The Future of Sports Management in the New Normal by Dr. Tarun Saini

Sports is inspiring, engaging, immersive, emotion evoking, and a rapidly growing industry worldwide. Promotion of Sports across all spectrum’s of the society not only ensures inclusivity but also creates employment opportunities for its people. Sports always brings a sense of national pride that is incomparable to any other form of entertainment. Business of Sports has changed faces very rapidly in the recent past. Sporting leagues have not only promoted sports like Kabaddi, Soccer, Hockey in India; they have also created value for all stakeholders in the fraternity. All leagues have had varying levels of success in generating fan base, inviting sponsorship’s and ensuring financial viability and profitability for team promoters.

Over the years, sports has evolved as a noticeable sector for all economies, presenting myriad career as well as business opportunities. In the field of sports and sports management, especially worldwide, there are many diverse opportunities for professional development.

As a specialized scientific field, sports management has been developing intensively in the last thirty years and still shows a positive trend of growing, which is expected to continue at the same pace in the years to come. Sports are a very serious industry that generates huge revenues, expressed through billions of dollars and euros worldwide, and that in itself means a lot of business opportunities. World literature in the field of sports provides a myriad of information on possible directions and tendencies of development of quality in sports and sports professionals, allowing managers a serious base on information for their further research and analysis.

India has witnessed the entry of multiple start-ups in sports over the past few years; these include companies involved in sports infrastructure, data/content aggregation, education and training, online retail, technology and online ticket booking. With the development of awareness concerning sports, the increasing sports success and interest of the population thereof, there is a need to establish new specialized jobs for resources that will possess knowledge, experiences and skills in the field of sports management. India is also likely to witness a continued growth through start-ups in the sports sector.

In developed market economies, a growing number of people are involved professionally, in the field of sports and not just as athletes, but especially in the management of different processes, activities, events, human resources and finished products associated with sports. As a result of this momentum, the need for systematic management of all elements of sports emphasizes its importance, oriented towards long-term success and benefit, not only for the sports industry, but also for the health and well being of the involved individuals, groups and sports institutions.

Regardless of the acknowledgment whether it is a national team, club events or individual sports or even the recreational segment of sports and healthy living, the entire sports infrastructure, sports marketing, media and communication especially in the area of sports, emphasizes the necessity of intense and methodical rounded education and vocational training.

The sports sector is a dynamic and globally dominating industry. With the emergence of the Indian sports industry as a key player in global markets, the scope of Sports Management jobs in India is rising significantly. As per the reports released by FICCI – International Institute of Sports Management, the job opportunities in the sports industry will improve to a remarkable extent by 2022. In the forthcoming years, the demand for knowledgeable and skilled professionals in the sports management sector will rise by 19%. So, if you have passion in sports and want to build a career in this field, then learn about all the aspects and explore about the potential career in sports management.

Sports Management involves the management of all the business-related matters related to sports. Sports Management involves managing all the administrative aspects of sports teams, sports clubs, athletes, sports-persons, sports venues, and sports events. Sports Management is needed at all levels where sports are played – from schools to colleges and from local, national to international levels.

Sports management offers roles for individuals in various field and functionalities. Therefore, if you want to go for a career in sports management, there are various fields/roles to explore such as:

• Sports finance & business operations – managing collections from sponsorship, ticket sales, merchandise sales, etc. and managing all accounting and financial operations.
• Sports Sponsorship, Marketing, and Merchandising – getting sponsorship for sporting events, marketing, and sales of merchandise such as team jerseys, caps a sports team’s logo, posters, and various other memorabilia.
• Sports Analyst – Sports Analysts are specialists who analyze various aspects of sports performances – of individual sports-persons, teams, and clubs. Sports Analysts often predict the likely outcome of a match; they do competitor analysis; they advise sports coaches and support staff members.
• Sports Event Management – management of various sporting events and sports promotional events.
• Sports Marketing – marketing of sporting events, leagues, competitions, etc. to ensure ticket sales, television viewership, viewership on online media, etc.
• Sports Agent – Sports agents represent sports-persons to clubs and teams. They negotiate the contracts with the clubs or teams on behalf of the sports-persons. They manage all the business and financial matters of sports-persons. They represent the sports-persons to various organizations such as advertisers who want the sports-persons to endorse their products, etc.
• Sports Communication (press and media) – managing relationships with the media; sports commentary; sports journalism.
• Sports Facility Management – management of the various aspects of sports stadium and other venue management.

Job opportunities in Sports Management

Some of the top sports management jobs which you can pursue after completing your Sports Management courses:

• Sports Event Manager – Sports Event Organizer plans, manages and organizes sporting events for raising brand awareness or for promoting teams or team players.
• Sports Analyst – Sports Analysts are hired by sports teams and clubs to analyze performance of individual players, teams, clubs, competing teams, etc. to help sports coaches and support staff to improve sports performance.
• Sports Operations Manager – Sports Operations Managers are involved in the planning and implementation of sports league, competitions, or tournament operations.
• Sports Equipment Manager – Sports Equipment Managers are involved in the maintenance, ordering and stocking up athletic equipment and apparel (gears and other accessories needed by players).
• Sports Consultant – Sports Consultants are experts working for professional athletes, sports teams and sports organizations. They offer consultancy services ranging from corporate sponsorship’s of major sporting events and help teams and team players build and gain endorsement deals and contracts etc.
• Sports Sponsoring, Partnerships, and Merchandising Manager – Managers involved in sponsorship’s, partnerships and merchandise assist. They manage and maintain partnerships with other brands for building and networking brand awareness or promoting teams.
• Sports Analyst for media companies – Sports Analysts are hired by various print and audio-visual media (TV channels) as well as online media to analyze various aspects of a match, sporting performances of teams, clubs, individual sports-persons, etc.
• Sports Communication Manager – A Sports Communication / Advertising Manager is responsible for handling all the media and communication requirements for sports teams and individual sports persons, specially sports celebrities.
• Sports Marketing and Sponsorship Manager – responsible for marketing of sports events, leagues, tournaments, etc. to potential sponsors and get sponsorship.
• Sports Development Manager – responsible for promoting sports activities among schools and college students; organizing various sports events for schools and colleges.

Check out the dedicated new age courses in Sports Management here.