Director continued: “The scholars are here because they have a clear passion for change, and with our support these people can really make a difference to the sports industry.”
FOOTBALL IS FOR EVERYONE
Kick It Out have been spreading their message since 1993, when they launched as the Let’s Kick Racism Out of Football charity in response to calls from clubs, players and fans to tackle racial discrimination within the game. Their work has since expanded to cover discrimination around gender, LBGT, faith and disability. “It’s really important for anybody that works in the football industry to understand what equality and inclusion means,” Baptista adds. “Not only should they [scholars] be able to spread the message of equality and inclusion and cohesion, but also in terms of their unconscious bias. It’s about treating people fairly and preparing everybody, no matter what colour their skin is, their gender or sexual orientation, to feel able to do the roles within the industry that they want to do.” The scholarship and increased education has come at an important time in the social fabric of the British game and British life. Figures for the 2017/18 season showed the number of incidents related to discrimination at football matches had increased by 11% on the previous campaign, with racist behaviour accounting for over half of recorded incidents. It’s a worrying trend that follows an increase of 16.7% during the 2016/17 season on the previous year. This, coupled with the rise in hate crimes in England and Wales and the antiimmigration rhetoric from some political parties that has followed the 2016 Brexit
“THE MOST IMPORTANT THING IS COMPASSION AND EMPATHY FOR OTHERS”
“IT’S REALLY IMPORTANT FOR ANYBODY THAT WORKS IN THE FOOTBALL INDUSTRY TO UNDERSTAND WHAT EQUALITY AND INCLUSION MEANS” campaign, makes the landscape that Kick It Out are working in even more challenging. “ The most important thing is compassion and empathy for others,” Sankofa adds. “Being aware of other people’s needs and making sure people are catered for in regards to what their needs and wants are.” Though talking about the 25 scholars, his words should echo through British society as a whole. On top of The Next 25, Kick It Out also run their Raise Your Game programme – a series of events designed to provide opportunities for young people who aspire to work in football. The initiative is sponsored by the Premier League, and covers areas like media, coaching and sports science. This year also saw the first ever England international dedicated to the organisation when Switzerland took on the Three Lions at Leicester’s King Power Stadium. Determined and looking forward, Baptista added: “Kick It Out and UCFB have both got the same vision, and that’s making football accessible for anyone. But more importantly it’s to make sure that it’s diverse and to make sure everybody gets the same and equal opportunity.”
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| BUSINESS | EVENTS
ESPORTS – THE NUMBERS REALLY DO ADD UP
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he lights go down, the sold-out arena goes wild and the players enter. Pleasantries are exchanged, the players warm-up and then we’re underway. Except this time, the 20,000-strong audience are joined by another two million viewers online, and they’re all watching a screen. The players, it turns out, are controlling the action via a PlayStation. 2018 is the year eSports truly took off. It is estimated that by 2020 the eSports industry will be worth around US$1.5 billion, a third of the size of the National Basketball Association (NBA) and comparable to France’s Ligue 1. The days of video games being confined to dark bedrooms are long gone – there is serious money to be made and careers to be forged. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) are giving it serious thought as a potential future addition to the Games, and FIFA recently hosted the inaugural eFIFA World Cup utilising their wildly popular namesake video game. Saudi Arabia’s Mosaad ‘Msdossary’
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ESPORTS - THE FUTURE IS NOW
“BY 2020 THE ESPORTS INDUSTRY WILL BE WORTH US$ 1.5 BILLION” Aldossar beat more than 20 million competitors to win the tournament in August. Currently 400 million viewers a year watch their favourite e-athletes play games such as Fortnite and League of Legends through streaming platforms like Twitch and YouTube. That number is expected to reach 600 million by 2020. Incredibly, the US Government had to listen to campaigners in 2013 and recognise League of Legends players as professional athletes. But it was Fortnite that was the undoubted hit of 2018, notably being a favourite among England players during their own games at the 2018 FIFA World Cup. During the first eight months of its release, around 40 million people logged into Twitch each month to play the game, and over 4,500 channels streamed the action – an average of 140,000 people watched the game and the players at any given time. The game hit the headlines in March when its star player, an American called
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ESPORTS - THE FUTURE IS NOW
“PSG AND AJAX HAVE ACQUIRED THEIR OWN E-ATHLETE TO REPRESENT THE CLUB IN TOURNAMENTS” Ninja, played musician Drake in a stream that set a Twitch record for non-tournament play with 635,000 viewers – nearly double the previous high. For advertisers, the eSports explosion has opened up a whole new, and younger, audience who now no longer consume traditional media or are interested in one-time traditional sports. And despite this audience being sceptical to traditional advertising, their thirst for merchandise and branded items remains as rich as football or American sports. There were over 600 brand sponsorships of eSport events in 2017, with huge amounts of revenue coming from merchandise, tickets, and, yes, betting. Electronic Arts reported in 2017 that 18 million players engaged in competitive gaming on its FIFA 18 and Madden NFL 18 titles, up a huge 75% on the previous year.
