A Global Institute of Sport graduate has been speaking to us about how her postgraduate degree has helped her in her role at the Premier League.
Sarah Levy works as an academy player care manager at the Premier League, and graduated last year with a Master’s in MSc International Sport Management from GIS.
Speaking about her role, Sarah said: “I work with clubs, predominantly in the academies, so U9s to U21s to support clubs and support the players in their off-field development.
“It involves a number of different initiatives including induction and exit, so not just transitioning out of an academy but also through the phases and into the first team.
“It also involves mental and emotional wellbeing, understanding the importance of player and parent voice and making sure everyone is happy in their environment and thriving.”
Sarah joined us at the recent UCFB/GIS Open Day for academy graduates at Premier League HQ in London, to talk to prospective students about life at GIS.
She spoke about how her time at GIS helped broaden her knowledge of the sports industry, which she now uses daily at her role within the Premier League.
“During my course,” she said, “I came across a number of modules I would have never come across, which now I take a lot of into my day-to-day work.
“Like marketing and communications. Yes, we have a department at the Premier League that does that, but actually being able to have an insight into that is something I wouldn’t have been able to do before.”
She added: “I did my degree part time, so it was great to still be immersed in full-time work and apply that to discussions in the classroom and what we were studying.
GIS was a really good place for me to be able to bring new ideas and new perspectives to a lot of the work that I was doing.”
She finished: “The best thing about working in sport is being able to work in an industry that you’re not only passionate about because you enjoy it, but making a difference and seeing how your work applies to that and evolves with it is really rewarding.”
To find out more about our graduates who have gone on to have careers across the global sports industry, click here.
You can also score your career goals by clicking here to view a GIS prospectus.