Master in Sport Business Online

Introduction

The sports business industry has undergone significant changes and transformations in the last decade, becoming more data-driven, technologically advanced, and inclusive. Fan centric culture is a key focus, with new technologies being used to enhance the overall fan experience more comprehensively.

Data analytics has become increasingly important, while the sports sponsorship market has grown significantly. Esports has also gained popularity, with major events and leagues attracting large audiences and significant investment from sponsors. Women’s sports have gained more attention and investment, while social media has become a key platform for sports organizations to engage with fans and build their brand.

New technologies such as virtual and augmented reality have opened up new opportunities for sports organizations to interact with fans and enhance the fan experience. Overall, the sports business industry has become more innovative and dynamic, with a greater focus on connecting with fans, while using more and more sophisticated technology approaches to drive growth.

Objectives

The main objective of the Master in Sport Business Online is to provide you with a comprehensive understanding of the sports industry and the skills needed to succeed in this field. The program is designed to prepare you for a variety of roles within the sports industry, including key areas such as management, marketing, sponsorship and event management.

You will learn about the latest trends and technologies in sports marketing and management, and develop the skills needed to succeed in this fast-paced and competitive field.

The Master in Sport Business offers two specializations: Sport Management and Sport Marketing and Sponsorship.

These specializations provide you with focused and in-depth knowledge of specific areas within the sports industry. By choosing one of these specializations, you can tailor your studies to your career aspirations and gain a competitive edge in the sports job market.

LEARNING OUTCOMES

The Master in Sport Business with specializations in Sport Management and/or Sport Marketing and Sponsorship aims to provide students with the following learning outcomes:

• Develop a strategic and global perspective of the sports industry and apply business principles to enhance decision-making in the field.
• Foster an entrepreneurial mindset and innovative culture in sport organizations to create new market opportunities.
• Apply innovative practices in sport marketing to effectively execute marketing strategies and sponsorships.
• Identify key factors to lead professional teams and achieve optimal results.
• Interpret financial statements and create financial strategies for new products and businesses in sports organizations.
• Optimize sport facility and event management.
• Understand the operating environment of sport organizations, functional areas, and analytical tools.
• Analyze and implement marketing and sponsorship strategies, and launch and position new products.
• Make decisions regarding product, price, distribution, and communication components.
• Utilize qualitative and quantitative analysis and diagnostic tools for sports market research.
• Understand and assess the role of digital communities and social media in sport organizations.
• Utilize technological tools to exploit business resources through sport marketing.
• Identify new trends within the industry and learn how to plan and measure the overall success of your strategy in different areas such as marketing, sponsorship and fan engagement.

Aimed at

The Master in Sport Business from Johan Cruyff Institute is for you, if:

• You’re an (ex-) athlete who is looking for a master’s degree in sport business to give your professional career a boost.
• You’re working in the business or marketing environment and want to specialize in sport management or sport marketing and sponsorship.
• You wish to complement your education with a master’s degree specializing in sport business.
• You are a professional in the sports industry, with experience in the sector but without studies related to sports business and you want to improve and update your knowledge of the industry.

Those who have completed this Master are currently working in the areas of:

• Sports Competition (professional sports teams and event organizers)
• Governance (sports federations and associations)
• Facilities and Sport Events (championship organizers, sports clubs)
• Community Sports (foundations, municipalities)
• Sports Consulting (own business initiatives)
• Sports Journalism (media)
• Marketing and Sponsorship (private and public companies)
• Community Sports (foundations, municipalities)
• Sport Marketing and Sponsorship (private and public companies)
• Advertising and Branding (advertising agencies and media agencies)
• Governance, Leadership and Management (federations, sports associations, NGOs and foundations)
• Sports Consulting (private business initiatives)
• Sports Journalism (media agencies and media)

ADMISSION REQUIREMENTS

To be admitted, you must meet one of the following requirements:

• Have a Bachelor’s degree, diploma or equivalent.
• Have at least 3 years experience in the field of sport management.
• Have developed a career as a professional athlete.

ADMISSION PROCEDURE

Please complete the pre-enrollment form if you are interested in studying this program. Your form will be submitted to the Admissions Committee, which 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. The admission procedure may include a personal interview with the program manager. One of our academic consultants will contact you within 72 hours.

