Premier League-winning captain Wes Morgan spoke to us recently about his experience taking on a postgraduate degree course at UCFB.

Wes joined UCFB Manchester as the guest speaker for 2024 Welcome Week, speaking to students aiming to kick off their career in the football and wider sports industry.

During a professional playing career, Wes won a Premier League and FA Cup with Leicester City before retiring and going into the business side of the football industry.

He now works in recruitment at his hometown club and former side Nottingham Forest.

But to further his expertise and knowledge of the football industry, Wes took on a Master’s degree course at UCFB in MSc Sports Directorship.

“Post-career, I wanted to be in a position where I’m making big choices and responsible decisions,” Wes said. “As a captain, I’ve always enjoyed that responsibility of being the bridge between players and staff and solving problems. That’s where me going into that side of the industry came from.”

He then went on to speak about why he chose UCFB for his postgraduate studies.

“I was very interested in the programme delivered,” Wes said. “It was something I was very interested in, the sporting director’s role. I spoke to people who’d been on the course and they had good things to say about it.”

He added: “The course was really good. I learnt a lot. I met a lot of people in different areas of football. It’s good for your network, and a lot of football is your network and who you know.

“That knowledge base, getting that understanding of the position you want to get into is very important and that’s what I learnt.”

Speaking in general about the importance of education for athletes and former professional footballers, he said: “It’s important to remember that it’s a football career and it’s very short. The majority of people have to find an alternative career, so being upskilled in the right way and learning new roles is very important and education is a massive part of that.”

UCFB not only provides a wide range of postgraduate degree courses, but you can click here to see our many sports industry-related undergraduate degree courses available at both UCFB Wembley and UCFB Manchester.