BSc (Hons) Sport Management (with Foundation Year option)

Core units

• Fundamentals of Business & Management: This unit aims to develop your understanding of the business context across industry and sectors globally. You will cover the key issues and challenges facing businesses going forward and the essential role of people in dynamic, resilient and complex organisations. You will explore key functional business areas including marketing, finance, accounting, economics, people management, and organisational behaviour.  
• Academic & Professional Practice: You will build your confidence in both academic and professional skills. This unit will cover the academic skills which will be required at degree level study and you’ll practice them throughout the unit with support from key university services including the library and study skills team. There will also be opportunity for you to reflect on and develop your own professional skills through interactions with employers, careers services and online resources. 
• Fusion Business Project: You will undertake a business project based on a real issue or problem. The Fundamentals of Business & Management unit will support you in understanding key issues and challenges which could form the basis for your project.  Projects will be undertaken in workplaces, community settings or part of research processes related to your chosen field of study. You will be allocated an academic mentor who will support you in developing and undertaking the project.  

In your first year, you'll look at a variety of subjects will to help you understand the wider sporting context.

Core units

• Beginning Research in Sport & Exercise: This unit will introduce you to the role of research in a variety of sport and exercise contexts. It will cover both quantitative and qualitative research approaches, their associated characteristics, assumptions and basic skills, so that you can evaluate and interpret the value of different research approaches.
• Principles of Sport Management: You will gain a contextual understanding of how core management principles operate in practice within the contemporary sports industry. You will explore how you might apply key concepts within various sport organisations and settings.
• Sport Marketing: Using a strategic approach to marketing, this unit will consider the marketing process in relation to internal and external environments, market research and segmentation, manipulation of the marketing mix and tactics to develop customer loyalty. The theoretical content covered during the unit will be blended with applied examples of marketing practices from around the globe.
• Financial Reporting for Sport: It is important that you have an understanding of the financial reporting structure of organisations and the key parts of that structure. Therefore this unit aims to provide you with an introduction to the techniques involved in the recording and reporting of financial information in a small business, sports club or society. 
• Sport Structures & Processes: The unit will analyse the structure and systems of sport and physical activity governance, as well as the operational functions of national sport and physical activity organisations. You will then be enabled to recognise the complexities of providing sport and physical activity opportunities in various contexts.
• Sport, Culture & Society: You will use theories grounded in social science to evaluate and interpret social and cultural issues within the context of sport.

In year two, you'll gain more subject specific knowledge and the skills you'll need to work effectively during your industrial work placement in year three, should you opt to take the short or long placement.

Core units:

• Conducting Research in Sport & Exercise: This unit will help prepare you for independent research. It aims to develop a sound understanding of the philosophy and skills that underpin quantitative and qualitative approaches to research enquiry so that you are able to critically evaluate research problems, and apply coherent ethical research designs in a range of sport and exercise-related contexts.
• Consuming Sport: Broadly, the unit will provide a detailed understanding of the contexts in which consumer behaviour occurs (e.g., media, globalisation), the consumer decision-making process, attitude change and development, and the role of self and identity in the consumption process.
• Financial Appraisal for Sport: You will develop the skills and knowledge to facilitate effective financial planning, monitoring and control mechanisms in the sport sector. You will be able to develop short and medium-term strategic decision-making skills that are defined by clear financial criteria. 
• Sport Management & Leadership: This unit will enable you to develop an understanding of the behaviour of people in organisations and how they can use management tools to adapt and respond to these demands. 

Option units (choose two): 

• Issues & Controversies in Sport, Culture & Society: This unit engages you as a critical user and producer of sporting cultures, by critically evaluating key contemporary issues surrounding sport through a variety of academic perspectives. You will communicate your viewpoint with regard to current debates and policies in sport and physical culture.
• Managing Sport for Development: You will develop a holistic understanding of the cases, contexts and situations in which sport and physical activity are used to achieve physical, social, psychological, or community development and health goals.
• Coach & Athlete Welfare: You will develop a critical understanding of contemporary sociology, management and social psychological theories underpinning coaching practice and coach and athlete welfare. It will develop your understanding of the factors that influence and impact upon human interaction in coaching environments and enable you to take responsibility and make informed decisions to contribute to sustainable coaching environments.
• Developing Coaching Practice: You will engage in theoretically-driven practical experiences and discussion of sports coaching practice as well as develop new insights about the complexity of coaching by working with and applying theory to coaching practice for a variety of coaching contexts and populations.

