What is so great about working in sport?

For some of you, the answer will be straight forward, but for others, it may not be considering the impact sport has taken from 2020’s unprecedented circumstances. When we go through tough times, or things get busy, we often forget to smell the roses and remind ourselves about the beauty of our purpose. The sports industry is a prime example, for the average fan, you turn on the TV, stream the game online and take in the experience with your mates and loved ones. However, for the professionals working in the sector, it’s a different ball game. Such as turning up to the match-venue at the crack of dawn, ensuring every process like the event operations, ticket sales, stadium security and more are prepared and prompted to serve 10,000’s of passionate fans their beloved dose of sport!

This blog is dedicated to all of the sports marketers, events staff, administrators and further industry professionals who are instrumental to the final product of the beautiful game. Despite the industry proving to be as tough as old boots, it’s essential to take a moment to reflect on the beauty that working in sport has to offer. So, what is so great about working in sport?

It creates extraordinary experiences like nothing else

Sport is home to the worlds greatest moments, the FIFA World Cup leveraging a worldwide cohesion and technological advancements, bringing a new lease of life to fan experiences and not forgetting sports influence to impact lives positively. What we ignore is the amount of work and effort that goes into making these experiences happen. While watching the world cup, there’s a global operation taking place behind-the-scenes with sports industry professionals to capture the fans celebrating, processing the arrivals of supporters coming to the stadium and having oversight of the health and safety of customers. These are the most fundamental players in the industry; without them, there is no final product inside the sports stadium.  

It brings people together from different walks of life

It’s one of the most diverse and inclusive sectors in the world. It is bringing people from different economic backgrounds, ages and interests to engage through one medium of entertainment. Despite the challenges our world faces, with social injustice, monetary deficits and the global pandemic, sport is the key that unites us, individuals, together to have something to remain excited for. The stats speak for itself, upon sports return post lockdown, viewership figures and sports content consumption has hit an all-time high, demonstrating the appetite various audiences have to engage in the medium through any shape or form. Having a role to play in an industry like this doesn’t get much better, knowing you’ve supported the development of sport becoming an inclusion tool.

It’s an instrumental driver for positive societal change

Unfortunately, there’s been a high volume of social inequality taking place in our world, including Islamophobia, antisemitism, homophobia and much more. Sport is undoubtedly the most crucial influence to leverage social change for the better, by raising awareness of the issues the world is undergoing. Football and basketball are two specific sports that have championed the Black Lives Matter movement by taking a knee before match-play starts, increasing opportunities at the grassroots for more disadvantaged individuals to participate in sport and embracing the diversity they have across their workforce. This makes working in sport great because you’re an individual that’s actively enhancing equal opportunities throughout society through sport, something the world has been deprived of for some time.

It builds character

The sports industry is a tough cookie and an effective regime to build charisma. It’s one of the most commercially appealing sectors in the world because there’s a colossal reputation for it to fill. Throughout that process, you will develop vital skills that will not only mould you into your dream career but a better person than you were yesterday. Whether you’re an administrator dealing with a high volume of ticket sales, a marketer on a match day or a steward, you’re not only doing an excellent job at keeping the beautiful game flowing but also inspiring others to become a better version of themselves.

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This week, I ran a campaign asking this exact question and above are my core values about what is so great about working in sport. However, below is a FREE infographic with some quotes from some of the most hard-working sports industry enthusiasts, to remind you about what the industry has to offer.