Former Deloitte consultant and course leader for MSc Football Business gives his advice on how to start a career in football finance:
“In truth, the world of finance is the hardest to crack in the football industry, due to its technical nature but also the desire for professionally qualified individuals.
“As such, I highly recommend that any students aspiring to work in football finance aim for accountancy or finance graduate schemes in the wider industry to begin with, where they can study for the ACA, ACCA or CIMA professional accountancy qualifications.
“Yes, it’s a step away from football in the short term (very few clubs offer accountancy or finance jobs where they will fund professional exams), but as long as one doesn’t lose sight of the longer term aim, combining a football business-specific degree with a professional accountancy qualification will very much open doors in football finance. It worked for me at least!
“That aside, regardless of where a student is at in their career, never underestimate the power of networking. The football industry might appear huge, but in reality it’s tiny, which means getting your first job in finance, or any other business discipline in the game, is the hardest.
“As such, making the effort to grow your network at industry events, or even just identifying attainable individuals in positions you aspire to and asking for 15 mins of their time for career advice and guidance, can leave a lasting impression that will be of benefit further down the line.
Watch this video to see some of the networking opportunities that have been on offer to UCFB students this semester.
“LinkedIn is obviously a great tool for this, though for me it is also important to not be too opinionated on such public platforms and remain objective, as given the polarising debates that exist in the world of football finance currently (e.g. the independent regulator/financial distributions), openly supporting one side of an argument could negate job opportunities further down the line.”
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