Please note that option units require minimum numbers in order to run and may only be available on a semester by semester basis. They may also change from year to year.

The length of the work placement is optional with a minimum of 6-weeks taken as part of the three-year degree or a minimum of 30-weeks taken as part of the four-year degree. The placement can take place in the UK or overseas and gives you the opportunity to turn theory into practice in a business environment.

We have excellent links with sporting organisations, health and fitness clubs and national governing bodies in both the UK and Australia. This includes Sport England, UK Sport, David Lloyd, Fitness First, Holmes Place and the Australian Institute of Sport.

In your final year, you'll get the opportunity to merge your academic and industrial skills and choose a unit that reflects your interest.

Core units (choose one):

• Dissertation: The dissertation will enable you the opportunity to initiate and carry out an independent and self-managed research project. You will apply your knowledge and understanding of the research process learned so far through the application of techniques of analysis and enquiry within a relevant sport and exercise discipline. 
• Research Expedition: You will have the opportunity to perform in-depth research on the needs and responses of individuals completing a UK based endurance expedition. Projects may include laboratory experiments and/or fieldwork exercises. All projects will require you to work independently under the guidance of a supervisor, to perform a review of literature, conduct investigative work and data analysis, develop suitable conclusions and recommendations, and present this in the form of an independent research project.

Option units (choose four):

• Sport & Physical Culture: In this unit you will develop a critical awareness of sport and physical culture in a variety of contexts by bringing together theory and practice in reflexive fieldwork. Advanced application of social theories and concepts will be developed in order to encourage diversity, inclusion and sustainability in sport and physical culture contexts.
• Talent Development in Sport: Talent development is becoming an increasingly important focus for research and practice, as well as being a key part of coaching, coach education, and sport science more widely. You will gain a deep knowledge of the development of talent in sport, and will learn to look beyond headline findings and widely held myths/beliefs, in order to view current practice critically and develop a research-informed, evidence-based understanding.
• Strategy & Leadership for Sport: You will undertake strategic analysis, develop strategic plans and understand the key issues in terms of strategic implementation relevant to public, private and voluntary sector organisations using a broad range of strategic tools, models and theories, and understand the importance of leadership in strategy implementation.
• Applied Sport Marketing: You will develop the ability to undertake marketing analysis, develop strategic marketing plans and understand the key issues in terms of strategic implementation relevant a wide range of international organisations using a broad range of strategic tools, including models and theories.
• Sport Tourism: This unit will develop a systematic understanding of the nature, diversity and features of sport tourism, while developing a detailed knowledge of the changing demands for sport tourism, the supply structures and an examination of its impacts and responses of both sport, event and tourism providers. 
• Entrepreneurship & Innovation in Sport Management: This unit will address the importance of enterprise, and how entrepreneurship is a key driver in the sports industry, in order to create successful sport enterprises and business developments. You will have the opportunity to investigate and experience the processes involved in creativity, alongside the generation, assessment and pitching of entrepreneurial ideas.
• Sport Business Analytics: In this unit we will apply sport management theories to real-world problems that can be addressed and/or better understood through the collation of various forms of data from a range of digital environments.
• Fusion Learning Project: This unit engages industry partners in student learning, developing students as researchers, and providing them with a platform to influence real-world practice. You will work on a business-based problem on behalf of a client that requires you to reflect on the challenges facing society. You will develop graduate attributes and employability skills in areas such as intellectual curiosity, collaboration and teamwork, and societal contribution.
• Managing Sport Events for Sustainable Development: On this unit you will consider a range of issues relating to the planning, development, implementation, evaluation, and legacies of successful sport events that aim to address the UN 2030 Sustainable Development Goals and other contemporary societal challenges. 

Please note that option units require minimum numbers in order to run and may only be available on a semester by semester basis. They may also change from year to year.

Programme specifications provide definitive records of the University's taught degrees in line with Quality Assurance Agency requirements. Every taught course leading to a BU Award has a programme specification which describes its aims, structure, content and learning outcomes, plus the teaching, learning and assessment methods used.

Whilst every effort is made to ensure the accuracy of the programme specification, the information is liable to change to take advantage of exciting new approaches to teaching and learning as well as developments in industry. If you have been unable to locate the programme specification for the course you are interested in, it will be available as soon as the latest version is ready. Alternatively please contact us for assistance.

