Careers in Football -NCW2023

On the second day of National Careers Week we were fortunate to be joined by Head of Education at Arsenal Football Club, Matt Henly. Matt led a talk in the Lecture Theatre which highlighted the range of careers available within the football industry, and he explained that the majority of roles are for those who do not kick a football!

Matt was able to illustrate that just like any other industry there are roles available in Information Technology, Human Resources, Marketing, Catering.... the list goes on! And there are career paths in and around football clubs in every tier of the sport, from Step 7 right up to the FA Premier League.

Students from all year groups were invited to the lecture, and they were shown a fascinating film which charted a typical day in the life of an 18 year old football scholar. Once the film had ended, Matt asked the students if they could identify the jobs they had seen, and it highlighted the number of roles available when the students discovered that they had watched sixteen different roles in just a 90 second film; including teachers, coaches, physiotherapists, psychologists and ground staff! 

The students heard about Ollie, who has started a Level 3 apprenticeship and is part of the Grounds Team at London Colney, and Satner, who has both a degree and a masters in Psychology and now works with the Youth Team players. Charlie began volunteering at his local club as a teenager and got involved with Exeter City when he was at Exeter University studying Politics. He loved the environment so much that he gained a masters in video analysis and after honing his craft at Leicester City, is now an analyst at Arsenal. And Matt also spoke about the club's nutritionist, Tanya, who has a degree in sport and exercise science and a masters in nutrition. She worked with London Lionesses and British Diving before joining Arsenal. Matt explained that nobody walks into the 'top job' without working their way up. From non-league to professional clubs outside of Arsenal, and from positions in Arsenal's academy, youth teams, under 18s/21s and then the first team, every member of the football club has to gain knowledge and experience as their career progresses.

We would like to thank Matt for taking the time to visit Charters School, and for explaining the career paths and progression within the football industry.

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