is comparable to some of the leading ‘real’ sports tournaments. In 2017, The Masters, one of the most prestigious events on the golfing calendar, had a prize pot of US$13 million. Similarly, the NBA Championships had a prize fund of US$13 million. The International, an annual eSports competition organised by the Valve Corporation, had a fund of over US$24 million. Big name clubs like Paris Saint German and Ajax have acquired their own e-athlete to represent the club in tournaments, but it’s a move few clubs across the UK have yet to embrace. That could all be set to change though after the Premier League and EA Sports announced the inaugural ePremier League, set to launch in 2019. Each club will have a representative in the FIFA tournament, set to take place in March and be broadcast live on Sky Sports. The likes of France, Germany and Australia already have eSports leagues, but this will be a first in the UK. The Premier League say this will be another way for clubs to engage with their fan base, while EA are more forthcoming in their ambition, stating they want to accelerate the growth of eSports through “traditional” sports.
Elite players are signed to publishers on six-figure salaries to tour the world and compete for prizes in the millions. In fact, prize funds for major eSports tournaments
HOW DOES ESPORTS REVENUE COMPARE TO MAJOR SPORTS LEAGUES AROUND THE WORLD? >NFL (2017) - £6.4BN >NBA (2018) £5.8BN >PREMIER LEAGUE (2016/17) - £4.5BN >LA LIGA (2016/17) - £2.9BN >ESPORTS (2017) £600M THOUSANDS CRAM INTO ARENAS TO WATCH 60 Tomorrow’s talent - today GAMERS, WHILE MILLIONS WATCH ONLINE
BRANDON SMITH & RICHARD BUCKLEY
IMAGE
UCFB STUDENTS RICHARD BUCKLEY, LEFT, AND BRANDON SMITH, RIGHT, ARE TAKING THE ESPORTS WORLD BY STORM
| BUSINESS | EVENTS
VOICE OF THE ESPORTS GENERATION Brandon Smith and Richard Buckley are two ambitious media students at UCFB. They’re also the recognisable voice to millions of FIFA players across the globe. Since winning an EA Sports commentary competition in 2017, the pair have been flying around the world to commentate to arenas full of avid FIFA fans, including at the FIFA eWorld Cup Grand Final in 2018. With the eSport only getting bigger and bigger, the self-proclaimed ‘Ant and Dec’ of the scene set their sights on being the voice of a generation during a chat with Future Sport… >>
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t’s been a whirlwind year for you both. How has it been for you? Brandon Smith: The last year has been an interesting one. It’s been really crazy and insane since coming to UCFB and meeting Richard. From doing a pro league in my dorm room and getting maybe three viewers, sometimes you might get 10, 20. Obviously it was quite disheartening but at the same time you have to put yourself out there, network and work as hard as you possibly can. People say sometimes you get a little bit of luck that goes your way and this competition came out from EA Sports saying they were looking for the next commentary duo for FIFA. We were like: “let’s just go for it, there’s no risk”.
Tomorrow’s talent, today
Richard Buckley: It’s been pretty hectic since it all took off. We’ve just been constantly traveling doing what we love and have been to some pretty special places, but I think the main thing for us is to just keep grounded and keep on working at what we’re doing. I think one thing that I’ve learnt from the past is there’s always someone trying to take your place whatever you’re doing, someone always trying to get in your position, so you’ve just got to keep on grinding away.
You’ve been jetting all around the world… what’s been the best experience so far?
BRANDON SMITH & RICHARD BUCKLEY
Brandon: It’s a bit of a tough one, really. We’re obviously delighted to go to anywhere in the world, whether England or Sweden. But I think one of the ones for me was going to Qatar, that was quite special. It’s not a place I’d have expected to go to but via the power of FIFA we went there. Speaking to a different range of players as well, people from all around the world, it was incredible.
Richard: We’ve been to America; to Los Angeles and San Francisco on different trips. I’d never been to America before, so for ourselves to say we’re going to America through FIFA was quite a surreal moment really.
