26 August 2014. The course for certified sports managers is aimed at former athletes and managers who want to work in federations, firms related to the world of sports and other sports organisations.

Cooperation with Schalke 04

Some of the seminars are scheduled to take place in the Schalke arena, others in St.Gallen. Guest lecturers include the members of the Schalke committee around manager Horst Heldt, as well as the Chairman of the Supervisory Board, the entrepreneur Clemens Tönnies.

Schalke 04 will grant two scholarships for the specialist course, which to begin with will be limited to 20 participants. One scholarship is intended to be offered to the former international player Christoph Metzelder. “The interplay between sports and the economy has strongly gained in significance in the last few years. We, too, want to become more professional in this field,” said Schalke’s marketing manager Alexander Jobst on the occasion of the presentation of the S04 Sports Academy at Schalke’s headquarters in Gelsenkirchen on 28 August 2014.

The wherewithal for a career after professional sports

Good managers in the field of sports are in demand: the sports industry is considered to be one of the biggest growth industries. In many countries, it is even among the most important economic sectors. Today in Germany alone, approx. 15 million people already work in fields of activity related to sports, and the demand for specialists with a knowledge of business administration is constantly increasing.

“Top athletes often face a great career challenge after their professional sports career. Quite a few are on their own after their last contest. With this executive education, we intend to provide athletes with a sound basis for a second career as sports managers,” said programme director Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Jenewein. The business economist is the University of St.Gallen’s expert in the management of high-performance teams. He has worked with teams such as the Alinghi yacht crew, the German national football team and the Bundesliga club VfB Stuttgart.

Photo: Photocase / derfabse