Master in Football Business in partnership with FC Barcelona

Introduction

The Master in Football Business in partnership with FC Barcelona is the only program in football business and administration based on the management model of FC Barcelona, recognized worldwide, as well as on the great experience of the Johan Cruyff Institute in sport management education.

The program includes lectures delivered by highly recognized football business academics and professionals, and top-level executives in the industry complemented with attendance to several of the most influential international events in the sector, visits to clubs and sports venues, and study trips. It is a fully rounded programme that will give the students the opportunity to gain knowledge, exposure and hands-on experience.

Classes are delivered at Camp Nou and Johan Cruyff Institute, among other locations.

Objectives

The main objective of the Master in Football Business in partnership with FC Barcelona is to educate with in-depth and up-to-date knowledge and insights from the football industry. Students will analyze the core theories and relevant case studies that will help them visualize the behaviour of the football business. Students will also have the opportunity to learn, interact and contribute with FC Barcelona business strategy and operations.

LEARNING OUTCOMES

• Understand the core theories that drive the football business and its organizational behavior and the existing interconnections between different players.
• Expand the necessary set of skills for managing clubs and other football related organizations in line with their stakeholder framework.
• Enhance the critical perception of the trends of the business and visualize the future developments of the football industry.
• Develop your leadership skills in order to improve the positive impact in the entire football environment.

Aimed at

The target audience of the program is diverse, ranging from qualified individuals wanting to pursue their dream job in the football industry, to well-established football business professionals who want to further develop their career, and current and former athletes who want to expand their knowledge in this area.
People who will complete this Master will be able to work in the following areas:

• Football club governing bodies (football federations and associations).
• Football facilities & events (tournament organizers, sports clubs).
• Community-based football (foundations, municipal governments).
• Sports consultancy (business initiatives).
• Intermediation services (agencies, player representation).
• Marketing & sponsorship (private and public companies).

ADMISSION REQUIREMENTS

• We are looking for highly-driven and engaged candidates with proven experience in the football business or in other relevant businesses (minimum of 3 years) and/or
• Candidates with a strong business academic background
• Athletes and former athletes are welcome to enroll in the Master
• The minimum level of English proficiency required is a score of IELTS 6.0, or equivalent, if the candidate attended a non-English speaking undergraduate university.

SELECTION CRITERIAWe select hardworking candidates who have strong leadership and problem-solving abilities combined with great communication, teamwork and interpersonal skills. We are seeking challenging and critically thinking students that will have a strong positive impact in the football business and in the overall community, and who will be able to contribute to building the future of the sport. The admission process will consider all parts of these requirements, together with professional experience and educational background. Meeting all the minimum requirements will not guarantee your admission, but you will be invited to pass to the next stage of the application process.

APPLICATION PROCESS

1. Complete the online application form and pay the application fee (€ 140 non-refundable).
2. You will need to submit the following:
   • Three essays (maximum 500 words) on:
     • Your view of the global football business.
     • The situation of the football business in your country.
     • How you will be able to contribute towards improving the football business in your country.
   • Your résumé.
   • A cover letter of maximum 500 words introducing yourself and stating your purpose.
   • Two letters of recommendation.
   • Official transcripts.
3. If the first stage of your application is successful, you will be invited for an online interview. In this interview we will evaluate if your achievements as well as your aspirations and motivations in pursuing this degree, are in line with the objectives of the program.
4. The Admissions Committee decides on approval of admission.

Program

The study plan of the Master in Football Business in partnership with FC Barcelona consists of 13 modules detailed below.

All the modules are preceded by a webinar which introduces the topic of that respective module. The on-campus sessions are divided into three sections: the first one focuses on theoretical knowledge, the second one on practical knowledge, and the third one on networking.

Moreover, throughout the academic program, there are study trips scheduled to expand the knowledge acquired on the program, to learn the different business and management models of prestigious clubs, tour their facilities, and enjoy masterclasses and sessions delivered by the managers and other representatives of each club.

Here are some examples of the club visits during study trips from previous editions:

• Spain: Girona FC, Real Betis, Sevilla FC, Atletico Bilbao, Real sociedad, SD Amorebieta, Real Unión
• Germany: Borussia Dortmund, Borussia Mönchengladbach, VfL Bochum 1848
• Netherlands: AJAX, PSV
• UK: Celtic FC, Manchester City, Manchester United, Sheffield FC, Everton FC

Students have the opportunity to network and participate among others, at the following summits and conferences:

• World Football Summit,
• Soccerex,
• Sportbiz.
• Sports Tomorrow.
• iWorkinSport.

DEGREEMaster in Football Business in partnership with FC Barcelona.

