The sports events project manager is the initiator of all the events and activities that his or her clients wish to organise. Whether it’s a symposium, conference, convention, inauguration or sporting event, they are responsible for designing the event, managing the logistics, obtaining authorisations and coordinating the staging of these events on behalf of their clients.

He leads meetings with his clients, draws up the specifications, proposes resources and tools to implement the event, coordinates the implementation of the project and proposes a communication plan.

On the day of the event, they are present throughout to ensure that everything runs smoothly and that nothing is left to chance. In particular, they must be reactive to unforeseen circumstances.

Event project managers need to be creative in their event proposals. They need to be organised, know how to anticipate risks and be responsive to the unexpected.

They must have a command of event techniques, be familiar with regulations and be rigorous.

They have strong listening skills and are capable of managing teams and various service providers.

The sponsorship manager’s role is to consolidate and support existing sponsorships and to support sponsors while seeking out new ones in line with the organisation’s objectives.

He or she has to convince companies to invest so that a sporting event can be staged, a club or federation can grow and projects can be financed. It’s an essential job for the development of organisations.

Through sports sponsorship, the advertiser seeks to benefit from the image effects on its brand thanks to the values associated with sport, in particular with the team or the athlete. Sports sponsorship can also be used internally to promote cohesion and motivation among employees.

The sponsorship manager must have excellent interpersonal skills to manage direct contact with customers.

He is a skilled negotiator and works with rigour and reliability.

It is important to have good interpersonal skills and a knowledge of the sporting world.

The sports marketing product manager monitors the economy, technology and regulations to keep abreast of new developments and market trends.

It designs market research and product tests, determines procedures and analyses the information gathered in order to identify the characteristics of a market in terms of opportunities/threats, strengths/weaknesses and, more specifically, via sports consumers.

He or she draws up sales forecasts, defines and adjusts the positioning of products on the market, defines the communication strategy that accompanies the product and coordinates the creation of packaging elements.

Finally, he or she is responsible for the product launch, coordinating all the departments and service providers involved in its development, implementing the marketing action plan and monitoring sales.

The marketing product manager has a sound knowledge of the elements of the marketing mix: price, product, promotion, distribution, as well as statistical tools and budget management.

They are familiar with the environment and regulations of the sports sector.

He has a good grasp of major market trends.

He or she is a team player, a thinker and a creative thinker.

The manager assumes the role of strategic or operational manager. They are capable of analysing the company’s legal, financial, human and cultural context. They advise on strategic orientations, evaluate objectives and participate in their achievement.

He coordinates relations with the various players in the sports sector: sponsors, private partners and representatives of public and private institutions.

Finally, his knowledge of the sports sector and his ability to keep abreast of innovation and sports news enable him to constantly adapt his strategies.

They are good listeners and must be able to make proposals and identify opportunities.

They are capable of managing teams, briefing service providers and chairing meetings.

He has a good grasp of major market trends.

It is important to have good interpersonal skills and a knowledge of the sporting world.

Mastery of the legal and institutional environment of sport in France and internationally

The merchandising manager designs the merchandising strategy and policy, analyses customer consumption patterns and sales volumes, monitors the competition, defines the main principles of visual identity and draws up an overall development plan.

He/she develops and refines the development plan into merchandising actions for each product range in collaboration with the category managers, validates the POS and POP displays, steers the test phases and ensures that deadlines and budgets are respected.

He/she manages the merchandising team and monitors merchandising activity indicators.

They have a very good knowledge of the company’s products and strategic objectives. They are able to manage and monitor studies carried out by service providers (interior designers, marketing consultants) and have a good understanding of competitors’ merchandising strategies.

They are rigorous and methodical in their project management. They demonstrate creativity and an ability to innovate, in order to design product displays that will encourage people to buy.

He or she has a flair for argumentation and the ability to present and defend a project to senior management.

They need to have a thorough knowledge of the products they sell, as well as those available on the market and from competitors, so that they can provide their customers with the best possible information.

They have to monitor new trends and consumer needs in order to offer customers the latest sports products.

They have to manage a sales team and supervise recruitment, which can be substantial depending on the size of the shop in which they work.

In particular, he manages the workshop technicians and department managers with whom he works on a daily basis.

They may have to work with their company’s purchasing manager and with representatives of various sports brands.

This position involves considerable responsibility, whether in management, commerce or finance.

They must be able to implement action plans and ensure that targets are met in order to improve the company’s sales.

Ability to manage working meetings.

Monitor shop merchandising and stock levels.

The stadium manager’s main task is to manage the stadium enclosure for which he or she is responsible. His aim is to make a profit and make the venue profitable. As the person in charge of the stadium, he or she will coordinate renovations or works and the organisation of events in the stadium. He is also responsible for the stadium’s management, communications, sports facilities and sponsorship, as well as security, shops, restaurants and ticketing.

It implements projects to make it more attractive and to impact visitor numbers and yield.

Before and during events (concerts, matches or conferences), they must ensure the safety of the public and top sportsmen and women in the venue.

These professionals need to have a number of qualities that are essential to their job, such as versatility and adaptability. They must have a good sense of organisation and a strong ability to manage stress.

Finally, they must have an excellent knowledge of the world of sport and events.

Directors are responsible for defining priorities, budgets and sporting, social and cultural objectives.
Most of their work will therefore involve helping elected representatives to implement public policies in the field of sport.

In their work, these professionals work closely with sports associations, the heads of the various leagues and the managers of private sports facilities.

One of the key challenges for the Director of Sport is to make sport attractive and thus succeed in inviting potential private investors to invest in the development of projects.

The sports director is a highly responsible civil servant. He or she must have good interpersonal skills, be able to make concessions and therefore be a good negotiator. They must be able to lead a team and work in an ecosystem.

Be able to organise events.

The sports manager’s main task is to steer the economic development and promote the reputation of his sports organisation, subject to a specific budget and sporting results. They are also responsible for the association’s administration, including logistics, club upkeep and cleanliness, and the general condition of the premises and its equipment.

The sports club manager is in charge of contacts with the professionals around him: partners, sponsors, institutional representatives, teams.

He also participates in the recruitment strategy for the sports, technical, administrative and medical staff, then supervises them to ensure they are well coordinated, by helping to draw up their schedules.

A sports club manager needs to be versatile.

They must have excellent theoretical, practical and cultural knowledge of sport.

Strong administrative, legal, economic and commercial management skills.

The sports marketing manager therefore represents a product or an event, which he or she must promote to perfection, thanks to an action plan drawn up after market research.

They are also responsible for proposing the broad lines of their company’s sales and marketing strategy. They draw up a research plan to gather information on the market, the needs and expectations of their customers and the competition. They set up operations to promote their product, such as advertising, and manage communication in the media.

He also supervises the work of the various marketing teams, and draws up a sales pitch guide for the sales staff responsible for convincing customers. He is the pillar of a company’s marketing strategy.

To be a sports marketing manager, you obviously need to have an excellent knowledge of the sports world, know the market and be able to analyse it.

You need to master marketing techniques and tools, know how to manage and coordinate teams and be convincing.

Professionals must be able to take the initiative, and be efficient and operational.