Sports have successfully consolidated as one of the most bidding businesses over the past years, it has been estimated that it already represents 1% of the world GDP, and experts assure that this sector will experience a higher growth in the future. As it is already happening in other sectors, this disruption in the sports industry is largely due to the recent technological developments and cultural changes. The changes the industry is going through place sports teams, sponsors and companies upon the challenge of turning this new scenario into development opportunities.
Within this context, the sports industry demands leaders that articulate the needs of a sector which in few years has encouraged the increase of new professional profiles as well as a great impact in the economy and employment. To this effect, Real Madrid C.F. teamed up with Universidad Europea, an educative institution with a marked vocation for innovation and a renowned reputation that leads the Spanish market in terms of private higher education, to create Real Madrid Graduate School – Universidad Europea in 2006.
Real Madrid’s business model is the example, reference and the experience of the School and for its professionals, executive members and partner companies linked to their activities making sure they are having contact with the current reality, learning all the strategies and decisions that come from a world leader such as Real Madrid C. F. Therefore, all the academic programs offered include different Masters in Health, Sports Management & Law, and Marketing & Communications.
Semana Blanca, Values For The Excellency In Sports Management
During its twelve years of history, Real Madrid Graduate School – Universidad Europea has proven that sports management is not only about top sportsmen, since there are many profiles linked to the sports world, something we can see on a daily basis in the classrooms, where more than 9.000 graduates in over 10 countries from 4 different continents.
With this purpose, the School organises each year a week of conferences, called Semana Blanca. These conferences consist of an initiative exclusively addressed to the students and fits into the overall framework of the School of instilling five fundamental values: entrepreneurial spirit, teamwork, integrity, leadership and excellence.
Real Madrid’s Director of Institutional Relations and General Director of the School, Emilio Butragueño, was in charge of opening the latest edition of the Semana Blanca, which took place at the box of honour of the Santiago Bernabéu stadium from the 7th until the 10th of May. Postgraduate students attended a session with more than 20 activities, where the sports industry was analysed from different types of perspectives from experienced sports personalities. Thus, students learned about the latest trends in areas such as nutrition in elite football, assets development as a driving force or the digital transformation interacting with fans, amongst others.
This year, amongst the guest speakers invited to Semana Blanca, students enjoyed the presence of high level sports personalities. Sergio Llull, defending champion of Euroliga with Real Madrid Basketball; Álvaro Arbeola, former player and current ambassador of Real Madrid C.F; Roberto Carlos, former Real Madrid C.F player and from Brazil’s team; and Toni Nadal, former trainer of Spanish tennis player Rafael Nadal, current number one in the world, offered inspiring talks concerning the motor-driven spirit of improvement, the importance of values in professional sports or the path to success, amongst others. Semana Blanca was completed this year with the presence of top executives and representatives of large corporations linked to the sports industry such as UEFA, World Football Summit, Ogilvy NBA or Microsoft, which also analysed the latest innovations and advances in the sports industry.