Our students perform very well on placement and a number of firms return to us year-on-year to source BU placement students. They work in roles such as Assistant Manager, Business Development Specialist, Marketing, Sales & PR Intern, Events & Operations Assistant and Team Leader.

A placement should be a highly rewarding experience for you and the employing company and we do our best to ensure that everyone involved feels that they have got the most that they can from the experience.

Your placement will also provide a great opportunity to make your first career steps. You’ll get the opportunity to:

• Put the theory learnt throughout the course into professional practice
• Enhance your study and help you decide on subject options (where appropriate)
• Learn a wide range of skills such as time management, problem solving and team work (all of these are important to succeed in any career)
• Make contacts, as it is not uncommon for our students to be offered permanent positions to return to after graduating
• Gain a real insight into how the industry operates in roles that would be almost impossible to achieve for an outsider.

The course includes an optional short 6-week work placement or a 30-week placement that will take place between your second and final year.

Although it is ultimately your responsibility to find a placement, we give you all the support you could need.

Our dedicated Placement Officers circulate job opportunities and offer CV, covering letter and interview coaching to ensure you have the best chance to compete for some of the top placement positions in industry.

• E-Sports Dubai – Sport Management Intern
• Chelsea FC – Digital Insights Assistant
• Centurion Club – Golf Operations Assistant
• Golfbreaks.com – UK Sales Assistant
• Juventus FC Spa – Stadium Intern / Sport Secretary Intern
• Reading FC – Groups & Events Executive
• Soccer-ex – Marketing Intern
• Sussex County Cricket Club – Marketing & Communications Intern
• The Grove Golf Club – Golf Operations Assistant
• AFC Bournemouth – Ticketing Operations Assistant
• Barnet FC – Youth Development Phase Recruitment / Performance Analyst
• Bournemouth 7’s Rugby – Team Sales
• Fitness First – Assistant Health & Fitness Manager
• Leicester City FC – Intern for Commercial Acquisition & Engagement
• London Irish Rugby FC – Apprentice Community Rugby Coach
• Mercedes Benz Grand Prix Ltd – Facilities Undergraduate
• Formula One Management Ltd – Media Work Placement
• Adidas – Concepts to Consumer Internship
• Under Armour – Brand Marketing Intern
• Saracens Rugby Club – Player Management Assistant
• Manchester United FC – Sponsorship Sales Operations Intern.

Why not read about some of our students’ experiences or watch a student vlog?

International students

If you will need a Tier 4 student visa to study in the UK, please be aware that the immigration rules do not allow you to do a paid work placement as a sports coach.

AccessBU

AccessBU provides you with the opportunity to tell us about your circumstances that are not always evident in your UCAS application. This widening access initiative also considers relevant criteria such as being in care or if you live in an area with a low participation rate in Higher Education - if you are eligible, your offer could be up to 16 UCAS tariff points below the published tariff.

Apprenticeships

We recognise the transferable knowledge and skills gained through apprenticeships and welcome applications from students with a Level 3 Advanced Apprenticeship recognised by the Institute for Apprenticeships. Each application will be considered on a case-by-case basis.

Deferred entry

We are happy to consider eligible applicants for deferred entry. If you have already submitted your application, please submit your deferral request through our website. 

Direct entry

We welcome applications from students who have previously studied at degree level at other institutions and wish to transfer onto a BU course. Our Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) procedure enables credit awarded from one institution to contribute to a BU award, subject to an application process. Please visit our RPL webpage for more information.

Mature applicants

​We recognise that mature applicants may have a wealth of experience rather than formal qualifications, so we’ll consider your application on these merits if included in your application. You’ll need to apply to BU in the usual way through UCAS and you may be invited to an interview to discuss your suitability for the course based on the experience you tell us about in your application.

Students on this course will typically have a sports background and knowledge of business concepts along with a proven ability to work creatively, in groups and individually.

We look for motivated and innovative thinkers who are familiar with current practice in the sports industry and want to examine the management structure and people involved in running sports organisations and businesses.

We would encourage applicants who are interested in new ideas, can express themselves well in writing, work well in groups and can demonstrate a wide range of sporting interests.

We select candidates for this course by looking at your application; there are usually no interviews or selection activities needed. For that reason, make sure your application really stands out from the crowd, and leave us in no doubt as to why you should be joining BU. You can find some handy hints about filling in your UCAS form on our how to apply web pages.

