Current UCFB Wembley MSc International Sport Management students are currently exploring and studying in Madrid as part of the programme. Students are spending time in the Spanish capital at Escuela Universitaria Real Madrid Universidad Europea – the education arm of the 13-time European champions – to gain further knowledge of international markets. Here, student Jessy Berbari tells us about the experience so far and what she’s enjoying about the unique opportunity…
We were all looking forward to May 1st – the day of our flight to Madrid. A new city, a new experience. We met with UCFB leader Gustavo Spanholi and everything went very smoothly. Gustavo was very efficient in bringing everyone together and solving any problems that we faced.
- Going behind the scenes at Ciudad del Futbol – the training centre for the Spanish national team
- Real Madrid v Baskonia basketball match
- Students watched Real Madrid take on Celta Vigo at the Santiago Bernabeu
Arriving at the accommodation, El Faro, the rooms were assigned and the rooms were nice and very spacious, and it is very well placed. We’re about a 40-minute walk from the city centre and two minutes from a supermarket. There are a lot of bars and restaurants around us which makes it very easy to watch games during the evening. The route to the university campus is very simple with a shuttle bus that picks us up from a station about 30-minutes away from our accommodation.
We spent one week with an MBA Australian group, and it was an amazing experience to have the chance to talk to some experts in the field. Our first visit was to the Wanda Metropolitano – the new home of Atletico Madrid. After studying it for six months, it was very practical to see it in person and put all the theories that we learned into practice. We had a professional tour visiting the boxes, the VIP spaces and the changing rooms.
If you are a fan of sport, living in Madrid is the best place to watch live games. We had the opportunity to watch football, tennis and basketball. Of course, going to a Real Madrid game was inevitable. We saw them beat Celta Vigo 6-0, and the atmosphere in the stadium was incredible. We were sitting in the last row but were able to see everything. Being in the city and stadium of one of the best football teams in the world is incredible for any football fan.
- Students had the chance to visit Atletico Madrid’s new Wanda Metropolitano stadium
- Playing and learning about basketball in Torrelodones
- Pitchside at the Wanda Metropolitano
Escuela Universitaria Real Madrid Universidad Europea takes into account all sports and applies knowledge about each aspect of different sports. We had the opportunity to go to the Torrelodones basketball academy, where we had a lecture with Juan Carlos Fociños. He gave us an overview of how the business of a basketball academy works, and also had the opportunity to play basketball and enjoy a wonderful day in Torrelodones.
On top of all of this, we had a tour and lecture in the legendary Santiago Bernabéu stadium, home of Real Madrid. Our lecture was mainly about the VIP boxes, and the tour gave us access to stand next to the pitch.