What’s the plan for the next 12 months?
Richard: Just to keep on doing what we’re doing and try and improve, and at every opportunity to take in as much as we can while we’re still young and we’ve still got the drive and the energy. We want to keep on top of it and do as much as we can without burning out.
Brandon: I think we’ve kind of moved on leaps and bounds since last year and winning this competition. We’re now in the stage where we’re trying to build our profiles and build the duo that we have. We want to cover as many FIFA tournaments as possible. We’re just trying to continue to cover as many events as we can and hopefully, you could say, be the face of this new and upcoming eSport. How popular can eSports become? Can you see yourself commentating to a stadium full of people anytime soon? Brandon: We were lucky enough to do something at the 2018 Carabao Cup final between Manchester City and Arsenal. We got the call from EA Sports to commentate a half-time game between two professional players, with a mixture of influencers and YouTubers in there as well. I think the future for this is definitely going to be when the Premier League come into it, and then you can start having half-time matches with fans or pro players. This is slowly turning people’s heads; people are thinking “what is all this”. It’s just getting bigger and bigger. If you look at France, in Germany, all around the world, there’s leagues now where every football club have got FIFA players. It’s becoming more and more of a thing and before we know it it’s going to be even bigger.
“WE’VE BEEN CONSTANTLY TRAVELLING DOING WHAT WE LOVE.” Richard: It’s only going one way really. I think eSports in general is going upwards at quite a fast pace. We were recently at an event in Las Vegas at a sold-out venue; there were 650,000 people watching at the same time on Twitch, that’s more than a lot of shows get on mainstream television. That’s just one of the life experiences that has been going with eSports. It might be that the Olympics has eSports as a legitimate category soon that people can compete in, so if the Olympic Committee is taking it on board and are taking it seriously, I can only see it branching out and being on mainstream television in the next few years.
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BRANDON SMITH & RICHARD BUCKLEY
Do you have ambitions to commentate on real life football at all? Richard: I think there’s a quote that goes: ‘A goal without a plan is only a dream’, so you have to know what you want to achieve and you’ve got to plan everything out. I started on radio when I was 15 doing a local sports show in Barnsley for four hours on a Saturday afternoon taking calls from listeners after their team had played. I wanted to move down the radio path when I came to UCFB, but then I met Brandon and realised that eSports could potentially be something for us going forward. Right now I think the only progression really is to just keep on doing eSports. I see me and Brandon as the Ant and Dec of eSports, so we just want to keep on going forward while we’re here and to really try and make an impact on FIFA and eSports in general. Brandon: I used to go to Brighton games as a kid and record myself in the media box doing work experience. I’ve always loved football, obviously still do, but if you said to me you can only do eSports for the rest of your life, I’d happily do that. At the same time obviously I wouldn’t mind dipping back in to real life football. It’s the same fundamentals, they take bits from football into FIFA and bits from FIFA into football, but right now I’m just enjoying the ride and if eSports is what’s meant to be, I’ll take it all day long.
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“NO MATTER HOW GOOD YOU ARE, YOU CAN ALWAYS IMPROVE.”
Have you taken anything from your degree programme into eSports? Richard: I think one of the main things I’ve taken from UCFB was the commentary masterclass with Peter Smith, and having that sort of experience and mentoring from someone who has been at this level in football and in sports for such a long time. He’s said that he’s always constantly trying to improve himself. He drilled into us that there’s always someone trying to take your position so you have to stay on top of it and that was something that I learned a lot from him. When you’re practicing for commentary, practice every single player’s name because you’re going to have to say it properly. No matter how good you think you are you can always improve on something. Brandon: Well first of all obviously meeting Richard was key! But I think just being surrounded by a mixture of people. UCFB is a little bit different from other institutions; it’s not as big so there’s not as many students, so there’s better interaction with your tutors.
Any advice to people who want to follow the eGaming pathway? Richard: I think whatever it is that you want to achieve you have to have a goal and you have to have a plan for it, but also you need to not think about what other people think about you. When I was doing radio in Barnsley I was still at school and people were saying ‘why?’ Almost making fun. Now they see that I’m going to Paris, I’m going to Los Angeles and I’m going to Qatar to commentate on FIFA, a game that I’ve played for years. If you have the drive to want to do something, don’t let other people’s words or negative feedback impact you. Take the feedback from the people in that field, the constructive criticism, and always try to improve yourself and you’ll get to where you want to go.