Learning model

Our exclusive model that combines academic studies with football industry insights and learning directly from FC Barcelona will provide students with a great capacity to understand the business and the role of the organization in the overall football market, as well as increase their abilities for leadership and decision-making in order to achieve the best possible results with the available resources. The methodology of the program offers an interesting structure to help students involved in the modules.

All the modules are preceded by a webinar which introduces the topic of the first on-campus session. The on-campus sessions are divided into three sections: the first one focuses on theoretical knowledge, the second one on practical application knowledge, and the third one on networking. Moreover, throughout the academic program, there are some study trips scheduled to expand the knowledge acquired on the program (the detailed information about these study trips will be provided at the beginning of the program).

Faculty

We have recruited some of the most recognized football business academics around the globe in order to provide students with the most cutting-edge knowledge of the football business. During the program, students will also receive lectures from top level executives in the industry as well as courses with FC Barcelona staff.

Read interview	Richard Denton­Richard has been working in the sport marketing and entertainment business since 1989. He has worked for global brands such as Canon, Philips, Omega, ABN AMRO, Heineken and Unilever, across a variety of sport and events including the FIFA World Cup, UEFA Champions League, Formula 1, Volvo Ocean Race, PGA European golf tour, the Ryder Cup, Wimbledon, Roland Garros and the Olympic Games. Richard used to be managing director of one of Holland’s leading sport marketing agencies, Trefpunt-PRISM, from November 2009 until September 2015. His most recent position was Manager Sponsorship and Partner Sales at Vitesse Arnhem and is currently the academic director of the Master in Sport Management.
Read interview	David Goldblatt­David Goldblatt is a sports writer, broadcaster, sociologist, journalist and author. He has been a medical student, taken a doctorate in social theory and environmental politics, lectured at the Faculty of Social Sciences, the Open University and wrote widely on globalization before, in 2002, publishing the World Football Yearbook – a 750-page graphic encyclopedia of the global game – in nine languages. In 2006 he published the path-breaking The Ball is Round: A Global History of Football, and in 2014 published Futebol Nation : A Footballing History of Brazil and The Game of Our Lives: The Making and Meaning of English Football, the latter winning the William Hill Sports Book of the Year award in 2015. His most recent book is The Games: A Global History of the Olympics.
	Lukas Dorda ­Master in Cultural Studies, Comenius University in Bratislava, holder of several master degrees in Sports Management, Marketing, Sponsorship and Football Business at Johan Cruyff Institute, currently working on his PhD in Sports Science at UCAM Murcia. Has +10 years of working experience in Sports Business in different roles. Since 2014 has been working as an Academic Tutor at Johan Cruyff Institute and now is the responsible of the Online programs at Johan Cruyff Institute.
Read interview	Oliver Seitz­Dr. Oliver Seitz is currently Head Of Business Intelligence at United World. He worked previously as a consultant and as a lecturer in Football Business at the UCFB in London in partnership with The FA. Prior to moving to London, he lived in Brazil, working as the Head of Marketing of Jacquet Brossard, a French multinational consumer goods company, and previously as Head of Marketing of Coritiba Football Club, where, in 2012, he was awarded the Best Overseas Marketing Campaign by the FC Business Awards in London. Dr. Seitz holds a PhD in Football Business from the University of Liverpool.
Read interview	Daniel Martin­Daniel is a chartered accountant with over 15 years’ experience having trained at PwC and Deloitte. Appointed Vice President of Finance and Corporate Development for RedBird FC, an international sport and data analytics platform through which RedBirdCapital deploys operating expertise and a data-analytics strategy in partnership with some of the top analytics-focused executives in sports – Billy Beane and Luke Bornn. Previously, Daniel was group financial controller at Glasgow Celtic FC, CFO and COO at Al Jazira FC in Abu Dhabi and worked at Portas Consulting office as part of the Saudi Arabian Football Federation’s transformation project, as well as offering them expertise in their other football industry projects. In 2018, he completed the Master in Football Business in partnership with FC Barcelona at Johan Cruyff Institute and is currently a professor on the program.
Read interview	Sergi Vieta­Versatile consultant with over 20 years’ career in the sports industry, holding senior positions in marketing & media agencies, football properties, financial entities, Events LOCs. Vast expertise in Event Management, Strategy, Sponsorship, Operations and Media. Currently, Sergi is managing director at Onside Sports Iberia, an agency focused on the full-service delivery of high-class off-season services for football clubs, and senior consultant for global sports agency SPORTFIVE for business development in the Spanish market. He was previously general manager of LaLiga Santander Granada CF (2016-2017); COO of the LFP World Challenge and Football and Sports Event Director at Mediapro during 10 years, and financial advisor and senior consultant of KPMG, in Spain (1997-2000) and Manchester (2000-2002) offices.
Read interview	Ignacio Mas-Bagà­Ignacio Mas-Bagà has been the chairman of the Board and CEO of Girona FC since July 2015, and is the new director of the Master in Football Business in partnership with FC Barcelona. During these five seasons, Mas-Bagà has led the effort to restructure the business area as well as to restore the image of the club among its stakeholders after the insolvency situation in 2013. Under his leadership, Girona FC achieved promotion to LaLiga (the Spanish first division) for the first time in the club’s history (in 2017) and presented their best-ever financial results with €6.7 million net profits (in 2018). Prior to joining Girona FC, Mas-Bagà worked at LaLiga as event manager within the LFP World Challenge project, and for Mediapro, developing projects in five continents for clubs such as FC Barcelona, Real Madrid, Arsenal, Boca Juniors, Atlético Madrid and PSG, among others. Mas-Bagà graduated in business science from the University Ramon Llull – IQS, Barcelona.
Read interview	Albert Mundet­Albert Mundet is the director of Barça Innovation Hub, the center for sports knowledge and innovation of FC Barcelona. Albert, who will be four years as director of this platform, has a multidisciplinary background and extensive experience in Innovation Management across different sectors. Educated as a physicist and passionate about creating value through implementing open innovation projects across multiple entities, he worked as well for companies such as IPG, ICFO and Grupo Punset Producciones.
Read interview	Martijn Bakx­Martijn Bakx is a media rights manager at Mediapro. With over 20 years of experience, he currently oversees all international broadcasting rights sales for LaLiga. In addition to that, he is responsible for new sport-related media projects within the Mediapro Group. Martijn started in the sports business as a promoter of football and basketball games. In his role as executive producer, he was responsible for the European Basketball Championships in 2007 and Euroleague Final Fours in 2009 and 2010. As a rights manager, Martijn strategically assesses business opportunities on both the sales as the acquisition perspectives, for the domestic Spanish market as well as on a global scale. In recent years, in addition to his work for LaLiga, Martijn has started up ambitious media projects in Canada, France and Belgium.
Read interview	Kepa Larumbe­Director of the legal area at BDO in Spain. Specialist in sports law with extensive experience in managing litigation before sports governing bodies (Superior Sports Council and Administrative Sports Court), international arbitrators (Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) based in Lausanne, Switzerland) and before courts of justice in the field of administrative, civil and labor disputes. Kepa is also an arbitrator for TAS-CAS and a member of UEFA’s Control, Ethics and Disciplinary Body. Before joining BDO, he worked as director of the legal department of the Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF). He has a degree in law from Public University of Navarra (UPNA), a master’s degree in sports law from the University of Lérida, and an executive master’s degree in European Sport Governance (MESGO) from the University of Limoges (France).

