Leicester Tigers Rugby Club: Support continues to grow during Humanities of Sport Module

Leicester Tigers Premiership rugby club have been long standing supporters of the “FIFA Master” - International MA in Management, Law and Humanities of Sport course. For over 16 years our students have been fortunate to have the opportunity to meet with senior club managers and learn more about how one of Europe’s leading clubs’ operates from a business perspective and how the game of rugby, which only turned fully professional as recently as 1995, has grown into the global sport it is today.

Over the past few years many “FIFA Master” students, who already have extensive international sports business experience when they are selected to join the course, have been lucky to be able to assist Leicester Tigers with their match day operations during their studies in Leicester. In addition, this year the 17th edition class had the special opportunity to attend the Huddle Business Networking Event which was organised by the club at the start of November. This high profile regional networking event allowed the 17th edition class to meet with local business representatives, attend talks by leading figures from the world of sport and to share their experiences during a busy day of networking sessions.

Chris Rose, Tigers head of brand said, “It’s a privilege to welcome the FIFA Master Students to Welford Road. They are such an interesting and involved group, and they have been of great help on matchdays over the years. In welcoming the team to the HUDDLE networking event we hoped to give the students an insight into the amount of work that goes into running a modern professional sports club, and we have received some great feedback on how we could improve the event to make even better use of the opportunity in future years.”

Humanities of Sport Module Co-ordinator James Panter said, “Leicester is a true sporting city and we are lucky to have one of Europe’s top rugby teams a short walk from our campus. We are extremely proud of our long established links with Leicester Tigers and very grateful for the outstanding support the club has given to our students each year. Indeed, as a result of these strong links, the club now has a large international fan base across the globe from our course alumni network.”

The importance of the course link with both Leicester Tigers and the sport of rugby is clearly demonstrated by the fact that many “FIFA Master” alumni are now working in rugby positions around the world. European Cup Rugby Competition organisation, national rugby federations, rugby tournaments and Premiership rugby team business functions, are just a few examples of career destinations for our graduates.

The academic team at the International Centre for Sports History and Culture, Leicester, the CIES in Switzerland who provide overall course co-ordination and students of the “FIFA Master” (both past and present) wish to send their sincere thanks to all the staff at Leicester Tigers for such an important contribution to the course. We are proud of our strong relationship with Leicester Tigers and the ongoing links with the course.