UCFB students congregate at St George’s Park for annual Future Leaders Conference

A UCFB sports media student has been looking back on his time at the 2026 Future Leaders Conference, held at St George’s Park.

The conference saw students from UCFB Wembley and UCFB Manchester congregate at the Home of England for the tenth edition of the annual conference.

Matthew Stephens, a BA (Hons) Multimedia Sports Journalism student, wrote about his experience at the event. See what he said below…

The latest instalment of the annual Future Leaders Conference saw students brave both their early alarms and the weather to make the journey to Burton-upon-Trent, where they visited the home of the England national teams, St George’s Park.

Having received talks from broadcaster and ex-Crystal Palace striker Clinton Morrison, a Lioness panel featuring legendary duo Toni Duggan and Steph Houghton, and experts in an industry of the students’ choosing, those in attendance left with incredibly valuable advice and inspiration, as well as a newfound understanding and appreciation of the effort that the staff at St George’s Park put in behind the scenes.

Renowned for his engaging nature, Mark Clemmit, the prolific host and reporter on the likes of Football Focus and Final Score, kicked the day off with a motivational introductory talk, introducing a surprise guest in ex-Premier League referee Chris Foy.

Foy spoke on the importance of seeking advice on how to improve from those whose opinions you value, as well as avoiding complacency to maintain high standards in everything you do.

A couple of brave students took to the stage to speak to Clemmit about how gaining work experience alongside their studies has benefited them so far, and how they plan to take it forward as they make their first steps into the football industry.

Following on was a tour of the immaculate St George’s Park facilities, where students were treated to a detailed insight on how the England national teams operate. Most shockingly for many, though, was how much of a collective effort  from all staff involved that it takes to maintain the highest standards for each and every national team, something that has started to be reflected on the pitch in the biggest tournaments.

Perhaps the most personalised section of the day was the breakout sessions, where each student was able to choose to hear from an industry expert of their choice, picking between Mark Clemmit for communications, Lee Collier for coaching and Kevin Sanders for business.

Recognised as the most insightful aspect of the conference as a result of the targeted lessons individuals were able to walk away with, the comparatively intimate group sizes meant that students were inspired to engage with the respective experts on a more personal basis, which are the kinds of qualities that the conference aimed to bring out in each attendee.

The two main talking points of the day came towards the end, though, when the Lioness Panel featuring the legendary duo of Toni Duggan and Steph Houghton spoke about the difficulties that young girls once faced in breaking into the world of football, whether on the pitch or in related industries, as well as the subsequent evolution of the women’s game that we’ve seen in the last decade.

It was a panel of optimism for the future of women’s football and the consistently increasing number of opportunities that girls now have to break into football, while also reflecting on difficult times in their careers, from Houghton’s injury issues to Duggan learning to adapt to life in Spain, promoting mental toughness and how crucial embracing and overcoming setbacks is to success.

As he does on our TV screens when on punditry and reporting duties for Sky Sports, Clinton Morrison simply radiated charisma, with such an infectious personality that even the Brighton fans in the room couldn’t help but find themselves entertained by the Palace legend.

The former Ireland international spoke about his own difficulties in life and in football, including navigating his way into professional football (with the help of his mum), the issues that arose from surrounding himself with the wrong people, and facing racist abuse, all of which were subjects that students could take their own lessons from.

He was full of praise for the conference and the chances it provided attendees with to help them grow in preparation for their careers post-graduation.

“Days like this are very important for students, I think it’s fantastic,” Morrison said. “I wish I had days like this growing up, so hopefully a lot of people can benefit from this and I wish them well for the future.

“I’ll always say that, when you do these events, if five or six people pick something up and you see them be successful in years to come, you’ll be happy that you’ve done something right.”

He even stuck around during the final networking opportunity of the day, offering advice to students while they chatted to their peers over a free drink, before heading off home to put an end to an encouraging and motivational conference.

Morrison offered a final piece of advice, one that transcends academia and is applicable to anybody in any field.

“Be positive. Whatever you are going to do in life, be positive and have good energy. It’ll go a long way.”