UCFB ended 2023 with the launch of our Premier Events initiative, offering our students more knowledge and opportunity within their chosen area of the sports industry.

Held at both our Wembley and Manchester campuses in November and December, the three events for each campus focused on:

  • Sports Coaching
  • Sports Media and Journalism
  • Sports Business

This is as well as a graduate careers event, also held in both London and Manchester.

The events brought our students together with executive guest speakers, as well as UCFB alumni and further industry experts.

The events brought our students together with executive guest speakers, as well as UCFB alumni and further industry experts.

In addition, the events allowed students to network with no fewer than 160 potential future employers from their sports industry sector.

These employers included Sky Sports, West Ham United, JD, the BBC as well as both Manchester United and Manchester City.

The initiative of the Premier Events was brought in by UCFB’s employability and career planning (ECP) team.

Simon Fitzjohn, UCFB’s senior ECP manager, said: “We’ve had full rooms of students making the most of these opportunities to get up close and personal with people from the football industry they usually wouldn’t get anywhere near.”

Some of the guest speakers our students were able to network with thanks to these events include:

  • Football commentating legend Martin Tyler
  • Former Premier League player Sol Bamba
  • Sky Sports News presenter Clare Tomlinson
  • Founder of AFTV Robbie Lyle
  • CEO of Luton Town Gary Sweet
  • Sky Sports commentator Gary Taphouse
  • Arsenal WFC academy manager James Honeyman

Several UCFB graduates also came back to talk to our students about their experiences and give guidance to them, including:

  • Jemma Entwistle, women's talent technical coach at the Football Association
  • Riccardo Polacco, head of scouting for US Triestina Calcio 1918
  • Jack Cairns, head of growth at Salford Red Devils
  • Robin Krasniqi, first team scout at Derby County and academy coach at Rayo Vallecano

In total, the Premier Events brought 110 guest speakers from the sports industry to talk to our students and offer advice for their future careers.

To kick off your future career within the football and wider sports industry, take a look at UCFB’s wide array of undergraduate degrees by clicking here.

You can also click here to view a UCFB prospectus and see how you can score your career goals.