University Campus of Football Business (UCFB)

The University Campus of Football Business (UCFB) is a world first in higher education, delivering degrees in the football and sports industry in iconic campuses with Wembley and Etihad stadiums at their heart.

After initially opening at Burnley FC’s Turf Moor in 2011, UCFB opened its second campus, with the iconic Wembley Stadium at its heart, in 2014. The opening of a third campus in Manchester at the state-of-the-art Etihad Campus in 2016 marked a significant step in the growth of UCFB.

Today UCFB delivers university degrees from its London and Manchester campuses, whilst our original home at Turf Moor sees BTEC diplomas delivered to sports students. Our ground-breaking partnership with the Real Madrid Graduate School allows our postgraduate students to experience the football and sports industry in another iconic sporting city.

We pride ourselves on providing students with a stimulating curriculum in a unique environment. We believe our world first approach to higher education gives our students the best possible chance of a successful career in the football and sports industry. What makes our education experience work so well is down to three key components: what we teach, where we teach and how we teach.

What we teach

Our degree programmes have been designed with these industries and their varied roles specifically in mind. Media, marketing, finance, psychology, coaching and event management, amongst others, are all sectors of these industries that are growing at a rate never seen before. New roles are being created on a daily basis.

Our approach sees traditional subjects, such as business and finance, taught in a format that encompasses the student’s area of interest – football and sport. We find that students with a passion for these sectors are more inclined to be interested in the end of year financial reports of a Premier League club than those of, for example, a motoring company or bank. By creating this environment, we also believe it enables our students to form quick, lasting bonds with their peers due to similar interests inside and out of the classroom.

Delivered to the high standards set by the Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education, the skills and knowledge gained throughout the duration of a student’s degree programme at UCFB are transferable across sectors.　

Where we teach

For students who aspire to work within the exciting industries we promote, there can be no more of an inspiring place to learn than at our state-of-the-art campuses, each of which has a world-class stadium at its heart. We like to call this an immersive education – by living and learning around a stadium environment, students are preparing themselves to work in similar surroundings after they graduate, therefore easing the transition from full time education to full time work.　

We always tell our students to be prepared, as you never know who you’re going to meet in the lift or café between lectures. The media officer, events coordinator or chief executive next to you in the coffee queue could be the person who offers you vital work experience or a useful phone number for your contacts book.

How we teach

At UCFB we believe there are three necessary requirements for a career in the football and sports industry: a degree, industry contacts and work experience on your CV. Our three-tiered learning model provides all of this.

The first is the classroom experience and learning from our leading team of academics, whose knowledge and experience of these businesses worldwide is vast. Here, students learn the theory through books, research and presentations before then hearing from our industry guest speakers on the intricacies of their profession.

This second layer allows our stellar guest speakers to bring the theory to life, providing first-hand context of these industries from the highest level. The calibre of our guest speakers, which previously has included international managers and players, as well as club chief executives and media personalities, means students are hearing from leading professionals in an intimate environment and gaining unparalleled insight.

Lastly, once our students have learnt the theory and how to apply it, they’re encouraged to go out in the industry and do it themselves. Our incredible Employability & Enrichment team　provides students with numerous opportunities to apply for unique work experience roles in the UK and abroad. In the last six years, UCFB has provided over 1,000 work placement opportunities at organisations including The Football Association, UEFA, Premier League and Football League clubs, as well as an array of sponsors, suppliers and events in the world of sport.

We believe our approach and this combination is the perfect recipe for a student to set themselves up for a long, successful and fulfilling career in these exciting, multi-billion-pound, global industries.

For a virtual view of the world-class　campus facilities, take the UCFB Virtual Tour

Visit our website here if you are interested in attending an Open Day.

16 - 18 19 - 24

Courses are aimed at 18+

On Application