Sydney FC are now accepting applications for the Sport & Business Program, with a one-year dual-diploma on offer.
Powered by SEDA Group, the Sydney FC Sport & Business Program will give students a chance to study in a practical and hands-on environment at Sydney FC.
The diploma will cost students around $14,000 for the year, with four face-to-face days of training and assessment set to take place each week, inclusive of facilitated online delivery for some subjects. Students are also required to complete 80 hours of practical placement in the industry.
Among the benefits, students will develop skills and knowledge across a variety of areas including sponsorship, project and event management, talent identification, social media and marketing. They will connect and learn from Sydney FC’s sports industry experts, coaches and elite players, providing a glimpse into the business elements involved in running a football club.
Students can study a curriculum matched to their interests, complete a practical placement, run major projects, and participate in football-specific high-performance activities which are all designed to further develop skills and experience.
Australian Professional Leagues (APL) and Sydney FC Chief Executive Officer Danny Townsend believes the program will open the door for some of the best young business minds in the country to come through.
“We’ve been working with SEDA now for a long time in a secondary school education program, and we felt that providing a tertiary extension to that would allow for more young, aspiring sports people to get into the game,” he said.
“We’re in the process of building our Centre of Excellence at Macquarie Park, and now we are able to utilise that facility to deliver this program in partnership with SEDA.
“We felt that it was the right time to do it, particularly with the Women’s World Cup coming, to also give young females the opportunity to engage in sports business.
Townsend was excited to use the new program as a tool to engage with and identify talent outside of their current way of recruiting stuff which was dependent on volunteers or internships.
“They will come out of that program with an understanding of the club’s inner workings and therefore be able to integrate if we need a role filled,” he said.
“But equally, we see it as a pathway to get some of these students into university.
“We are fortunate that we have a great relationship with the University of New South Wales and we’re working with them to determine how this program can bridge into a full-fledged degree.”
In comparison to what’s already available for sports-business education, Townsend sees more that can be done in specific areas.
“Academic education is great, and it’s important, but equally, having that practical experience goes a long way to really rounding future employees for any sporting landscape.
“Being able to do a course like this gives you exposure to every component of the runnings of a professional sporting club.”
Applications are open to all eligible year 12 graduate students, with the program set to begin in January 2022. You can find all details and register here.
