The world of sports is very dynamic and has lots of stakeholders. Among others, we have clubs, leagues, federations and companies that work everyday to make the industry better. As the industry grows, there is a greater need for qualified employees that can help to keep the growing pace to achieve the football we want. The football we need. 

In Spain, social security enrolment in the sports, recreation and entertainment sector increased by 5.7% year-on-year in September, to 238,253 enrolees; this figure, in fact, represents 16.3% more than in September 2019, when the country registered 204,773 affiliates. In other words, not only is the industry generating more job offers, but also, more people are choosing this sector as a career path.

The rise of graduate and postgraduate studies focused on sports management, sports marketing, sports law, among others, followed by the growing demand of students that want to be part of the industry, creates an opportunity to guarantee high level and qualified workers that will sustain the industry in the future.

Regardless of the good figures shown above, just as in other industries, job seeking can be a difficult process for students. That is why, in World Football Summit, we took the challenge of helping them to better understand the industry, its stakeholders and the profiles that companies oftenly look for when hiring.

Job Match Activity in World Football Summit Europe 2023

The WFS team organized three exclusive activities for the students that attended the event in Seville. A masterclass given by Miguel Ángel Hernandez guiding the students on how to work in the sports industry, exclusive company sessions where executives shared the profiles they normally look for and one to one meetings between the students and companies in a speed networking type of format.

Workshop by Miguel Ángel Hernandez: How to get a job in the sports industry?

Miguel Angel Hernandez, CEO of Final Score and former head of media at Real Madrid, imparted a masterclass about how to get a job in the sports industry. The students had the opportunity to get insights, tips and tricks based on Miguel Ángel’s vast experience in the sector; experience that he captured in his guide ¿Cómo trabajar en la industria del deporte?.

One of the main takeaways from the masterclass is that the industry is huge and has many different actors. Even Though, we mainly hear about clubs, leagues and federations, there are several companies, startups, foundations, among others, that focus or are somehow related to the industry. You can watch this masterclass here.

Exclusive Company Sessions

The second day of WFS Europe 2023 was impacted by the 21 companies that joined us in a private session with students. Firms coming from different backgrounds such as sustainability, agencies, clubs, sports tech and sports products; as well as, representatives from marketing to performance gave a 5 minute speech about their companies, the profiles that they normally look for when hiring and of course, tips and tricks from their personal experience.

It was well received from the students that had the chance to listen directly from companies like Deloitte, Sevilla FC, Real Betis, Pixellot, Forza FC, among others about the skills they need to develop and the knowledge they need to get to start a career in sports.

One-to-One meetings

The last activity of the job match was the One-to-One meetings among 30 companies and the 50 students. In a speed networking type of session, each student had the chance to sit personally with three companies for 5 minutes each to discuss their profiles and hear face to face advice from the companies’ professionals.

It is important to say that each student made a selection of sectors they would prefer to have a meeting with and the WFS team made a match with the companies that were closer to those preferences. Even though they were not job interviews, the students had a privileged networking activity.

We want to thank the 30 companies that attended the job match activities for sharing their experiences and for being open with the students that will become the future executives of The football we want. The football we need. Also, congratulations to all the students that participated and we encourage them to keep increasing their network and to keep pursuing their passion.