Program

The Master in Sport Business Online has two specializations, one in sport management and another in sport marketing and sponsorship, providing a comprehensive understanding of the sports business industry from different perspectives.Students can choose to specialize in either sport management or sport marketing and sponsorship. By offering both specializations, students have the flexibility to tailor their education to their career goals and interests, and they can develop a broad range of skills that are applicable to various roles in the sports business industry.

Furthermore, upon completing your chosen specialization, you have the option to pursue another specialization as well. This presents a valuable opportunity to expand your skill set and broaden your knowledge in multiple areas of expertise.

Master in Sport Business with Specialization in Sport Management
Sport management focuses on the strategic and operational aspects of sports organizations, including team management, event management, and facility management. It provides the knowledge and skills necessary to manage the day-to-day operations of a sports organization.

Master in Sport Business with Specialization in Sport Marketing and Sponsorship
On the other hand, sport marketing and sponsorship specialize in the commercial aspects of sports organizations, It provides the knowledge and skills necessary to promote and market sports organizations and their products and services.

The Master in Sport Business Online is composed of an introductory module, mandatory modules and elective modules. The mandatory modules are divided into foundation modules (Core) and specialization modules (Advanced), linked to this specific program.
Within the elective modules you will have to choose between different group of modules to create your own specialization.

MASTER IN SPORT BUSINESS WITH SPECIALIZATION IN SPORT MANAGEMENT

MANDATORY - 39 ECTS

MANDATORY CORE – 24 ECTS

Strategic Management in Sport Organization – 6 ECTS

• Introduction to the strategic management
• Elements of the internal analysis
• Tools for work team management
• Elements and Tools of the external analysis
• Diagnosis
• Strategy formulation
• Competitive strategies and their evolution
• The Balanced Scorecard
• Customer focused strategy
• From strategy to execution
• Innovation in strategy

Financial Management in Sport Organizations – 6 ECTS

• Finance and sport management
• Interpretation of financial reports
• Analysis of financial statements
• Financial planning
• Project investment and assessment
• Financing

Sport Marketing – 6 ECTS

• Introduction to sport marketing
• Sport markets
• Sport consumers and stakeholders
• Research in sport marketing
• Sport services
• Sport marketing opportunities
• Marketing strategy: objetives and segmentation
• Marketing strategy: positioning and value proposition
• Marketing mix
• Communication plan
• Marketing plan

Master’s Degree Final Project – 6 ECTS

• Business plan development

 

MANDATORY ADVANCED – 15 ECTS

Innovation and Entrepreneurship – 3 ECTS

• Innovation: What are we talking about?
• Innovation strategies
• Innovative business models
• The organization of innovation
• Innovation and the customer
• Open innovation

Sport Facility Management – 6 ECTS

• Territorial planning of sports facilities
• Management models
• Operations plans of a sports facility

Sport Event Management – 6 ECTS

• Event types
• Organization models
• Candidature
• Event phases
• Economic management
• Event marketing
• Personnel & volunteers
• Risk management
• Legacy

 

ELECTIVES - 21 ECTS

GROUP 1 – 12 ECTS
Choose 4

Leadership in Sport – 3 ECTS

• Leadership: a definition
• Leadership styles
• Personal effectiveness
• The psychology of leadership: ‘getting things done’
• Leading a team
• Conflict management

People Management in Sport – 3 ECTS

• The annual human resources cycle
• Organization
• Development and performance evaluation
• Project management & talent identification
• Compensation and benefits & internal communication
• Human resources strategic plan

Sustainability in Sport – 3 ECTS

• Introduction: what makes football and sports so unique
• Sport and Identity
• Sport and Politics
• Sport and Diplomacy
• Sport for Development and Peace
• Sport and Sustainability

Data Analytics in Sport – 3 ECTS

• Data in sport VS other industries
• Fan Engagement data & analytics
• Performance analytics
• The role of IoT in sport
• Machine Learning & Artificial Intelligence in sport to predict/prevent outcome (match results, injuries)
• Blockchain potential cases and uses in sport (sport passport for athletes, medical records, smart contracts)
• Build your own analytics

