From pitches to pitching: UCFB students take part in BBC Apprentice challenge

UCFB students took part in an Apprentice-style challenge alongside partners Rising Ballers, putting their sports business entrepreneurial minds to the test.

To celebrate Season 20 of the hit BBC show, the students met with fellow industry enthusiasts and were given the challenge of coming up with their very own football team.

This opportunity was granted to students via our dedicated Employability and Career Planning Team, who offer students the chance to meet with our array of guest speakers and take part in vital work placement experiences.

From designing kits and badges to coming with innovative ways to drive fan engagement and revenue, the teams had to cover every aspect of forming and running a club.

All teams then had to pitch their clubs to Lord Alan Sugar’s Apprentice advisors Mike Soutar and Claudine Collins as well as football experts Brendon Shabani and Spencer Carmichael-Brown.

One of the winners was UCFB Wembley Student Union president Grace D’Souza.

Speaking about the opportunity and the victory, she said: “It’s really nice to win with an amazing team, more than anything else. And it’s really nice to be judged by some Apprentice legends.

“I think our initiatives in order to help bands and the future of them and the brand values that we had for our team were the main part of why we won.

“And our design, I can’t thank the team enough for their artistic skills because I’m definitely not the one that used that phrase.”

She finished: “I’ve had the best time. And it’s been nice to get to know people from Manchester, Student Union as well and the rest of the UCFB team. Thank you very much, UCFB.”

UCFB students are offered an array of work experience opportunities through our Employability and Career Planning Team. Find out more about them and what they offer our students.

You can also view a prospectus to learn more about student life at UCFB, our campuses and unique sports-focused courses.