Programme Overview
BA Degree in International Sports Management (Leeds) is a unique undergraduate programme that will enable you to fully develop your soccer potential as you earn an American-accredited degree in International Sports Management.
In addition to graduating with a BA in International Sports Management, you will also gain a FA Level 1 Certificate in Coaching Football. You’ll attend the Leeds-based Richmond International Academic and Soccer Academy (RIASA) for your coaching training and all of your studies. BA International Sports Management is also offered at our London campus in Richmond.
You will play in a top quality soccer academy with professional coaching and playing opportunities and be taken through a rigorous football training and playing schedule, with coaching focusing not only on your technique, speed and tactics on the field but on your nutrition and health. Alongside the practical side of the programme, you will examine the theory and practice surrounding the management and the business of sports in various parts of the world, and gain the vital business skills required for a successful career in sports management.
Top 5 reasons to study this programme:
- Specialise your academic studies in an area of particular interest such as sport marketing, healthy lifestyles, sport event management and coaching
- Earn an integrated internship in a Sports Management setting and football career development advice including: how to pursue UEFA coaching courses that can lead to a licensed UEFA coaching qualification
- Access to the Chartered Management Institute’s (CMI) resource portals, ManagementDirect and employment opportunities database for the duration of their studies
- Train with professional UEFA A licensed coaches
- Opportunities for exit trails with clubs in Norway, Sweden, Finland, Slovenia & Latvia
Entry Requirements
☐ A Level: 96 UCAS points
☐ US High School Diploma (or equivalent): 2.5 GPA minimum (on 4.0 scale)
☐ International Baccalaureate: 24 IB points (year 1) BTEC National Diploma: MMM.
☐ Completion of Year 12-13 International equivalent secondary school qualification with a minimum grade average of grade of C including mathematics and English
English Language Requirements (Non Native English Speakers)
☐ IELTS 5.5 with 5.5 in each Listening, Speaking, Reading and Writing
☐ TOEFL (IBT) 80+ overall with: Listening 17, Reading 18, Writing 17, Speaking 20
☐ Pearson Academic Test of English (PTE) 51
☐ Overall Cambridge English Scale score of no less than 168 in Listening, Reading, Writing and Speaking
How to apply
Once you have been accepted on the Soccer programmme www.riasasoccer.org, you can apply directly to Richmond using our online application system. In order to submit a complete application you will need the following information:
- Apply to the Soccer Programme on RIASA website
- Once accepted complete Richmond’s Direct Application Form
- Details of your education history, including the dates of all exams/assessments
- The email address of your referee who we can request a reference from, or alternatively an electronic copy of your academic reference
- A personal statement – this can either be uploaded as a Word Document or PDF, or completed online
- An electronic copy of your in-process or completed transcript or high school certificate
- An athletic-soccer training video or attend a RIASA on the Road Event www.riasasoccer.org/events
- Physical Evaluation Form
When to apply
We encourage you to complete your application as early as possible even if you are completing your undergraduate programme of study.
Selection process
Admission is determined by your academic qualification (your achievement in high school or secondary school), your athletic review, which consists of an attendance at one of the RIASA on the Road Events or evaluation of your submitted athletic training video and your completed physical evaluation form.
Richmond’s offers all students a comprehensive choice of cores (mandatory) and elective (optional) courses within the liberal arts degree structure.
Football Training and Coaching
Football training and coaching sessions with FA and UEFA qualified coaching staff four times a week (2 hours per training session) in modern, state of the art training facilities with a minimum of one scheduled League match each week
Year 1 Core Course Requirements
Foundations of Business
Functions and Applications
Sport and Society
Transitions I
Transitions II
Scientific Reasoning
Creative Expression
Research and Writing I
Year 2 Core Course Requirements
Financial Accounting
Managerial Accounting
Introduction to Microeconomics
Introduction to Sports Psychology
Computer Applications in Management
Calculus with Applications
Probability & Statistics I
Research and Writing II
Upper Level Course Core Course Requirements (Year 3 and 4)
Public Economics
Corporate Finance
Research Methods
Legal and Ethical Concepts in Management
Principles of Marketing
Exercise Nutrition and Lifestyle Management
Sports Events Planning and Promotion
Sports Management
Sports Journalism
Sport in Documentary Film
Year 4 Core Courses
Senior Project in Business
Sport Law
Talent Identification: Principles and Practice
Team and Leadership Dynamics in Sport and Coaching
Sports Marketing
Sports Finance
Plus three of the following OR Internship and one of the following
PR and Self-Presentation in the Media
Foreign Trade Policy
World Internship in Sport Management (6 CREDITS)
Internship in Sport Management (6 CREDITS)
Competition and Strategy
Marketing Planning and Strategy
Policy Making in the Globalized World
Full Time 3-4 Years
Including one year at QCF Level 3
(subject to credit transfer)
Contact our admissions team for more details:
admissions@richmond.ac.uk
Please note: Non US students are eligible
Useful Links
What our students say…
Chip left home with trepidation, but I have heard only enthusiasm and excitement from him since his arrival. He says these are the best coaches he has ever had in his life, people who really understand football. Even more impressive, he likes his classes and is engaged in the academics!
It is obvious to me that you care a great deal for the students and truly want them to improve and succeed. The program is such a great way for the North American players to matriculate into a foreign system and style of play. Throughout the years, I have seen several boys head off to Brazil and Europe for tryouts with teams and have a very difficult time fitting in, usually returning without making the teams. With this program there is the time to learn and prepare for a higher level, build confidence and skill. I wanted to tell you how impressed I am with the program and congratulate you on the excellent results for the team.
We teach our kids to reach for the stars, to pursue their dreams. We want them to follow their hearts — but not at the expense of a College Degree. As parents, we also know the tremendous value of that four- year- degree and how critical it is to any “post soccer” success. The idea of pursuing a soccer career while earning an American Accredited Degree in Europe was not possible — until now. The Richmond International Academic and Soccer Academy (RIASA) is the World’s first opportunity for the North American player to earn an Accredited American Four-Year-Degree while playing in a professional academy in the UK — it is the real deal.
Where to find us
RIASA
218 Priestley Hall
Leeds Beckett University
Headingley Campus
Leeds
LS6 3QS
