Five UCFB and GIS students have landed work placement roles at The Women’s Sports Alliance (WSA) following the recent partnership announcement between the women’s sports organisation and higher education institution.
After announcing the partnership in December, the students have secured roles across the company in media, marketing and events.
UCFB students include Adele Hancock (BA (Hons) Football Business & Marketing), who’s taken on the role of Membership Coordinator; Imogen Raphael (BA (Hons) Multimedia Sports Journalism) who will work as a Social Media Coordinator; and Rachael Vaughan (BA (Hons) Football Business & Marketing), WSA’s new Events and Social Media Coordinator.
Students from GIS include Ray Coombs (MSc International Sport Management), who’ll work as Partnership Coordinator, and Ciara Fleming (MSc Football Communications & Digital Marketing) who is WSA’s Journalism and Social Media Coordinator.
The WSA is the world’s first exclusive membership club, specifically created to support athletes, coaches and contributors involved in women’s sports at an elite, high performing and youth level. WSA is designed to champion the success of the elite, drive the performance levels of high performers and inspire the next generation of talent. WSA Membership benefits include, exclusive discounts, networking events, mentoring programmes and collaboration opportunities.
UCFB and GIS is a world first in higher education, delivering undergraduate and Master’s degrees dedicated to the global football and sports industries in areas including media, finance, coaching and event management. It’s UK campuses in London and Manchester feature the iconic Wembley and Etihad stadiums at their heart.
Jordan Guard, Founder and Managing Director of the WSA, commented: “With the many internship applications we received from UCFB students, the carefully selected interns excelled in both stages of the interview process. The chosen interns impressed us in every way; from their CV content to their carefully thought out CV designs, and to their manner over the phone and via Zoom.
“The interns we’ve selected are quite clearly intelligent, but most importantly they have a passion to challenge themselves and to learn quickly. They are fantastic additions to the WSA team and we are thrilled to have them on board. We will ensure that they learn a lot from their internship at the Women's Sports Alliance and we are sure that they will fit in brilliantly.”
More from Jordan on each student
Ray Coombs - Ray's knowledge of business management is brilliant. He's clearly learning a lot from his UCFB studies and we are translating his knowledge into the organisational partnerships world. Ray's attention to detail, creativity and work ethic is a breath of fresh air and he has a lot to offer to the sports world. As WSA's Partnerships Coordinator, we believe that Ray will thrive and will bring a whole range of different ideas to the table.
Imogen Raphael - Imogen is a fantastic independent learner. It is very clear that she has great intelligence when it comes to sport, business and marketing. Imogen has already earned our trust and as WSA's Social Media Coordinator, she is already working on some important hands-on tasks. We believe that Imogen has what it takes to have a hugely successful career in the women's sports industry.
Adele Hancock - Adele has a fantastic demeanour that allows her to fit in seamlessly to the business/organisational world. Her work is incredibly precise and she always thinks outside the box. We're looking forward to working with Adele closely on Membership Coordination and we believe she will thrive under pressure and under leadership roles.
Ciara Fleming - Ciara's writing style is superb. As the WSA journalism specialist, Ciara has written pieces on a whole range of topics already. We have dedicated a news page to Ciara's articles and named it 'Ciara's Column'. That is testament to her writing talent. Ciara is a logical thinker and ensures that every task she completes is thorough and of a high standard. Ciara has a bright future ahead of her in the world of journalism.
Rachael Vaughan - Rachael came on board as the WSA's Events Coordinator and has been doing a good job so far. From independent research tasks, she has provided some very useful information which we have used to aid our latest marketing strategy. We hope that Rachael will bring fresh ideas to the WSA and we are sure that she will develop the fundamental skills needed in an events management role.
