4 Tips for International Sports Job Seekers
The places you can go in sports and entertainment are endless. Take for example one of Chelsea Football Club’s newest directors, Tom Glick.
From working in the NBA’s league office in New York City to serving as President of Charlotte, North Carolina-based Tepper Sports and Entertainment, Glick has been all over the map. Given his experience in soccer (or fútbol for our international folks) — like working with City Football Group and New York City F.C. — joining the English Premier League club Chelsea should be a smooth transition for the Colorado native.
But he’s also had other soccer gigs overseas in England; first as President & Chief Executive Officer with Derby County F.C. in Derby, Derbyshire, then as Chief Commercial & Operating Officer of Manchester City F.C. in Bradford, Manchester. Glick’s resume speaks for itself, but he has the fortune of following in the footsteps of another American-born executive, Todd Kline.
Kline has also been around, serving in front office roles with the Miami Dolphins, Washington Commanders, and NYC-based William Morris Endeavor. But since March of 2021, he’s been across the pond, as Kline has worked as Chief Commercial Officer and served as a board member with Tottenham Hotspur F.C.
Have you considered taking on a role outside of the United States? Sports and entertainment span the globe, meaning there are jobs out there to be had, even for foreign-born job seekers.
As we present our next edition of The Breakdown, we discuss things to consider as you look for opportunities outside of the U.S.
1/The Sales Game
Similarly to us here stateside, the lifeblood of international sports and entertainment remains in ticket sales. Sports Career Consulting has noted that ticket and club seating accounts for more than half of local revenue for most franchises/teams.
Where are the jobs?
Oilers Entertainment Group has various roles on its ticket sales team; Account Executive, Ticket Sales Manager, Ticketing & Customer Service Representative, Director of Ticket Operations & Box Office, and many more north of the border in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. Hospitality/venue management organization Oak View Group is also seeking to bring in a Suites & Sales Manager for the Tribute Communities Centre in Oshawa, Ontario, Canada.
There is even a Ticketing Coordinator Intern role for the Melbourne Aces of the MLB-backed Australian Baseball League. This position will allow an individual to get paid while learning under the team’s Assistant General Manager in the box office.
While the ticket sales roles are fairly similar to the ones here in the U.S. with responsibilities like handling ticket orders and payments, suite leases/rentals, and reviewing annual season-ticket packages, there are some cultural differences in some roles that are not as comparable.
2/Culture Shock
There is verbiage that may be slightly different but is not too far off in terms of meaning. Take for example the Ticket Sales Manager role being offered through Trois-Rivières Lions of the ECHL. While the Quebec-based job has a similar function to one offered here in the states, the Lions refer to their work as internal sales, rather than inside sales.
But there are much bigger differences, like what we Americans refer to as soccer being widely known as fútbol outside of the U.S.
Keep this in mind: while tackle football may be king in the states, according to World Population Review, among the world’s top 10 most populated countries, fútbol ranks first in popularity, followed by cricket and basketball.
According to Sports Browser, what is factored into that measure of popularity includes 15 different components, like global fan base and audience, viewership on TV, number of countries in which the sport is popular, presence on social media, and access to the general public. Soccer has an estimated 3.5 billion fans globally, followed by cricket with 2.5 billion, basketball at 2.2 billion, field hockey at 2 billion, and tennis at 1 billion.
The rest of the top 10 is as follows: volleyball (900 million), table tennis (850 million), baseball (500 million), tackle football and rugby (410 million), rounded out by golf (390 million).
These figures are important just to keep in mind as you job seek outside of the U.S. This also plays a part in opportunities that may be available as well. Jobs in soccer, volleyball, ice and field hockey, basketball, tennis and table tennis, are more likely to find because most countries around the world have professional leagues in these sports.
But a sport like cricket, even for its sizeable reach, only has professional leagues in 15 countries worldwide, only a fraction of the nearly 200 countries across the globe.
The same could be said for sports like baseball or tackle football, which are far more popular in the states than outside of the U.S. Football’s closest resembling sport, rugby, even has more professional leagues around the world. So be aware that working in a certain sport may not be as accessible and may not provide the same experience outside of the states as it does in this country.
