Dr. Nayana holds a Doctorate in Physical Education and has worked as a PhD. Guide with Savitribai Phule University of Pune.

India, as a nation, is a breeding ground for sports. With the advent of the Indian sports industry as a key player in the global markets, the scope for a career in sports management is rising significantly. Passion for sports combined with business acumen can actually be elevated to a level now, where a successful career can be carved out of it. It is not necessary to be athletically gifted but rather to have athletic prowess is enough to be able to take up a career in sports management.

The highly competitive field of sports management offers exciting opportunities in the world of athletics. An array of roles including sports governance, athletic director, sports advertising and PR, negotiating contracts of athletes are some of the roles that are offered by companies. Representing the country as a player on the field might be a dream for many, but organizing these matches behind the scenes are also a way to be a part of the broader picture.

Following are the different options one can explore after pursuing a degree in Sports Management:

Sports Marketing: Promotion of sports, channels, teams and events is an integral function given the competitive nature of sports. Professional sports management agencies invest millions in developing a branding marketing strategy and in implementing it. The reason behind this is the huge investment done on teams and products. Ensuring the maximum visibility of the players in the market and maintaining the general performance of the brands, conducting market research to tap into their fans' perceptions and then analyze practical and compelling marketing strategies to draw them in and retain them are the fundamentals of this role. In the recent years, digital marketing and social media marketing have become crucial in every sector. With the emergence of internet and social media fans of the athletes like to connect with them on the social media platforms. With the biggest leagues coming in sports agencies ensure engagement of the fans, promotions, and individual athlete and team promotions through the digital media.

Sports Analyst: They are specialists who analyze individual sports person performances, competitor analysis, predict the likely outcome of a match, and advise sports coaches. They even conduct statistical modelling to find relevant information and trends specific to their domain.

Sports Event Management: With the culture of different formats of sports and leagues coming in, the role of a sports event manager has become crucial. Different promotional events before a league is conducted in order to create a buzz. Sports event managers also drive various regional and national sporting events.

Sports Agent: Sports agents usually represent a sports club or a team. Sports agents handle the business contracts and financial matters of the sportspersons. Aside, representing the sportsperson for brand promotion and endorsements are also taken care of by sports agents. These agents handle operations of business and financials.



Sports Content Writer: Sports content writers specialize in the coverage of a specific sport. They can work for individual sports or publishing agencies or syndicate stories for a news outlets. Their primary jobs is to engage and deliver informative news on sports to readers of blogs, newspapers, magazines, and digital platforms.

Representing the country as a player on the field might be a dream for many, but organizing these matches behind the scenes are also a way to be a part of the broader picture

Sports Sponsorship: For brands around the world, sports has been a huge profit driver. Companies, in order to gain visibility infront of a large audience leverage sports events as a marketing technique. Strong brand management skills help sports professionals to move along a hierarchy or get an entry level position in sports sponsorship.

Sports Technology-Wearable B2C & B2B: Wearable technology in the sports industry is leading the revolution. Technology companies are also taking massive strides to develop and market wearable technologies to the athletic teams. Athletes on the other hand are also adopting these technologies to transform their coaching, how the sport is played, safety etc. A career in this domain looks promising since these technologies are also moving towards the B2C segment from the professional sports arena towards the general public.

Sports Infrastructure: Infrastructure is the backbone of sports. Realizing the benefits of sports in general and sports infrastructure in particular, countries have started investing heavily in sports infrastructure. To facilitate sport participation it is a key domain to venture into and provide an impetus to the youth of the country to participate in sports.

Depending on how students want to specialize in their career, sports management can incorporate various aspects of fields like finance, business, law, operations and marketing. Students have the option to work in the local community or breakthrough into professional leagues.