We look at individual applications and make a tailored offer based on your potential to succeed on the course considering a range of factors, including your academic achievements, work and other experience, reference and personal statement, and in some cases, your performance at an interview or a portfolio review. Typically, we make an offer at the bottom of the tariff range.

AccessBU gives you the chance to tell us more about you and your life experiences if you haven’t had the same educational opportunities as other applicants. If you are eligible for AccessBU, your offer could be up to 16 UCAS Tariff Points below the published tariff.

Our offer-making will typically be based on your most recent qualifications, including any required subjects where applicable. We'll consider all qualifications when assessing your application, although these may not be part of our offer.

If you do not meet the criteria of your original offer, we may still offer you a place. We will review your whole application and consider all academic qualifications (including those not in the offer) to see if you have the academic potential to succeed on the course. If we feel the answer is yes, we will confirm your place.

You’ll develop management skills with a focus on a sporting setting, and our graduates are now undertaking roles such as:

• Assistant Manager
• Sports Retention Executive
• Graduate Events Delegate
• Digital Marketing Assistant
• Events Manager
• Marketing & PR Executive
• Project Manager.

Our graduates are now working in industries such as:

• Sports
• Leisure
• Retail
• Business
• Events.

Once you have completed an undergraduate Honours degree, you can further develop your education by studying for a postgraduate degree. Please visit our postgraduate section for further details about our range of Master’s degrees.

Research degrees 

If you are a BU graduate you are eligible for a 20% ‘loyalty’ discount on the published fees for further programmes with us!  

Depending on your qualifications and experiences, you can choose to undertake a MRes or PhD level research degree. Bournemouth University has a strong sport research foundation within our Department of Sport & Event Mangement through a number of research centres, which explores theory, education and professional practice. 

Visit our postgraduate research courses for further details about research degree options with the Bournemouth University Business School and the funding options available. 

What’s included in your tuition fee?

Your tuition fee covers expenses associated with your course including tuition materials, access to facilities, mandatory field trips and the following:

• Materials for laboratory and mandatory field-based teaching activity
• Support for finding placements (UK or abroad) and fieldwork, and non-financial support whilst on placement if this is part of your course of study
• A range of student services – advisors, help desks, counsellors, placement support and careers service
• The Library – access to a wide range of electronic resources (databases, e-journals and e-books), print and multimedia collections, subject librarians and study spaces
• Access to Brightspace, our virtual learning environment, which offers a responsive and personalised learning experience with powerful learning analytics capabilities, integrated social media and advanced video features
• IT labs (some open 24/7), wireless network, AV equipment to borrow
• Peer Assisted Learning (PAL) scheme
• Disability and additional learning support
• The BU Language Centre to help you develop/improve foreign or English language skills
• 24 hours a day, 365 days a year security team.

​Additional costs

We are committed to offering you value for money and ensuring there are no hidden costs while you are studying with us, therefore we have listed below any additional costs you may incur that are not covered by your tuition fee:

• Laptops, tablets and mobile devices and any software used on personal devices. Access to a personal computer is strongly recommended for your study. If you are experiencing financial difficulty, visit our website for information regarding hardship funds.
• Textbooks, general stationery and other supplies. Our award-winning library is stocked with a large range of textbooks and online resources, free of charge. The Students’ Union shops stock a wide range of stationery supplies on both campuses.
• Accommodation and living costs. Our accommodation price guide can be found on our website. 
• Travel costs to and from the University campus. An annual bus pass is included in your rent if you are living in halls of residence/Unilet accommodation.
• Travel costs to and from your placement (both in the UK and overseas). Information about funding your placement year can be found on our website.
• Travel costs for optional field trips, outdoor wear and footwear for mandatory and optional field trips (if applicable).
• Clothing or equipment costs required for your placement if this is part of your course of study.
• SportBU membership.

While all aspects of the programme, including required field trips, are included in the fee, additional, optional or extra curricula activities may be available for which a student contribution is required.

If you need to repeat one or more units during your studies (with or without attendance) the pricing will be pro-rata of the full-time fee.

Dr Manuela Picariello is a Lecturer and Programme Leader (BSc Sport Management) in the Department of Sport & Events Management at Bournemouth University. Her main areas of research focus on mentoring for women and minorities, corporate social responsibility, sustainability, within organizations in US and internationally. She recently added human brands and sport for development to her research interests.

