Marketing graduate on how UCFB degree helps in his roles at FA and UEFA

A graduate has been telling us how his time at UCFB helped prepare him for his roles at the FA and UEFA.

Ben Friend, who studied BA (Hons) Football Business and Marketing at UCFB’s original campus at Burnley FC’s Turf Moor, has been at the FA for eight years and has recently taken up a position at UEFA.

His two roles in the football industry now are:

• FA Events Manager
• UEFA Venue Director

In his role at the FA, Ben oversees events such as England matches, UEFA matches and finals, as well as working with clubs and other organisations related to each individual event.

Similar to this, Ben deals with sporting and organisational matters between teams as part of his new role at UEFA.

When asked about his time at university, Ben said: “With UCFB, I really found myself in a situation I was very happy with, the minute I started studying.

“I had internships and placements while studying. The positive for me at the time was just being in that environment.

He added: “UCFB is great as you’re already in the environment you’re already interested in.

“To have that head start coming to an organisation like the FA or a sporting body, a club or whatever is a real bonus.

“Once you’re in there though, it’s down to you to continue that.”

He finished: “Be open-minded. Ultimately, you need to pinpoint which direction you want to go down, but because football and sport is such a wide-ranging industry, there’s going to be things out there you haven’t even realised yet.

“Now UCFB has a wide range of courses, that’s another bonus as you’re going into it knowing a bit more specifically.”