Sport Management with Foundation Year

Sport management is the discipline that sits behind the athletes and teams you see competing: the business of running sporting organisations, events, and venues, managing talent, engaging fans, attracting sponsors, and navigating the regulatory and commercial environment of modern professional and community sport. It draws on business management, marketing, finance, events management, and leadership, applying them to one of the world's most dynamic and rapidly growing industries.

At Portsmouth this four-year programme begins with a foundation year before the main degree, making it accessible to students who have a genuine passion for sport and business but who benefit from a supported academic preparation. Once the foundation year is complete, you will study management, marketing, sports governance, event management, commercial strategy, and the business of sport at both grassroots and elite levels. A sandwich year and work placement activity are both features of the programme, giving you the opportunity to work inside a sporting organisation, event company, or sports business before you complete your degree.

This practical dimension is particularly important in sport management, where professional networks and hands-on experience are often decisive in gaining employment. A year abroad is also available.

Graduates of sport management programmes work in professional sport clubs and leagues, national governing bodies, sports marketing agencies, event management companies, facility management, community sport organisations, and the media. The commercial and managerial skills the degree develops also transfer well beyond sport into the broader events, hospitality, and marketing industries. The sandwich year experience frequently leads directly to graduate employment with the placement employer.

Postgraduate study in sport management, sport business, or general business management is available for those who want to progress into more senior roles.