“YOU need to be a sports nut,” Jon Duckworth says when asked what qualities are required to work in the world of sport. And he should know. He is the recently-appointed head of marketing and promotions of Premier Rugby, rugby union’s representative body.
By all accounts he is now in his dream job. Previously he worked for big advertising agencies in London and, having reached a stage where he couldn’t see the next step for his career, he decided to “take (his) skills where (he) wanted to go. Sport is a massive passion of mine,” he says. “I wanted to work with a product I really believed in. Now I’m much happier and going to work is something I enjoy.”
Chris King, the managing director of the Sports Recruitment Company, which placed Duckworth in his job, agrees that working in sport requires a certain degree of fanaticism: “The one common factor is that people are interested in the industry. They’re not in it for the money, they tend to be open and friendly.”
This conjures up images of an industry filled with diehard fans and former players. But King insists that the industry is maturing: “It is now less likely for the commercial director of a football club to be a former player. Historically the industry has been a bit insular, but it is becoming more professional. Now more and more job descriptions are for people who don’t necessarily have a background in sport.” Enthusiasm for sport is still required, though, especially given the antisocial working hours because of the timing of matches.
People who come into sport as a career later in life, as did Duckworth, tend to be in the more traditional professions, says Nick Russell, the managing director of PMP, a sports management consultancy. “One way into sport is through a profession such as law, architecture or accountancy and then specialising in sport.” But the better-travelled route is via sports activities. Local authorities are huge employers in this area, both in leisure centres (there are more than 2,500 council-run centres throughout the country) and through outreach training programmes and clubs. Then there are the national governing bodies of the various sports. “There are people out there managing and organising all these sports clubs and events,” he says.
Advertisement
King divides the areas of employment in sport into distinct categories. The agency sector is a big employer: “There is a lot of agency work with brands. Some brands, such as Coca-Cola, have an in-house team for sports marketing, and then employ agencies for a burst of activity, for example if they are sponsoring an event.”
Sponsorship is also massive, involving telecommunications, advertising, financial services and betting and gaming companies, all of which need sports marketing and sponsorship specialists. You have only to look at a logo-emblazoned Formula One car to understand the importance of brand presence in this market. Associated with this the media is a constantly changing area, especially when it comes to negotiating broadcasting rights, and would suit jobseekers with a taste for the fast lane. And the importance of sporting goods companies, which sponsor and provide equipment for sport, cannot be underestimated.
King advises people set on a career in sport to approach the big organisations because they are more likely to have graduate programmes that will give them a good grounding in the industry. Although working for sports clubs might seem more glamorous, they tend to be small. “Clubs are huge brands and have a huge media presence, but they are small businesses.” Roles on the commercial side include sales, marketing, sponsorship and the press office. The people directly involved with the players and the matches are often ex-players or have been closely associated with one club for a long time.
But for the sports nuts out there, there are masses of opportunities as sports employers open up jobs to people with more general skills. With the Olympics in 2012 high on the political agenda these opportunities are likely to grow. And the perks aren’t bad. “I was rubbing shoulders with Jonny Wilkinson last week,” says a slightly star-struck Duckworth. Who could resist?