BA (Hons) Football Business & Media (UCAS ref: CP63)

Course Content

Football Business has been transformed by media technology, from the instant transmission of results by telegraph to the rise of affordable daily and evening newspapers, the invention of radio, then of television, satellite and digital technology. The English Premier League is itself a multi-billion pound global industry carried by ever-changing media platforms to homes, cafes and bars on different continents.

Journalists and the media have been central to the evolution of football in earlier centuries. An example from the nineteenth century was given by Matthew Engel of the Financial Times in a recent lecture at the University of Oxford, where he is the News International Visiting Professor of Media : ‘A young journalist called Charles Alcock became secretary of the Football Association and in 1872 founded the FA Cup, the final of which was staged at The Oval, home of Surrey County Cricket Club, of which he also happened to be secretary. Oh, he was also the captain of the winning team, Wanderers. Quick bath, then he wrote the match reports.’

In this century, the mutual dependence of football business and the media has become central to understanding either industry. The back pages of newspapers have given way to special supplements and coverage throughout the papers.  Before fans and readers see any of this commentary, however, they have often seen or heard live coverage of games, wherever they are in the world. Leagues, clubs and players are ever more conscious of image rights and of controlling the flow of content to external media. This means that new career opportunities are opening up for media professionals inside a range of football businesses. UCFB brings senior figures from Sky, BBC, ITV and a wide range of newspapers to our students and helps with work placements in media organisations.

Understanding the technological changes and business demands of the media is the platform on which this joint honours degree develops students’ understanding of how diverse media interact with football business.

Year 1

The first year of the course focuses on the foundations of media communications and how it relates to football business. This focus on the fundamental requirements of different media develops an understanding of managing the relationship between football business and the media. Students are immersed in practical experience of media and the football business, for example through using studios and contributing to websites at local club level.

Year 2

The second year develops your understanding of how football’s global brands reach their audiences through diverse media and how the worldwide media use football to enhance their own businesses to reach bigger audiences themselves, including study of Continental newspapers, ESPN in the USA and World Cup broadcasting.

Year 3

The final year sees the development of a media and football-related research project on a topic chosen by you, together with modules providing a strategic view of international media development and a bridge into media practice.