Another cultural difference to consider is money conversion. The USD may be worth more, or potentially less, in the new country you head off to. An entry-level Accountant role with Canada’s Hamilton Sports Group is listed at a starting rate of $15K-$35K. That may not sound desirable initially, but when converted from USD to CAD, that salary bumps to a range of roughly $19K-$45K.
One other cultural difference is understanding if there is a language barrier. English is the primary language in many countries, like England, Liberia, Australia, Ireland, Canada, and Jamaica. But that’s not always the case, so knowing other languages could make you more marketable.
Not to be confused with us here, sports technology company Teamworks has several Account Executive positions abroad in Germany, Spain, and Australia. And with the positions in Spain and Germany specifically, the organization is seeking bilingual candidates who speak Spanish and German, respectively, in addition to English.
3/Experience vs. Education
This is an age-old debate that can vary depending on whom you ask. While most jobs here in the states — especially in sports and entertainment — require you to have a college degree (generally a bachelor’s, but possibly even a master’s), it’s not always that clearly defined in international job descriptions.
Automated sports production company Pixellot has a Partnerships Manager position located in Petah Tikva, Israel. While experience in partnerships management, understanding the sports-tech industry, and knowledge of CRM systems are listed in the job description, there is no mention of a degree requirement.
Going back to the Ticketing Coordinator Intern role for the Melbourne Aces, there is no four-year degree listed in the “eligibility” portion of the job description. Rather, the section is seeking those who have previous experience in ticketing, whether that was a part-time, intern, or volunteer role.
Esports Engine’s Event Operations Manager position is one based in London, England. The role entails vendor management, working alongside stakeholders, and sponsorship activation, but the emphasis on experience seems to be more prevalent in its “what we need to see section.” As for a bachelor’s degree or equivalent relevant experience, that was listed in the “pluses” category.
4/Other Things to Consider
- Get your passport! Passports make international travel nearly seamless. And if you are taking your talents outside of the country, this is the key to making sure you can go to and from places outside of the U.S. You must be mindful of when you apply for them though, as passports often take 8–11 weeks to process, but can be expedited in up to 5–7 weeks.
- Time zone change. Are you looking to call family and friends back home? Staying connected is great, but not when you’re calling someone at 11:30 PM when it’s just 6:30 PM your local time. Like, for example, people in Australia must be careful because their local time is 10 hours ahead of Eastern Standard Time (EST).
- Be willing to move. We’ve discussed this before, but this is even more relevant to international sports. While as impressive as Glick and Kline’s resumes are in the world of soccer, one could surmise their international experiences gave them extra merits over other candidates.
- Immerse yourself in your new culture. This can be easier said than done, but it is a practice all employees should learn to adopt. Working in sports internationally can put you in a world totally different than the one you are living in now. That may bring challenges, but the risk can bear rewards if you are willing to push yourself in charting a new path.
- International people are people too! They may not have grown up in the same place as you, had the same interests, or spoke the same language. But at the end of the day, many of them value the same things as you, and they are working in the sports industry for a reason too. You were brought together to accomplish goals on the same team, so never lose sight of that!
Conclusion
There are sports and entertainment jobs out there to be had, you just need to know what you may be getting yourself into as a job seeker.
Nick Nurse is at the top of his profession in the NBA as a former NBA Coach of the Year and NBA Champion. And rather than being content as a college coach, Nurse’s willingness to explore the basketball circuit across the globe got him to this point.
“I’ve lived in four or five countries now. I’ve moved a lot because of my job. I find I look back with all those stops with a lot of fondness,” said Nurse in a 2020 interview with CBC Radio. “… I really loved the year I spent in England. I really loved the summer I spent in Oklahoma. I really loved living on the Mexican border in Texas. I look back at all those with fondness. So I know those places don’t sound that glamorous, but I think there’s really good in all of them.”
The options are out there, but the question is, are you willing to take that leap of faith? Oh, the places you can go!
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