She was born in Avellino, Italy. She attended the University of Napoli, Federico II, in Italy, where she earned a bachelor’s degree in Management Engineering while pursuing a basketball career in the Italian minor leagues. In 2013 she earned her Ph.D. in Management Engineering with a concentration on Sport Management. During her doctoral studies in San Marino, she has been a visiting scholar for the University of Tennessee, Knoxville.

She moved to Knoxville in 2014 to earn her second doctoral degree in Sport Studies from the University of Tennessee and pursue an academic career in the U.S. She finished her second Ph.D. in May 2017 and she accepted a position as Assistant Professor in the Sport Management program at Texas Woman's University in Denton, Texas. She held this position from May 2017 until August 2021, when she decided to join Bournemouth University.

Andrew Adams is a member of the Department of Sport and Event Management at Bournemouth University. Andrew’s research has featured in a variety of sport, policy, and public management journals including, the International Review for the Sociology of Sport, Sporty and Society, European Sport Management Quarterly and Sport Management Review. He served as editor in Chief of Managing Sport and Leisure between 2017-2020 and is a member of the editorial advisory boards for Managing Sport and Leisure and Frontiers in Sports and Active Living.

Andrew's primary research interests focus on social justice and human rights as they apply to the production and participation of global sport forms. He has delivered keynote talks addressing these themes to various European academic sport conventions and conferences. He is a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy.

Keith is Head of the Departmentfor Sport & Event Management at Bournemouth University, an Adjunct Fellow of Western Sydney University and he is a Senior Fellow of the HEA. His research interests are based on the sociology of sport, with a focus on sports fandom, health and the spectator experience. His knowledge and expertise have also been recognised with invitations to write for websites such as The Conversation and News.com.au, allowing him to disseminate his knowledge to a wide audience. He is an award-winning teacher and writer, receiving a UN Day Media Award for a co-authored media piece: Pushing casual sport to the margins threatens cities’ social cohesion.

Keith’s PhD examined the formation of sports heroes within the setting of a new professional sports team (the GWS GIANTS), it investigated when and how heroes are formed, and who (or what) dictates their emergence. 

Keith is passionate about teaching and has developed a number of blended learning strategies, often making use of innovative technology, to enhance his teaching. Keith’s creative, enthusiastic, innovative and dynamic teaching approach has been recognised for positively motivating and engaging students through a variety of teaching awards. 

Paul is a Senior Lecturer in Sports Business and Administration. He specialises in the areas of Sport Management and Finance. 

Although qualified in accountancy and with a BA (Hons) in Business Management, it is education itself that is Paul’s main professional interest. His Master’s Degree is in Academic Practice and among his research interests is the development of Technology Enhanced Learning as an aid to teaching finance based subjects to non-specialist students. He has also completed the Bournemouth University Education Excellence Staff Development Programme. 

In a previous career, Paul was a qualified greenkeeper and still maintains an interest in this. Paul also has a keen interest in the business of motorsport. He has worked on BU’s behalf within a British Touring Car Championship team and with the organisers of the Rallye Sunseeker. 

Joanne's interests are located within physical cultural studies focusing on digital cultures, embodied experience and wellbeing. Her recent papers have focused on how people engage in physical gender and identity practices using social media, and have philosophically conceptualised how physicality provides existential possibilities for wellbeing.

Joanne has a passion for methodology, and particularly those that empower and involve the general public within the research process. She has recently collaborated with internationally renowned authors on a number of methodological journal articles that focus of the formal conceptualisation and review of Mixed Methods Phenomenological Research.

Joanne is also proud to be a co-convenor of the Bournemouth University Woman's Academic Network, and has a passionate interest in feminism and the promotion of equal rights.

Daniel is a Principal Academic and Deputy Head of the Department for Sport & Event Management at Bournemouth University. He is also an Adjunct Associate Professor in Sport Management at Griffith University in Queensland, Australia. Daniel spent 12 years living in Australia, during which time he completed his PhD at the University of Technology, Sydney. 

Daniel’s research has featured in a variety of sport, health, and marketing-based journals including, for example, the Journal of Aging and Health, Journal of Consumer Behaviour, Journal of Sport Management, European Sport Management Quarterly, Leisure Sciences, and Sport Management Review. He is an Associate Editor of Sport Management Review. Also, Daniel sits on the Editorial Boards of the Journal of Sport Management, European Sport Management Quarterly, and Sport and Entertainment Review. 

Daniel’s primary research interests focus on social perception and identity dynamics as they apply to sport. 