Student services

Johan Cruyff Institute offers different services to enhance your employability, complete your education and improve your experience before, during and after your studies.

EMPLOYABILITY
Every week we send you a newsletter with job offers from football clubs, companies and sports entities so that you can follow in detail how the job market is evolving in the sports industry and be the first to know about available job opportunities.

In addition, we have built a wide network of professional partners who are looking for talent and turn to us to fill their vacancies. Johan Cruyff Institute selects the best qualified profiles among its network of students according to their suitability.

PROFESSIONAL INTERNSHIPS
Our students are well-trained candidates, able to bring a lot of value to companies and, therefore, perfect for integrating into their teams through the formula of professional internships. These internships are, in turn, an enriching learning experience, and through them you have the opportunity to live the reality of a sports organization and put into practice the knowledge you have acquired.

ALUMNI CRUYFF INSTITUTE
The Alumni Cruyff Institute digital platform allows the more than 9,000 students who have studied with us to maintain the links created during their studies, as well as to participate in webinars and training sessions, among other resources.

Connect to this network and get in touch with peers who share your interests and with former students working in companies and institutions around the world, while keeping the spirit of Johan Cruyff Institute alive.

HOSPITALITY
If you are coming to study from outside Spain, we are here to help you. We will help you with the paperwork and provide you with information about accommodation, health insurance, currency and all the details you need to know to make your experience in Barcelona perfect.

Venue

Classes are delivered at Camp Nou and/or Johan Cruyff Institute.

‘Camp Nou’ (the ‘new ground’) has a capacity of 99,354. It is the biggest stadium in Europe. In the 1998-99 seasons, UEFA recognized the services and facilities at Camp Nou by awarding it five star status.

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