Sports Management as a career

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In the present scenario, sports industry has emerged as one of the most lucrative options in India as well as outside. Sports industry is so vast than one could imagine, with a plethora of opportunities. The Industry is interdisciplinary and can be divided into many segments like Sports Media, Sports Medicine, Sports Team Administration and Sports Management. In this article, we go in detail about sports management as a career. Sports Management include Management and Finance, Organizing leagues etc. as team manager. Sports management is a lucrative career option for sports lovers, especially for those who have an administrative bent of mind and good managerial skills.

Sport management involves combination of skills related to planning, organizing, directing, controlling, budgeting, leading, and evaluating a sports event or activity. Sports management basically involves managing a sporting institution or team. This career in sports helps to plan, supervise and organize all sorts of sporting activities on domestic and international levels. Sports management can include any function that keeps a sports team operational and profitable, such as the general care and upkeep of athletes and teams, marketing and event planning. Sports managers are generally employed by sportspersons or teams. Sport managers design and manage scientific training programmes for sportspeople and may give advice about obtaining sponsors. The responsibilities of a sports manager will vary depending on the actual title given to the position and the place of employment. Role of sports manager can be called as the all-in-one job of a business, marketing and personal agent.

Sport managers are employed in a variety of organizational settings like college sports department, professional sports team, amateur sports, sport marketing and management firms, sport communications and news media firms, corporate sponsorship and advertising firms, sporting goods companies, arenas, stadium, sports federations, community recreation sports programs, agency sports programs by (YMCA, YWCA, JCC), private club sports programs and military sports programs.

Eligibility

Educational

It is not a requisite that one has to be a sportsman to be in this field, even managerial aspirants can enter sports industry after completing course in sports management. But many sports management professionals are former athletes themselves. Some are trained in other professional disciplines, such as law, accounting, or business management, and come to sports management via their original careers.

Sports management courses are offered at Post graduate diploma levels. At present institutes offering this management course are few in India. However outside India, there are many institutes and scope is also much more there. Eligibility to take a post graduate course is graduation. Though candidates from any stream can take up studies in sports management, graduates in physical education are much preferred.

You could also go in for a Bachelors in Physical Education (BP Ed) or related course in the particular sports of your liking and enter into the career of sports management. The Sports Authority of India conducts courses in physical education that you can take up.

A course in sports management covers subjects such as sport management theory, sport marketing, fundraising, promotions, public relations, ethics in sport management, legal aspects of sport, facility planning and management, sport management problems and issues, and risk management.

Personal attributes

First of all aspirants should have immense liking for the sport. They must be committed to the sport and to the profession, be able to motivate and inspire others, possess excellent business and communication and negotiating skills. The job demands patience, dedication and hard work, since handling multiple tasks at once can be quite challenging.

Job prospects and career options

Advent of various sporting ventures in India along with the media explosion has helped to popularize various sports and as a result the amount of investment in the sports industry has increased. Hence the need for those trained in sport management are more in this era than before. Apart from this, sports tourism and adventure sports have been gaining importance simultaneously. This ensures that sports industry will continue to rank among the largest and most diverse industries in the nation, thereby, sustaining career opportunities for the future. This has made sports management a lucrative career option.

Many individual athletes, as well as the teams themselves, hire sports managers to help them handle the business side of playing the game. Career options under sports management include that of Sports agent, General manager, Athletic director and Event or facility manager.

Sports agent: The sports agent is a professional who guides an athlete through his professional career. He should be very knowledgeable about investments, business management and financial analysis and be up to date on trends in the sports he represents. As a sports agent you will have to keep a track of your clients' schedules, look after activities such as their career progression, business promotion and even media and public relations.

General Manager: The general manager of a sports team is another option for those with sports management degrees. GM coordinates the activities of teams and athletic departments. They are responsible for the business aspect of the team organization in professional sports.

Athletic Director: The athletic director is the person responsible for oversight and administration of all athletic programs. They are mainly found in colleges and universities.

Event or Facility Manager: Arenas and fields where sports regularly take place need people to manage them and ensure the proper maintenance of the facility. In these cases Event or Facility Manager are employed. He manages the staff that operates and maintains the venue and also works to book events and negotiate event contracts with sports teams or other organizations.

As diverse as the sports industry is, so are the employers who hire Sports managers. Sports manager could be working as an agent representing professional athletes. Today, practically all successful and well-known players of sport have their own personal managers or agents who keep a track of their clients' schedules, look after activities such as their career progression, business promotion and even media and public relations. There are also those that work for sports teams. A job as a sports manager in a reputed sports management team like Tigers from India, National Football League is a very lucrative job. Many private and government sponsored sports institutions/schools employ qualified officials to plan and manage sports activities and events. Clubs, hotels and resorts boast of sports facilities and leisure centres. Therefore, clubs, hotels, gymnasiums and sport centers also hire such people. The greatest benefit for most in the industry is the opportunity to be a part of a sports team and organization. Even specialised sports centres like Golf clubs and resorts as well as adventure sports or other leisure activity centres require trained personnel to manage and promote these sporting activities. One can also find jobs with branded sports accessory shops as consultant cum manager. So, the opportunities are vast for those with right skill and qualification.

Some top employers are Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), International Cricket Council (ICC), All India Football Federation, Indian Olympic Association (IOA), Commonwealth Games, Asian Games, ESPN, Star Sports, Tiger Sports Marketing to name a few.

Remuneration

Salary in this career field is based on experience, education and type of sports management position.

The starting salary of a sports manager can be anywhere between Rs10,000 and Rs 20,000. Remuneration increases with experience and position enhancement in the firm one is employed at. As one gains industrial experience, salaries can shoot up to as high as Rs. 4 lakhs per annum.

Institutes

Various institutes in India have set up sports management courses with the aim of training individuals in the different aspects related with the field. To get the list of institutes click on the course name.

» Certificate Course in Sports Management

» Post Graduate Diploma in Sports Management (Correspondence/ Distance Education)

» Post Graduate Diploma in Sports Management

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