RICHARD AND BRANDON CAN REGULARLY BE SEEN COMMENTATING ON HUGE EVENTS IN ARENAS AROUND THE WORLD
Brandon: I think you have to have a mixture of a number of things. Obviously, one, you’ve got to work hard. You need to have a little bit of luck maybe in there as well, sometimes it’s ‘right place, right time’. As hard as it can be you’ve got to try and find that niche, to try and find that gap where maybe there’s not as many people on it. I think Richard and I were quite lucky to find that and we’re in a position right now where we just wanted to keep driving FIFA forward into the eSports world. eSports is just booming at the moment.
“YOU HAVE TO HAVE A GOAL AND A PLAN FOR IT.”
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UCFB coaching students undertaking a session with Mike Phelan
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SPORTS FORECAST MEDIA | BUSINESS | EVENTS
SPORTS FORECAST
As the global sports industr y continues to expand at a phenomenal pace, the potential for innovation and future growth is staggering. Taking a closer look at current trends and predictions, Future Sport assesses what innovations could soon become reality...
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“P
SOCIAL MEDIA SUBSTITUTIONS latforms like Twitter are becoming increasingly more influential on the way fans and athletes consume sport, and according to former Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger, could soon dictate the changes a manager makes at half-time. The Frenchman, himself a victim of social media backlashes, believes club owners will soon look ever more towards what fans and investors are saying online to influence decisions on the pitch. He recently told beIN SPORTS: ‘I’ve said many times; you could imagine the next chairman who says that the social networks can make a change in the second half. That will become more and more entrenched. It will happen.” > PAUL BREWSTER, UCFB academic
“CLUBS AND LEAGUES COULD SOON BYPASS BROADCASTERS AND STREAM GAMES THEMSELVES.”
NO MORE SUPER SUNDAY “The Institute for Athlete Branding and Marketing – a think tank for athletes – has previously suggested that clubs and leagues could bypass broadcasters and stream games and events themselves. According to eMarketer, TV ad spending is set to fall over the next five years alongside traditional viewers. By streaming direct to their fans around the world, leagues and clubs would instead make up for lost television rights by recouping chunks of the digital advertising. What this would mean for the likes of Sky Sports and BT Sport is unclear.” > JOHN BANASZKIEWICZ, UCFB director
VIRTUAL TRAINING A REALITY “Virtual reality has been used in sport over the last decade with varying degrees of success, but now the team behind STRIVR Labs – one of the world’s leading VR specialists – may have raised the bar. Their technology is already helping some of the leading quarter backs in the NFL improve their game and practice at all times, without the need to enlist the help of their team mates. The future will also see VR revolutionise injury rehabilitation and the spectator experience. It seems only a matter of time until other leading sports follow suit. Imagine England’s top order being able to practice for the lethal spinners they’ll face in the subcontinent in their living room!” 68
VIRTUAL REALITY IS HELPING NFL Tomorrow’s talentTHEIR - todayGAME PLAYERS IMPROVE
> MIKE WALSH, Head of Academics at UCFB Etihad Campus
SPORTS FORECAST
FORMER ARSENAL MANAGER ARSENE WENGER BELIEVES SOCIAL MEDIA IS BECOMING MORE INFLUENTIAL IN HOW SPORT IS CONSUMED
A REAL WORLD SERIES
FANTASY OVER REALITY?
“The Major League Baseball World Series might be stretching the truth slightly with its title – all participants play in North America – but it’s becoming increasingly likely that some of the world’s most popular domestic leagues may go truly global. With the digitisation of sport creating fan bases around the world, clubs are increasingly looking at ways to tap into this new type of fandom. Noises have been growing louder for years about European and world super leagues in numerous sports. The NFL playing regular season games in London has kick started a trend, and now it seems only a matter of time until the Premier League or La Liga play regular games in America or Asia. Juventus vs Boca Juniors in the World Series Play-Off Final, anyone?”
“The Fantasy Sports Trade Association has previously said that the industry is worth more than US$7billion in the US and Canada, but could it one day take over from sports gambling? In the short term, maybe not, but the kids of America are leading the way. The Future of Sports Report in 2016 reported that 32% of American teens had played fantasy sports, such as DraftKings and FanDuel, versus 18% of adults. It added that for those living in states where betting is illegal, once they turn 18 their preference may well be to go from free fantasy games to paying fees to play. Secondly, it’s also a more engaging fan experience than betting on the next goal scorer or half-time score. Finally, its unaffected by match-fixing and doesn’t impact the integrity of sport.”