Sport Law – 3 ECTS

• Organization of sports entities
• Hiring of professional athletes
• FIFA Transfers
• Disciplinary procedures
• Doping procedures
• Alternative dispute resolution systems

Corporate Social Responsibility in Sport – 3 ECTS

• Origin and conceptual framework of CSR
• CSR and stakeholders in the world of sport
• Organización and implementation of CSR
• CSR reportings
• Patronage
• Communications and corporate reputation

 

GROUP 2 – 3 ECTS
Choose 1

Sport Media – 3 ECTS

• Introduction: sport content in media
• Analysis of the different media companies
• Globalization of sport
• Sport consumer
• Audience research and advertising market
• Audiovisual consumption and digital migration
• Management of broadcast rights

eSports – 3 ECTS

• The eSports Industry
• Differential aspects of Sports Management regarding eSports Management
• A digital business. Digital manager
• Legal aspects of eSports
• Digital Business Models
• The technological paradigm of a digital native industry

Fan Engagement – 3 ECTS

• Introduction to Fan Engagement
• Key Concepts of Fan Engagement
• Understanding the Fan
• Fan Engagement Strategy
• Best practices of Fan Engagement
• Actual & Future Trends of Fan Engagement

Digital Marketing – 3 ECTS

• The digital revolution and its impact on the sports industry
• Digital strategy: much more than just marketing
• Content and platforms: the power of social networks to create fan engagement
• From content generation to monetization
• Designing a digital marketing plan
• How do we implement our plan?

 

GROUP 3 – 6 ECTS
Choose 1

Sport Sponsorship: Strategy – 6 ECTS

• The sponsorship marketplace
• The sponsorship toolbox
• Managing and activating sponsorship

Sport Sponsorship: Activation and Measurement – 6 ECTS

• Types of sponsorship
• Objectives of a sponsoring company
• Objectives and plans for attracting sponsorship (entity)
• Sponsorship types and contracts
• Measuring sponsorship

 

MASTER IN SPORT BUSINESS WITH SPECIALIZATION IN SPORT MARKETING AND SPONSORSHIP

MANDATORY - 39 ECTS

MANDATORY CORE – 24 ECTS

Strategic Management in Sport Organizations – 6 ECTS

• Introduction to the strategic management
• Elements of the internal analysis
• Tools for work team management
• Elements and Tools of the external analysis
• Diagnosis
• Strategy formulation
• Competitive strategies and their evolution
• The Balanced Scorecard
• Customer focused strategy
• From strategy to execution
• Innovation in strategy

Financial Management in Sport Organizations – 6 ECTS

• Finance and sport management
• Interpretation of financial reports
• Analysis of financial statements
• Financial planning
• Project investment and assessment
• Financing

Sport Marketing – 6 ECTS

• Introduction to sport marketing
• Sport markets
• Sport consumers and stakeholders
• Research in sport marketing
• Sport services
• Sport marketing opportunities
• Marketing strategy: objetives and segmentation
• Marketing strategy: positioning and value proposition
• Marketing mix
• Communication plan
• Marketing plan

Master’s Degree Final Project- 6 ECTS

• Business plan development

 

MANDATORY ADVANCED – 15 ECTS

Innovation and Entrepreneurship in Sport Organizations – 3 ECTS

• Innovation: What are we talking about?
• Innovation strategies
• Innovative business models
• The organization of innovation
• Innovation and the customer
• Open innovation

Sport Sponsorship: Strategy – 6 ECTS

• The sponsorship marketplace
• The sponsorship toolbox
• Managing and activating sponsorship

Sport Sponsorship: Activation and Measurement – 6 ECTS

• Types of sponsorship
• Objectives of a sponsoring company
• Objectives and plans for attracting sponsorship (entity)
• Sponsorship types and contracts
• Measuring sponsorship

 

ELECTIVES - 21 ECTS

GROUP 1 – 12 ECTS
Choose 4

Fan Engagement – 3 ECTS

• Introduction to Fan Engagement
• Key Concepts of Fan Engagement
• Understanding the Fan
• Fan Engagement Strategy
• Best practices of Fan Engagement
• Actual & Future Trends of Fan Engagement

