FIFA MASTER ALUMNI - WHERE ARE THEY NOW? - COLM Ó MÉALÓID

Colm Ó Méalóid

Current Position: Commercial Manager at the Gaelic Athletic Association( GAA) & Gaelic Players Association (GPA)

Year of Graduation: 2014 (14th Edition)

Nationality: Irish

What does your current role involve?

My role involves managing a cohort of commercial partners (primarily sponsors) and engaging new sponsors/partners who are interested in associating with elite Gaelic games athletes. The Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) is the governing body for Gaelic games in Ireland, our national sport. 

The Gaelic Players Association is the association that represents the elite players that play GAA at inter-county level. There is an agreement in place between the GAA and the GPA regarding commercial activities and that is where I come in. I manage ten commercial partners, overseeing their activations and ensuring their rights are delivered. This year, I will also organise the “PwC GAA/GPA All Stars”, a large-scale TV event where the top 15 players from football and hurling will receive awards.

Finally, I am also actively engaging new companies that might be interested in a partnership. 

How has the FIFA Master helped you in your career?

The FIFA Master has helped me in a number of ways, from increasing knowledge in areas that I didn’t have much experience in, to increasing my network in the industry and also my general confidence. I felt a key area was my ability to back up my opinions with learnings from the course, allowing me to cite examples from case studies and other sports when presenting or discussing various matters.

The FIFA Master is probably the key reasons I got a job at the International Olympic Committee (IOC) after graduation as the person that hired me said (and I’m paraphrasing), “If you asked 100 lawyers if they’d like to work in sport, a significant majority would say yes, but only very few are willing to leave their jobs and undertake a masters to make that happen”.

What advice would you give to future students?

Enjoy the time as best you can. It is a once-in-a-lifetime experience, and I made life-long bonds with my classmates. On the academic side, try to get something, even one thing, out of every lecture. You might not be interested in a particular area, but sometime in the future, the knowledge being shared could be useful.