BA (Hons) Football Business

In order for you to achieve your university and future workplace goals, you need to be aware of a number of personal qualities and behaviours that can impact your ability to succeed. It is also important that you understand the industry and societal context in which you plan to work. This module aims to introduce you to personal and professional factors relevant to employment in the sport industry, and to enhance your awareness of the industrial landscape. Additionally, it will support you in developing some essential academic skills for higher education (such as academic writing and referencing). The module will introduce you to a wide range of perspectives, philosophies, and principles of critical and ethical thinking which will equip you with the competencies and confidence to achieve your academic and employability goals.

This module seeks to develop an awareness of and an understanding of the source and purpose of accounting information to organisational stakeholders – both internal and external. You will be introduced to both strands of accounting, that being Financial and Management accounting and their constituent audiences’ needs. With reference to Financial Accounting, you will be introduced to the different statements or ‘accounts’ included within the annual financial report produced by companies, their differences and the information they convey to users. Through the use of case studies, you will be taught how to draft and analyse these statements. With reference to Management Accounting, you will be introduced to accounting principles and frameworks which can be used to aid management, when it comes to decision making, planning and controlling organisational activities. You will also be introduced to the various sources of finance and their related implications to the organisation.

This module aims to introduce you to the principles of marketing through a series of lectures and seminars. The module will provide you with an understanding of marketing models, concepts and theories. Marketing is a business philosophy that places the customer at the heart of all its activities (customer centric) and regards satisfying customer needs and wants for the purpose of building sustainable competitive advantages. You will explore the application of traditional marketing concepts and evolving technologies which impact the sports industry. In a continually disruptive environment, marketing is all about creating customer value and building profitable customer relationships. It is no different in the world of sport and football.

The sports industry does not exist in a vacuum. Rather, it is an environment which cuts across much of wider society, including politics, media, and popular culture. This module, drawing both on historical and contemporary examples, will explore the place of sport within the wider world. The module will aim to develop your academic understanding of the growth of sports within wider historical and theoretical frameworks, and how those frameworks continue to shape the present sports and media industries. The module will introduce a wide range of academic concepts, principles and case studies that will equip with a greater understanding and appreciation of the cultural significances of sport, past and present.

You will develop an understanding of sports fans, their motivations, experiences and interactions with sports clubs. It will ask you to consider how sport fan behaviour is regulated by different psycho-social factors such as involvement, identification, motivation, loyalty, as well as forms of social exclusion. You will examine how the unique relationship between fans and sports clubs has developed over time and explore some of the key issues underpinning this dynamic. This module will allow you to study sport through the intersection of sociological, psychological and marketing perspectives underpinning sports fan experience and behaviour. You will also develop your understanding of some of the methodologies underpinning market research and scholarly studies of sports fan behaviour, examining processes, variables and outcomes associated with sports fan behaviour research.

The business of football is a constantly evolving global industry because of its increased popularity and revenue streams. Football has a unique role in society, it transcends sport, leisure and entertainment and this distinguishes the football business from other industries. The module will provide you with an understanding of sports business models, concepts and theories in respect of the football industry. You will explore the sports business ecosystem which reflects key stakeholders and their realms of influence and interaction.

Entrepreneurship is more a state of mind than an actual discipline. It involves the full gamut of business knowledge and skills, commonly taught on business related courses. You will develop a business idea within a group. To realise this idea, you will produce a pitch deck which will be presented to an investment panel. Based on feedback and comments from the panel you will then produce a business plan. There is also an increasing need for innovative and entrepreneurial thinking in a wide range of industries. This practical focused module will therefore also provide you with the skills and knowledge from the world of business underpinned by relevant theories and models to help you succeed in a variety of careers. The ultimate aim of this module is to give you a realistic and viable alternative career opportunity establishing and running your own business.

Following on from your previous training regarding personal qualities and behaviours that can impact your ability to succeed, this module focuses on developing your practical skills relevant to a workplace environment. This module will ask you to apply your knowledge and personal skillset to problem-based learning scenarios, and live projects. You will learn project management skills, develop your personal pragmatism, and enhance your industry-based interests and understanding. You will work both as part of a team and independently, developing essential aspects of your emotional, social, and professional self.

This module will develop financial accounting skills from your Level 4 studies. This unit equips you with the financial accounting techniques to prepare income statements and statements of financial position with year-end adjustments, such as depreciation and amortisation, accruals and prepayments, revaluation and bad debt write offs. You will also be introduced to preparing a statement of cash flow and how this statement differs from an income statement and statement of financial position. You will also be introduced to more advanced methods of ratio analysis in the context of financial performance, position, liquidity and solvency analysis. You will be expected to comment on ethical issues in Financial Reporting around the IASs, such as window dressing (including major case studies), misuse of accounting policies (eg recognition of non-current asset values) and the importance of audits, as well as the effectiveness of regulation in financial reporting.

Studying this module will develop your knowledge and appreciation of how globalisation shapes the thinking of football related entities in different organisational and environmental settings. You will learn how socio-political, cultural, ethical and economic drivers intertwine to influence global sporting ecosystems You will also be able to critically evaluate how different football stakeholder groups are impacted by the shift towards homogenous ‘Global’ ecosystem behaviours. The module will provide you with theoretical concepts and relevant contemporary thinking for undertaking this analyses, considering ‘authentic’ consumer behaviour patterns, and identifying the best method to establish a global pathway for any football related organisation.