> PAUL FLETCHER, UCFB director
> SHARONA FRIEDMAN, UCFB’s Chief Marketing Officer
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| COACHING
IN CONVERSATION WITH
KELLY CHAMBERS What would you say to young, ambitious female coaches who might be unsure about taking the steps to become a coach? If you love something and it’s what you really want to do, then I think you’ve just got to go for it. The good thing about the women’s game is it’s growing so much, there’s jobs in all aspects of the game now, not just coaches, but also physios, sports scientists, strength and conditioning, analysts. If it’s something you really want to do, do everything you can to build your knowledge and experience. Experience is the big thing for me. Yes, you can have all the qualifications in the world, but your experience is where you gain your knowledge from and how you mould yourself as a coach.
After a ligament injury cut short her playing career in 2012, Kelly Chambers’ thoughts turned straight to management and her beloved Reading team. Six years later, and after guiding her team to the Women’s Super League, Chambers – who is also Director of Football at the Berkshire club - is riding the wave as one of the hardest working people in the game. In an exclusive interview with Future Sport, Chambers tells us about her management style, how a male and female changing room differs, and when we might see a female coach in charge of an elite men’s side…
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How important is it to continue your education, particularly in leadership and management, even when you are an experienced manager? How important is it to always keep improving? You’ll come across so many different people through coaching, whether that’s different coaches that you have to work with or players you have to work with. I think it’s a case of when you have more understanding and experience of different ways to manage people and lead people, even now in my team, everyone bounces off different ideas and everybody responds differently to different things. It’s a case of obviously knowing your players and your staff and what makes them tick, then how do you lead them as individuals to then lead them as a group.
IN CONVERSATION WITH: KELLY CHAMBERS
What type of people or qualities do you like to surround yourself with in your group or your coaching staff? What do you look for to build your team? Hard work is the be all and end all. That goes for players and staff. I need staff that are willing to go above and beyond, and I suppose you don’t really know that person until they go in and they do the job. I like them to be able to be adaptable and change if something is thrown at them, and for them to be open to change even though they’re the expert. After that, just lively, bubbly
people. Especially with females, I’ve found to get a group going you need happy people; happy to be doing the job that they’re doing. It’s a case of having people that love what they’re doing, they love the sport and want to grow the sport, and grow us as a club. > ARTICLE CONTINUES
>> KELLY CHAMBERS LED READING LADIES TO THE TOP DIVISION IN 2015
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IN CONVERSATION WITH: KELLY CHAMBERS
How crucial is it to have the right attitude? There are a lot of hard skills that you can train but if the attitude’s not there that can be so difficult to create and instil. Definitely. Obviously you have interviews to get jobs, but the biggest thing for me is to look at the person’s personality straight away. Is it the case that they’re open, bubbly, animated? Or is it just they’re there, just getting through an interview? You’ve got to be enthusiastic to want the job. For the continued growth of the women’s game in England, would it be better for the manager of the women’s national team to be female? I don’t believe so. I’ve always been a big believer in if you’re right for the job, you’re right for the job. I definitely feel it’s important to have females in a camp, but it doesn’t necessarily have to be the one that’s leading it. I truly believe that, for instance with Phil Neville and England, they’ve thought he’s the right person for the job. The FA have stuck with him, he’s doing really well and he’s got a team of females around him; an assistant and a physio who can support him with that side of it because not all females will be comfortable about talking to a male about numerous things. Do you see a point in the future where a female is manager of one of the 92 league club men’s teams? I’d like to think so, but do I think so? No. Purely because I don’t think there’s enough respect there. It’s always been something I wouldn’t be scared of jumping into. I believe in myself to be able to lead or coach any group, the knowledge is the same. For a female coach jumping in there, not knowing the male game as it is, it would be very, very
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difficult. If you can be in that environment before making that jump it would be a lot easier. I’ve been in and around men’s teams, but not as a coach, when I was a physio. I’ve drawn on those experiences in dressing rooms and I think men are so different to females. I’d like to think some time in the future it will happen, but will it happen anytime soon? I don’t think so. What use have you made of sports psychologists as a manager and can you tell us of any benefits? I haven’t used it as much in the sense of a team environment, I’ve used it more on an individual basis. It’s something I want to get to know a little bit more and how I bring it into my team, because it’s something I believe that will be very useful for us to progress to that next level. We keep adding and it’s something I’ve added more to this year in having someone that individuals can go to, from the outside looking in. I’ve seen positive outputs on the pitch, so it’s just making sure it’s used in the right way and the right context.
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