Loughborough Sport Placements
Every year Loughborough Sport, in partnership with the School of Exercise & Health Sciences, host a variety of placements in performance support and operational roles for both our undergraduate and postgraduate students. Find out more about these placements below.
Undergraduate Placements
We offer full-time placements for Loughborough University undergraduates completing a sandwich year or year in industry.
Placements are available in Performance Analysis, Strength & Conditioning, Physiology, and Operations Support. Students will gain hands-on experience in an elite sports environment, working alongside practitioners and coaches.
These placements provide a valuable opportunity to build a portfolio of skills, boosting future employability.
Men's Football Operations Support 2025-2026
Loughborough Sport is committed to the development of aspiring coaches and practitioners through elite sport in the UK. Supporting around 500 funded athletes, scholars, and first team athletes across a range of sports and athletic disciplines, we provide a unique environment to develop a range of skills within an interdisciplinary sports program.
The successful applicant will gain practical applied experience in a performance sporting environment under the guidance of practitioners and coaches. During the placement, there is an opportunity to build a portfolio of practical expertise, enhancing your employability.
What would I be doing?
- Working alongside the Football Programme Manager and Head Coache to assist with the operations of running the men’s football programmes. The role would also be responsible for liaising with the AU club around matters of mutual interest.
- Suitable for someone looking to move into a management or marketing role in sport
- Support the extensive trials process at the beginning of the academic year
- Support with other areas of the Inter-Disciplinary team.
- Match day operations which include the coordination of match day staffing and logistics and management of the match day experience for non-league and BUCS Fixtures
- Matchday Communications for all internal and external stakeholders
- Hosting of opposition committee members and opposition matchday experience.
- Support the Scouting Hub with recruitment into the men’s programme, including leading Men’s Trials with AU Chair
- Support the provision of marketing, media, and communications across the programme.
- Direct mentoring support from experienced programme manager
- Opportunity to work with external football bodies (e.g. County FA, Premier League, etc.) when hosting fixtures and events at Loughborough
- Promote and represent Loughborough University and Loughborough Students Football Club in a professional manner.
What will I get out of this opportunity?
- Exposure to working with coaches and athletes in an elite sporting environment
- Exposure to a range of sports, disciplines, and abilities
- Mentoring from practitioners and supervisors
- Support through qualifications and accreditations
- Portfolio of CPD and practical expertise
- Enhance your employability,
- Work closely with other practitioners within an interdisciplinary team
- Development of soft skills
What is Loughborough Sport looking for?
- To undertake this role, you must be a current student at Loughborough University.
- Full commitment – otherwise you won’t get much out of the placement and the support for football will be affected
- Due to the nature of the role, experiences will take place during evenings and weekends to align with the football training schedule.
- The ability to communicate well, share knowledge simply and effectively and strong attention to detail.
- Experience in delivering or assisting in the delivery of presentations.
- Innovative thinking and willingness to try things.
- Professional attitude and approach, respect for others.
Additional Details
- Paid stipend of £6000 over 12 months
- Start date can be discussed but men’s pre-season starts in June and women’s programme in July
- Minimum of 30 hours per week for 45 weeks
- Evening and weekend work required
- Opportunity to volunteer ahead of your placement
- Diploma of Professional Studies running alongside placement year
How can I apply?
Please send a CV & Video Application to One Drive via the file request link below. It’s up to you how you choose to produce the video, the only stipulations are that it is no longer than 5 minutes and you answer all questions (with relevant detail) set out below:
Interviews will take place on the week commencing 5th May.
Applications close Wednesday 30th April.
File Link:
Tell us about yourself:
- Name
- Your experiences in a sporting/football environment
- Personal sporting interests and programme (men’s or women’s) you would like to be involved in
- Your career aspirations
- What do you think you are like as a person, how would others describe you?
Tell us why you would like to join us:
- Why this placement? Why you? Why Loughborough?
Postgraduate Placements
We offer placements integrated with our master's programmes in the School of Sports Exercise & Health Sciences (SSEHS) across disciplines like Performance Analysis, Strength & Conditioning, Physiology, and Nutrition.
Students will gain hands-on experience working alongside experts in an elite sports environment.
These placements allow you to build a portfolio of practical skills, boosting your employability.
What will I get out of these opportunities?
Loughborough Sport is dedicated to developing aspiring coaches and practitioners through elite sport in the UK.
Supporting around 500 funded athletes, scholars, and first-team athletes across various sports, we offer a unique environment to develop a wide range of skills within an interdisciplinary sports programme.
Students on our placements gain hands-on experience in an elite sports setting, working with practitioners and coaches, and have the chance to build a portfolio of practical expertise to enhance their employability.
Training and Mentoring
Access to in house specific technical training and mentoring delivered by Loughborough Sport Practitioners and Programme Managers.
Employability Skills
Develop employability skills such as communications and problem solving through hands on experience
Networking Opportunities
Opportunity to network with industry professionals