As a practitioner in your discipline you will be required to engage in evidence-based practice. This module supports your ability to become an evidence-based practitioner by providing you with an introduction to the processes involved in conducting research within your discipline and equipping you with the skills and knowledge to be able to critically analyse the work of others. This module will build on skills and knowledge which you will have acquired throughout your course so far, and has been designed to prepare you for conducting your own independent project as part of the Professional Project module at Level 6. Specifically, this module will enable you to gain an applied understanding of the research process. This will involve identifying a contemporary industry-relevant issue; developing project aims and objectives; understanding reflexivity and the role you play in the design and execution of a project; understanding methodologies and different methods of data collection, analysis, and interpretation; and appreciating the importance of ethical practice. The delivery of this module will be facilitated by your engagement in a research project to investigate contemporary industry-relevant issues.

This module aims to introduce you to the organisation and governance of world football through a series of lectures and seminars. The module will provide you with an understanding football management off the pitch and challenges faced by football organisations. Football is a global game enjoyed by billions and football associations at every level may see governance in a different way to that of international organisations. A holistic view of the management of football as a sport is central to this module.

This module explores current global, national, and local issues that are challenging traditional ways of thinking about and delivering sport. Contemporary sports management is an ever-evolving discipline. It requires sports managers to daily appreciate and interact with a diverse array of modern challenges that affect their ability to influence sporting environments. This engaging module will provide you opportunities to critically discuss important topics ranging from the global commercialisation of sport to national issues of social diversity in sports governance. You will explore how technology and innovation is disrupting traditional methods of sports management as well investigating matters of sports leadership and corporate social responsibility. Lectures and seminars will provide you with the opportunity to engage with such important topics through theory presentation, group discussion and individual investigation.

In this module, you will evaluate how branding concepts are conveyed to markets, with football being central to this. You will be encouraged to debate the applicability of these arguments to football clubs and how they can be implemented to fulfil sporting goals. The increased accession of player branding is a further consideration of this module. You will develop and apply branding strategies for sporting entities which will contribute to and align with the wider marketing strategy of such institutions and individuals.

Following on from your previous training regarding personal qualities and behaviours that can impact your ability to succeed, this module focuses on practical application of that knowledge during a workplace visit. Until now, your modules have provided learning opportunities about the industry and societal context in which you plan to work. This module aims to introduce you to a workplace environment. Doing so will allow you to enhance your awareness of the industrial landscape through experience. This module creates a space for you to apply competencies developed in your modules to date to a real-life setting, leading to experiential and reflective learning.

In this module you will critically analyse the internationalisation of football business through the rise of the sports-based multi-national company. You will examine why a business may want to undertake foreign direct investment and how that can be financed. The module will consider the inherent risks a business faces when establishing itself in the international marketplace and the potential barriers that may need to be overcome. As a result of the module you will be able to evaluate the methods employed to reduce risk whilst maximising returns. You will explore financial management techniques including investment appraisal practices as well as have the opportunity to review common corporate finance theories, concepts, and practices. In addition, this module presents an opportunity to analyse, review and assess the impact of international trade and investment has on the financial strategies of sports brands.

This module provides you with the opportunity to synthesise the knowledge and skills you will have developed during the course of your studies and independently design, develop and execute an individual professional project. This project aims to investigate an original contemporary industry-relevant issue and will be a platform through which you will demonstrate the knowledge, skills, understanding and expertise you have developed in your discipline thus far. It is expected that your project output will contribute to industry practice and/or academic and practitioner knowledge. To achieve this, you will investigate an original contemporary industry-relevant issue and make judgments on the basis of sound evidence and therefore, the project will be research- and inquiry-based. The project will be directly relevant to your course and will be produced and disseminated in the format best suited to the project aims and to developing a career of your choice. The project will build on the L5 Research Methods assessment and you will be working closely with a project supervisor who will provide guidance and support throughout your project.

This module will provide you with the opportunity to identify the skills, competencies and experience required for successful development to embarking on their university degree and successfully completing it and progressing on to a range of potential future career areas. Central to the developmental process is for you to cultivate the reflective skills, openness and self- awareness to enable you to assess what you are doing, identify areas for improvement, and confidently receive and give constructive feedback.

This module will provide you with the opportunity to identify the skills, competencies and experience required for employment. This will support you in your ‘transition’ from school, college or the work place towards degree level study. You will begin to recognise the areas for your own personal professional development (including emotional, social, physical, cultural and cognitive intelligences) through taught and workshop activities. This will allow you identify attributes that are important to develop that are important for your career in the sports professional related to your programme.

The module will introduce you to the research processes when undertaking a project within your field of study. You will explore the important ethical considerations when planning and conducting a research project safely to analyse a problem or question specific to your subject area. This will require you to utilise and apply key research skills alongside selecting appropriate methods to collect data and report significant findings regarding your research question.

This module introduces you to many of the challenging and complex contemporary issues faced in the rapidly changing and demanding, world of sport. It will allow you to build and consolidate knowledge, through understanding of key issues within the broad arena of sport in a discursive manner that will underpin your future work. You will be encouraged to research events, themes and issues that have affected the world of sport and, in some cases, changed the structure and behaviour of the sports industry.

This module will introduce you to the framework within football finances and the decision-making process of clubs, players and agents while applying this to the context of international football. You will examine key principles of leadership styles in management. This will allow you to identify and develop management knowledge and understandings. You will analyse which leadership styles are considered to be successful in the business management of others.

This module will introduce you to the foundations towards a range of concepts and models related to understanding and managing people, work and behaviour in national and international football related organisations. In order to identify and explain how clubs operate and are organised from a commercial and sporting perspective, while preparing an interactive resource (eg. Podcast, website, visual or audio resource) undertaking an examination of a clubs use of the marketing function to engage with audiences.