Football and sports industry degree specialist, the University Campus of Football Business, will open three international campuses to meet demand for UK football education around the world, according to the institution.
The university is opening two campuses in the US within the year, and hoping to open another in Australia, Brendan Flood, chairman and chief executive of UCFB said in an interview with Insider Media. Flood is also director of Burnley FC and co-founder of Orlando City FC.
The exact locations in the US and Australia are undisclosed.
“We are sending our students to the US for work experience at every soccer club”
“It’s good for the UK and the countries we will be going to to solidify the UK as a world leader in football education,” a UCFB spokesperson told The PIE News.
UCFB has three campuses across the UK. Its first campus in Burnley opened for its first student cohort in 2011, followed by Wembley in 2014 and Etihad Campus in 2016.
“After the success of England at the World Cup and the Gareth Southgate effect, the world looks to England for football excellence, we are happy to expand our provision.”
Strong partnerships have been key to the university since day one, they added.
The Real Madrid Graduate School – Universidad Europea in Madrid began taking master’s students from UCFB in 2016.
“We also have a really good partnership with the United Soccer League in the US, the second tier of football, under the MLS,” they explained.
“We are sending our students to the US to do work experience at every single United League soccer club.”
FirstPoint International, a subsidiary of UCFB Holdings, has secured over $200m worth of scholarships to US universities for over 8,000 British sportspeople since 2001.
The educator has partners in Hong Kong and China.
UCFB has secured more than 2,000 student placements at upwards of 450 organisations across the world of football, sport and events since its inception.