How UCFB degree helps Sam in executive role at Manchester United

UCFB graduate Sam has been speaking to us about how much his degree helps him in his role as internal communications executive at Manchester United.

Sam Leal studied BA (Hons) Sports Business and Sports Law at UCFB, and has taken his degree, as well as the experience he gained, into his job at the Red Devils.

As part of his role at Manchester United, Sam supports the delivery from the internal communications strategy at the club, as well as creating content for the weekly colleague newsletter.

He also oversees the day-to-day management of the intranet and app at the club and takes part in event management.

Speaking about his time at UCFB, Sam said: “It was a fantastic experience for me. It gave me a lot of transferable skills and principles which I am now applying to my day-to-day job.

“UCFB is so different to other universities and it’s not the same experience as you’d get elsewhere, because you’ve come here and your goal is to get a role within the sports industry.

“That’s the primary role, so everything you do needs to be geared towards that.”

He went on the speak about the importance of the opportunities available at UCFB for sports industry work experience on top of the degree studies.

“Of course, you should enjoy it,” Sam said, “but you’ve got these opportunities to make it in the sports industry, which is unlike any other, so take every opportunity which comes your way.

“Whether that’s doing work for free for a charity, working a little bit outside your comfort zone every now and then, or getting experience in different parts of the industry.

“I think that’s really important because those experiences build your expertise, and you can apply them to the sports industry.”