University Campus of Football Business (UCFB), the innovative higher education institution delivering sports degree programmes from campuses based inside Wembley and Etihad stadiums in the UK, has today announced a partnership to create a UCFB Global Hub at Mercedes-Benz Stadium, the Sports Business Awards 2019 Sports Facility of the Year and home of MLS champions Atlanta United FC.
Beginning this upcoming academic year, the hub will see Atlanta host week-long educational summits for UCFB students and alumni from the UK, United States and around the world, based inside the stadium.
Seminars, networking opportunities and Atlanta United matchday experiences at the summits will complement UCFB’s unique football and sports degree programmes. As well as exploring the inner workings of Mercedes-Benz Stadium, attendees will hear from staff at the football club and learn more about the world’s most technologically advanced arena.
Mercedes-Benz Stadium is one of four organisations worldwide that UCFB is partnering with to create its new hubs, with each city and sports partner having been identified as a leader in its area. The stadium will sit alongside New York’s Red Bull Arena, Toronto FC’s BMO Field and the Melbourne Cricket Ground in Australia to form a new global network for UCFB students and alumni to enhance their industry expertise and learn from professionals at the world’s best sports businesses.
With its first university campus opened in 2011 at Premier League club Burnley FC’s stadium, Turf Moor, UCFB currently delivers 13 undergraduate and five Master’s degrees in the football and sports business, media and coaching sectors to over 2,500 students from its UK stadium campuses. UCFB Wembley, London, opened in 2014 and UCFB Etihad Campus, Manchester, in 2016 – now hosting more than 1,500 and 1,000 students respectively.
UCFB also offers its MSc Football Business and MSc International Sports Management degrees online, allowing Americans to learn flexibly in their home city with optional visits to UCFB hubs at its UK, North American and Australian stadium partners throughout the academic year.
Brendan Flood, UCFB’s Chairman, commented: “When I first visited Mercedes-Benz Stadium I was blown away, and I believe it is the best stadium in the world. I am therefore very excited to partner with the team here to create what will be an amazing UCFB Global Hub.
“My ultimate vision is for UCFB to be the ‘Harvard of Sport’. Working with Mercedes-Benz Stadium and the leadership team at Atlanta United, our students, alumni and staff will be able to learn from a winning organisation, helping drive us towards this goal and to producing the best professionals working in the industry.”
With students from across the globe expected in attendance at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium summits, the football club’s staff will be working closely with UCFB to showcase everything that makes it a special organisation, having led the way as an MLS franchise in breaking numerous records for attendance since launching in 2017 and securing the 2018 MLS Cup.
Carlos Bocanegra, Vice President & Technical Director at Atlanta United, added: “I’ve been fortunate to experience the best of the UK and US football industries throughout my career, so it’s exciting for us to be able to work with UCFB to provide specialised education here in Atlanta to complement what they are doing in the UK.
“One of our key objectives as a club is to build Atlanta United into a globally recognised brand, so this partnership with UCFB is a natural fit. It will allow us to contribute to the growth of a young, knowledgeable talent pool which will help strengthen the industry as a whole. I look forward to working on all the opportunities we have together.”
For more information on UCFB’s partnership with Mercedes-Benz Stadium or the UCFB Global Hubs, visit ucfb.com/global.