Nayoung (with two syllables), is a lecturer in the Department of Sport & Event Management (SEM) in the Bournemouth University Business School. Before joining, they worked as a clinical instructor in the Department of Physical Education at Gyeongsang National University and as an assistant professor in the Department of Football Science at Honam University. Nayoung taught a broad range of undergraduate courses at Texas A&M University where they completed their doctorate in Health and Kinesiology, with an emphasis on Sport Management. Nayoung received their master’s degree in Sport Science from Seoul National University, where they gained an in-depth knowledge of sport participation and consumer behaviour, and did their undergraduate degree in Sport and Leisure Studies from Uiduk University, where I played intercollegiate football competitively.

Nayoung is researching sport-related topics focused on cultural diversity, inclusion, and social justice in sport governance and leadership, as well as applications of systematic reviews in the field of sport management. They are working towards unpacking the voices and experiences of those who have been historically underrepresented and minoritised in leadership positions in sport.

Gary's research interest is guiding his role as the Contract Manager for the Sport England funded Active Ageing project [SE2017007073], and one of a team of BU researchers drawn from the Faculty of Health and Social Sciences (FoHSS) and the DoSPA, FoM, to evaluate the effectiveness of the project. The DoSPA is leading the evaluation of system changes as evoked by the project and measuring the physical activity of its 55-65 years of age patients, with the study running between the 1st April 2018 and 31st March 2021. We believe the impact of the research could well influence the future direction of Sport England's policy and strategy for sport and physical activity.

Nadina Ayer holds a Ph.D. in Recreation and Leisure Studies from the University of Waterloo, Ontario, Canada. She was awarded an MA in Recreation and Leisure Studies and a BA (Hons.) with a double major in Recreation and Business and Therapeutic Recreation and a German minor from the University of Waterloo. Her research focuses on online communities, interpersonal and group dynamics, participation and leadership in sport, and management of sport and recreation. Nadina is a former varsity tennis player (bronze medallist and MVP) and a certified tennis coach (including wheelchair and cardio tennis) with extensive coaching experience from grassroots to high performance. She is the co-founder of the Imamovic-Ayer Tennis Academy.

Nadina is a long-time community sport volunteer, who has worked with Tennis Canada (Community Champion), Ontario Tennis Association (Kids Cardio Tennis Regional Representative), and Kitchener-Waterloo Sports Council (Board of Directors, Member, Webmaster- current role). Nadina holds a Fundamentals of University Teaching Certificate from the University of Waterloo and has over ten years of higher education teaching and course development experience. She emphasizes critical and global thinking with a commitment to the provision of ethical, socially responsible, sustainable, and inclusive sport and recreation. Her students can expect to be challenged to perform at the highest standards in their work and conduct.

Dr Bruce Braham started in commercial business and has spent most of his life working either in or in association with the public sector. Most recently he has been a Board member of the Dorset Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) where his portfolio was Tourism. His core business interest has been all aspects of the hospitality, tourism and motor sport industries, where his commercial background was based, and more recently that has transferred to his academic and industry relationships. Over the years Dr Braham has had a place on the boards of several national and many local tourism and hospitality and health care organisations.

Richard is an Associate Professor in Sport Event Management. His research interests focus on sport tourism, Olympic studies, the impacts and legacies of international sport events, crisis and disaster management at sports events, sport ethnography, volunteering at sports mega events, and entrepreneurship and innovation in sport, events and leisure.

Richard's primary work has explored a series of Olympic related research themes ranging from resident perception studies to Olympic tourism. His other research interests are linked to the experiences of endurance athletes, most notably distance runners and cycling tourists. Richard has previously received major research grant from the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) to develop research linked to sport tourism and sports events. He was also co-author on an International Olympic Committee (IOC) funded project examining mega sport event volunteering legacies.

Richard is the Regional Editor (Europe) for the International Journal of Event and Festival Management (IJEFM), and is the Reviews and Commentaries Editor for the Journal of Sport and Tourism. Richard is currently a visiting scholar at the University of Queensland, and since 2010 he has served on the ESRC's Peer Review College (PRC), refereeing grant proposals within social sciences.

Richard is lead author of the academic textbook Crisis and Disaster Management for Sport (2021), co-author of the Routledge Handbook of Events, Sport, and Tourism, (2022), and co-author of Entrepreneurship and Innovation in Sport, Events and Leisure (2023).