Premier League club CEO offers career advice to UCFB students

A Premier League chief executive has been offering advice to UCFB students who are looking to forge a career in the football and wider sports industry.

Paul Barber, chief executive and deputy chairman of Brighton and Hove Albion, spoke to UCFB about working in elite football and what students can do to pursue their career goals.

When asked about his role as a chief executive as a Premier League club, Paul said: “It’s my job to co-ordinate the various different activities at the football club to give us the best possible chance for our teams to win football matches week-to-week.

“That basically means taking care of everything that isn’t coaching the team and picking a team.”

He went on to speak about how a club, such as Brighton and Hove Albion, aims for success and continuous improvement.

“I think it’s important to have a long-term vision” he added. “I think it’s important to have very clear values on how you’re going to operate as a club, and a consistent approach to how you recruit players, staff and how you drive high performance.”

When asked about gaining an education towards a football industry career, such as our wide array of undergraduate degree courses, Paul said: “I think education is an important platform no matter what job or industry you want to go into. Achieving the highest level of education you can is very important.

“From our point of view, those who come into the organisation with a solid education base tend to progress their careers that much faster.”

In addition to gaining an education, Paul said experience within the industry is invaluable to students in forging a career.

“You’ve got to start somewhere,” he said, “so getting involved with your local club is valuable. So many people come to us with a lack of experience of the game and understanding of the game.

“If you’ve played it or coached it, that’s great. Go off an get refereeing badges, support the local club, get involved in the administrative side. When you come into a football club, that gives us an indication that you have set out to have a career in football.”