Sport Media – 3 ECTS

• Introduction: sport content in media
• Analysis of the different media companies
• Globalization of sport
• Sport consumer
• Audience research and advertising market
• Audiovisual consumption and digital migration
• Management of broadcast rights

eSports – 3 ECTS

• The eSports Industry
• Differential aspects of Sports Management regarding eSports Management
• A digital business. Digital manager
• Legal aspects of eSports
• Digital Business Models
• The technological paradigm of a digital native industry

Digital Marketing – 3 ECTS

• The digital revolution and its impact on the sports industry
• Digital strategy: much more than just marketing
• Content and platforms: the power of social networks to create fan engagement
• From content generation to monetization
• Designing a digital marketing plan
• How do we implement our plan?

Data Analytics in Sport – 3 ECTS

• Data in sport VS other industries
• Fan Engagement data & analytics
• Performance analytics
• The role of IoT in sport
• Machine Learning & Artificial Intelligence in sport to predict/prevent outcome (match results, injuries)
• Blockchain potential cases and uses in sport (sport passport for athletes, medical records, smart contracts)
• Build your own analytics

Sustainability in Sport – 3 ECTS

• Introduction: what makes football and sports so unique
• Sport and Identity
• Sport and Politics
• Sport and Diplomacy
• Sport for Development and Peace
• Sport and Sustainability

 

GROUP 2 – 3 ECTS
Choose 1

People Management in Sport – 3 ECTS

• The annual human resources cycle
• Organization
• Development and performance evaluation
• Project management & talent identification
• Compensation and benefits & internal communication
• Human resources strategic plan

Leadership in Sport – 3 ECTS

• Leadership: a definition
• Leadership styles
• Personal effectiveness
• The psychology of leadership: ‘getting things done’
• Leading a team
• Conflict management

Corporate Social Responsibility in Sport – 3 ECTS

• Origin and conceptual framework of CSR
• CSR and stakeholders in the world of sport
• Organización and implementation of CSR
• CSR reportings
• Patronage
• Communications and corporate reputation

Sport Law – 3 ECTS

• Organization of sports entities
• Hiring of professional athletes
• FIFA Transfers
• Disciplinary procedures
• Doping procedures
• Alternative dispute resolution systems

 

GROUP 3 – 5 ECTS
Choose 1

Sport Facility Management – 6 ECTS

• Territorial planning of sports facilities
• Management models
• Operations plans of a sports facility

Sport Event Management – 6 ECTS

• Event types
• Organization models
• Candidature
• Event phases
• Economic management
• Event marketing
• Personnel & volunteers
• Risk management
• Legacy

 

Learning model

The Master in Sport Business puts you at the center of your education through a learning by doing methodology. We encourage collaborative work and transfer the content to specific situations in sport management and marketing (connective teaching methodologies and social constructivism). Our faculty of expert professors and tutors will guide you in the learning process, providing high quality training combined with the flexibility of online study.

PERSONALIZED TUTORINGThe academic team will support you throughout the program, helping you to expand your knowledge and keep pace with the program requirements and content. For each module, you will have one or two professors, depending on the particular module, and they will give you support so you are able to achieve the learning objectives. You will also have the support of a coordinator who will monitor your performance and learning throughout the academic program.

Communication and queries will be handled by:

• E-mail: reply within a maximum of 24 – 48 hours.
• Support via email / video conference.

BENEFITS

• Learning 3.0: flexible schedules, different learning environments and technologies.
• World-class faculty: interaction with expert faculty and industry professionals.
• Collaborative tools, teamwork, communication and debate.
• Sports-industry oriented: training that approaches the business sector of the sports industry.
• Learning from experience: designed for professional improvement.

Faculty

The Johan Cruyff Institute teachers are experts from the sports sector and combine research and consultancy with teaching. Through their experience and knowledge, they have developed a broad variety of cases and concepts to work with.

Learn more about our Faculty pool.

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. It’s worth noting that internships are voluntary, but they can provide valuable career-building opportunities.

ALUMNI CRUYFF INSTITUTE
The Alumni Cruyff Institute digital platform allows the more than 9,500 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.

Ask for information