8 Unbelievable Jobs in Sport if You're Not an Athlete

8 Unbelievable Jobs in Sport if You're Not an Athlete

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Updated January 16, 2020 Updated January 16

Sponsored by emlyon business school

Are you a sports-addict, yet you can’t dribble a basketball or football to save your life? For the couch potatoes among us with a love of sports, there are fortunately plenty of ways to work in the industry that don’t require extraordinary athletic ability, whether it’s in HR or product development, finance or marketing.

These careers can be very lucrative: professionals who graduated from emlyon business school with an MSc in Sports Industry Management, for example, earned on average between €36,000 to €48,000 in their first jobs (US$40,340-53,800).

We spoke to the experts running the course about some of the amazing things their alumni students went on to do around the world. Any of these jobs could be yours, provided you have the right training, of course...

1. Brand Manager at Créations Fusalp

Emlyon business school graduate Matthieu Martin, went on to work for as a brand manager for the ski sportswear brand Créations Fusalp. Matthieu is responsible for managing their public image and fostering consumer brand loyalty. In the sports industry, brand management often involves getting famous sports teams and players to promote your product via a sponsorship or advertising.

2. Digital Brand Specialist at Nike Young Athletes

Based in Amsterdam, emlyon business school alumni Charlotte Steiner works as a digital brand specialist for Nike Young Athletes, a performance sportswear brand for kids. Her job is very plugged-in and involves developing an online content and engagement strategy and user-journey to maximize e-sales.

3. Chief Marketing Officer at a top football club

After graduating from emlyon business school’s MSc in Sports Industry Management, you could could work your way up into a Chief Marketing Officer role at a famous football club, designing and implementing the football club’s sales and marketing vision across various channels.

4. Regional Marketing Manager at a leading sportswear brand

Working as a regional marketing manager for a sportswear brand, you might get to manage product promotion through players, sponsorships and corporate events. Your job would entail developing marketing plans for the region and liaising with local offices to identify new opportunities and analyse campaign effectiveness to share with stakeholders.

5. Junior Project Manager at Puma

Alternatively, you could also, like the Nürnberg-based emlyon business school graduate Pranav Vontivilu, work as a project manager for an international sportswear and footwear company. If you did, you could be involved in the management, planning, coordination and financing of an exciting global project.

6. Finance and Operations Director at a global sports team

If you end up working in finance and operations leadership, you could expect to be in charge of things like bookkeeping, calculating budgets, resource management, strategic planning and team leadership at one of the biggest, most successful teams in the world.

7. Director of Communications & Engagement on an Olympics bidding committee

If merchandising isn’t your thing, you could help promote your city’s bid to host the Olympics, delineating a bid concept, looking at proposed venues, establishing a financing strategy and vision for the bid, as well as contributing to plans for the Olympic village.

8. B2C Marketing Project Manager at Olympique Lyonnais football club

You could also, like 22-year old emlyon business school graduate Nathan Constancias, work as a business-to-consumer marketing project manager at a famous football club. You’d be in charge of organizing stadium tours, VIP experiences, subscriptions and innovation.

90% of students on emlyon business school’s MSc in Sports Industry Management found a job within six months of graduation, so go on, apply here. Give it your best shot.

This article was originally published in June 2017 . It was last updated in January 2020

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