Bending it like Beckham in heels and a bit of lippy

前途出国外联部总监、美国哈佛大学人类发展与心理学专业硕士、本文作者萧明颢

Bending it like Beckham in heels and a bit of lippy

　Do you enjoy sport(s)? Are you a fan of football (the soccer kind)? Are you fan of Sheryl Sandberg’s Lean In? Do you like to control a bunch of men? Are you considered ‘bossy’? Are you female?

Is your hand raised in the air like mine is to all these questions?

　Then perhaps you will enjoy the MBA Football Industries (FIMBA) program offered by the University of Liverpool Management School. One-of-a-kind in the world, this management program combines one’s love for football* and interest in sports management. Certainly not a boondoggle – it’s unlikely you will be receiving free football tickets or watching games all day in class – this program started because the football industry itself had a need for individuals who not only had knowledge and passion for the game, but came with management, operational, and organizational skills.

　Victoria Building which houses the Victoria Gallery & Museum. Completed in 1892, this building inspired the term “red brick university” referring to six civic universities in the major industrial cities in the UK founded between the late 19th and early 20th centuries (Photo credit: Chenggang Zhou)

This hardly means that someone, say Sir Alex Ferguson, requires this MBA, but secondary purpose of the program is to offer a foot in the door (pun intended?) for those who have an interest to enter the industry, but lack the network and connections.

Taught across one year (fulltime; two years for part-time), the program is split into thirds:

　First third: Core MBA management modules focused on the usual suspects – management, marketing, human resources, strategy, etc.

Second third: Football specific modules in understanding the industry, not only from the club operations standpoint, but also football agencies and governing bodies (e.g., UEFA). FIMBA candidates are also working on skills completely relevant in these roles such as PR, crisis management, and networking.

Final third: Individual project in conjunction with a football club, agency, or governing body. Despite its location, the FIMBA program is not loyal to any certain clubs (sorry to disappoint you Liverpool fans), and in fact, has an extensive network across the entire industry regardless of your country of origin. Yet, for reference, there are nine major football clubs within a 45-minute drive of the University…so for those Man United or Man City fans, you are only 30 minutes away from the football clubs of your dreams.

Pictured here is Dr. Geoff Pearson, Director of Studies, Football Industries MBA (FIMBA) program

　In an interview with the Dr. Geoff Pearson, Director of Studies for the FIMBA program, I also learned that the program is limited to around 30 students each year, and while open to individuals with varying interests, professional experiences, and backgrounds – the preference is to have candidates who have had at least two years of managerial experience (not out of line with many MBA programs).

More interesting is the fact that Dr. Pearson admits that more can be done with the female-male ratio, of which, only four students in the current 2014-15 class are female. The program, historically, has always seen a low application and enrollment from women. Asked if there are advantages to being the opposite sex and applying to the program, Dr. Pearson mentioned certainly there would be some as he feels the industry could use more women in the profession.

While I have to admit that the game of sports will also be much of a man’s world (feminists, don’t hate me), working in the industry, or at minimum, enrolling in a program like FIMBA seems to have a certain appeal and cache, not to mention, some extra attention in class, perhaps?? Wink, wink.

For more (factual) information on the program, please go to: http://www.liv.ac.uk/management/football/football-industry-mba/

*Note: The term “football” in this article refers to what we, in the US, call soccer.