How Euro 2028 is creating hundreds of careers in the sports industry

“Hiring the right people with the right attitudes from a diverse set of backgrounds is really key to making sure we build a really great team for Euro 2028.”

Those are the words of Jennie Cooper, head of planning and readiness at Euro 2028 in the UK and Ireland, the first fully UK-hosted major football tournament since Euro 96.

Less than 24 months before the tournament kicks off, Jennie joined us at UCFB Wembley to discuss the lead-up and the excitement already building across the countries involved in hosting.

Jennie also spoke about the many different roles available at the tournament in different departments, and how fantastic these opportunities will be for people wanting to gain work experience in the sports industry.

Speaking about her role as head of planning, Jennie said: “My role is to make sure that the tournament is ready to be delivered on time.

“I’m here with a fantastic team, but that doesn’t come without its challenges. When I say we, I mean the royal we, and that extends to UEFA who own the rights to the tournament, plus ourselves as a local organising structure or committee.

“And then you look at our host cities, our stadiums, our government partners, mobility operators, the list is endless and we need to make sure we’re all aligned and we are testing our plans and ready to deliver come June 9, 2028.”

She added: “We’re on track, moving from that strategic phase, knowing where we’re going to be operating, what cities we’re going to and bringing our stakeholders on the journey to really getting into that next detail of operational planning. We’re building a fantastic team to deliver it.”

Jennie then spoke about the bidding and transition process of getting the tournament to where it is now, and how she joined the team.

“I think I was number 19 in the door, and we’re now at 56/57,” she said, “and then we’ll be 100 by the end of the year, 200 next year, and then we’ll really ramp up into hundreds of people ready to deliver in 2028.”

Speaking about the roles available throughout the tournament, Jennie said: “I would say it’s a bit cheesy, but I would say that the bedrock of our tournament is the 13,000-plus volunteers. We will need to recruit, and they’ll be across loads of different roles.

“Everything from event control rooms to being out and about with foam fingers, engaging with the fans to hospitality suites.

“And then in terms of roles we’ll be recruiting for, we still have quite a few business-related roles, whether that be in our finance team or readiness in my team or HR through to operational roles, in guest management or host city transport or in our stadium liaison team working with our stadium.

“So, a huge, huge variety. And we’re constantly putting jobs online on our LinkedIn page.”

Jennie finished by offering advice for people wanting to pursue a career within sport.

“Make sure you’re making the most of the opportunities provided to you, and if they’re not provided to you, go and find them.

“Not everything’s handed to you on a plate, and so you’ve got to get out there and go get it and just make sure that you’re building that experience and your network from an early age and maintaining that going forward.”

UCFB’s dedicated Employability and Career Planning Team offer incredible work placement opportunities to our students. Find out more about them and the experiences they allow our students to take part in alongside their studies.

You can also download a prospectus to find out more about UCFB’s unique sports-related degree courses, our campuses and how you can take the first step towards your dream career in sport.