Stepping Onto the Ladder: What Work in Football Live Taught Me About Breaking Into the Industry
On Monday night I had the opportunity to attend the Work in Football Live event at Old Trafford. The sellout audience was made up of likeminded individuals with an undying passion for sport and a dream to break into the industry.
With a wide range of professionals in the sport industry, a wealth of knowledge and experience was evident. First to take the stage was Matt Lee, Alex Dudman and James Beet, interviewed by Work in Football’s founder James Cox.
It was made very clear to me that these opportunities to attend networking events are the easiest way to make connections with people in the industry. Matt, who is the Recruitment Lead at Manchester United Women, emphasised the importance of going to as many networking events as possible.
Alex, a YDP Performance Analyst at Manchester United, explained that just being a good person around the office and always doing your best to give off a good impression of yourself can open many doors to different opportunities as you are a good person to work with.
A 40-minute train away is Preston, where James Beet is the Head of Academy Recruitment, Loans and Player Pathways at Preston Northend. He spoke about how getting into a role straight after university is very difficult, so it is best to be better and busier than the rest by doing lots of job placements throughout your time at university. This is something that I and many others who were in that room on Monday night are actively looking into to get a foot in the industry.
Next, Sally-Ann Ofori interviewed Academy Sports Scientist at Liverpool FC Kyle Taylor and Head of Academy Sport Science and Medical at Blackburn Rovers Rob Pulling. Kyle stressed the importance of remaining persistent and not giving up if you get rejected; he applied for 20-40 jobs after university and didn’t get any of them.
When I met Kyle after he spoke in that panel, he told me that he went to university to become a PE teacher and had no idea that he would end up as an academy sports scientist for Liverpool. Kyle also proves that it is possible to juggle numerous different roles in order to gain heaps of experience in the industry. He works at Liverpool from 8am-5pm, Southport from 6pm-8pm and works on his PhD after that.
Rob Pulling advised us to tailor your CV and job applications to appear more presentable for the role you are applying for. He also explained that roles in other sports can provide valuable experience and transferrable skills. For example, he has a colleague who was brought into the club because he worked in rugby and his recruiters thought that he could offer something that people that have only worked in football can’t.
The final panel was comprised of Women’s Club Pathway Operations Officer at the FA Geoffrey Gulzar, Academy Player Care Officer at Liverpool Craig Heskey and Head of Communications at Salford City Will Moorcroft, hosted by Alfie Robinson.
Geoffrey, who has very high ambitions – to eventually become CEO of a club, explained the importance of operations in football and how the industry couldn’t function without it. Operations involve everything from attaching the nets to goal posts on a matchday to organising the stadiums in which the World Cup matches will be played. Geoffrey is mainly focussed off the pitch, on a strategic level, focussing on the overall football industry.
Craig addressed the importance of academy players feeling happy and safe in the football environment and that they leave the club having found value from their time spent there. He also taught us that different styles of working are necessary when addressing different audiences. When Craig was working at Millwall, he had to work with the first team as well as the academy. The first team require a high intensity, reactive style of working as results take priority over virtually everything else. Whereas, in the academy, the priority is providing the best experience for the players and not to put too much pressure on them.
Will spoke about how you never know what an internship at a small, local club can become. He built up a season of experience at Salford City whilst at Salford University, then the Manchester United Class of 92 took over the club and caused it to rise up the divisions. This role at a non-league club led to Will continuing to work there all these years later, with them in the Football League.
As an aspiring football professional, this event helped me a lot in providing advice as to how to climb the ladder. All the speakers stressed the importance of internships during university to gain crucial experience in the industry. Rob’s advice on not just focussing on football is something that is worth keeping in mind due to the sheer number of sports in this country, opportunities are everywhere. Kyle explaining that he had no idea what he wanted to do, even during university, helped everyone in the audience realise that it’s okay if you don’t yet know what you want to do, just get out there and gain experience in the industry.
All in all, I left Old Trafford feeling inspired, like many others in the large group of attendees, and with a realisation that a full blueprint is already outlined showing how to get that dream role in the football industry. It is just about getting out of your comfort zone and stepping onto the ladder.