Alumni Interview Global Sports Business Master, Erwan Billot

AMOS Sport Business School, une école du groupe ACE Education

La principale ambition d’ACE Education est d’assurer une formation de qualité, des expériences enrichissantes et un avenir serein à nos milliers d’étudiants. Notre promesse est de transformer leur passion pour le sport, l’hôtellerie, la mode ou le design, en un métier durable. C’est pourquoi, nous sommes heureux d’annoncer le nouveau contrat que nous venons de signer avec Elevate jusqu’en 2024, dans le cadre du plus grand évènement sportif qui aura lieu en France et auquel Elevate aura l’occasion de contribuer. Elevate est une agence internationale centrée sur l’humain, et spécialisée dans le recrutement, la formation et le management du staff événementiel. Elle met en relation les talents, les données et les marques afin d'optimiser l'impact des activations marketing. Ce partenariat prometteur permettra le recrutement des étudiants de nos écoles AMOS Sport Business School, CMH Centre de Management Hôtelier, ESDAC Ecole Supérieure de Design, sur les événements sportifs majeurs en 2023 et 2024, ainsi que sur d’autres secteurs allant de l’hospitalité à la mode. Toutes les écoles du groupe ACE Education ont pour vocation d’aider les jeunes à réussir leur entrée sur le marché du travail, et de leur permettre d’évoluer rapidement vers des postes de Top Management, dans leurs domaines de prédilection. « Ce partenariat majeur rapproche deux entités qui se développent en Europe et à l’international et marquent leur volonté commune de renforcer leur capacité à développer et soutenir l’employabilité et les expériences professionnelles des étudiants dans l’évènementiel sportif et haut de gamme. Elevate, agence de staffing événementiel présente en France, aux Etats-Unis, en Allemagne, en Autriche et en Grande Bretagne, propose des solutions innovantes en termes de recrutement à ses clients. ACE Education par ce partenariat plonge ses étudiants dans des expériences professionnelles immersives en lien direct avec leur formation. » Audrey Léger, Directrice des Partenariats ACE Education. « Le rapprochement entre ACE Éducation et Elevate est à nos yeux un partenariat qui a beaucoup de sens tant en France qu’à l’international. Elevate a pour ambition de contribuer à la formation professionnelle des jeunes et des étudiants et de leurs permettre d’acquérir une première expérience professionnelle sur le terrain dans le cadre d’évènements prestigieux. Ce partenariat a un double enjeu car au-delà d’être porteur d’opportunités professionnelles pour tous ces étudiants et de participer à l’éco système sportif, il nous permet également de mieux faire connaître le secteur de l’évènementiel dans sa globalité » Julie Reed, Directrice Générale Elevate France & DACH.

À propos du Groupe ACE Education

ACE Education est un acteur majeur de l'enseignement supérieur en France, proposant des formations certifiées de Bac+3 à Bac+5 à plus de 7 000 étudiants dans les domaines du management du sport, de l’hôtellerie, du tourisme de luxe, des arts appliqués, du design et de la mode, au travers de ses six écoles : AMOS Sport Business School et ESBS, écoles de sport management, ESDAC, école de design, CMH, Centre de Management Hôtelier International de Luxe, EIDM, Ecole Internationale de Mode et Luxe, ENAAI, Ecole d’Arts Appliqués, BD et Illustration. Le groupe offre une variété de programmes sur ses 42 campus en France et à l’étranger. Il met l'accent sur les expériences internationales et sur la professionnalisation au cœur même de l’expérience étudiante.

The Super Bowl is coming...

This 12th of February, 11:30pm, is the kick-off of one of the most anticipated sporting event of the year: the Super Bowl. This mega event which was viewed by over 200 million people last year will oppose the Chiefs to the Eagles, at the State Farm Stadium in Arizona. Many of our students are fan of American sports, and this is the case for Maxime Jos - a Global Sport Business Master - 1st year student, from the London campus.

A strong Passion for NFL

« I discovered American Football when I was a teenager by watching movies such as Maxi Papa and Always America. There is a fighting spirit in this sport that I love. I started to play when I moved to Lille, where I played for 2 years as a line backer, it was a dream. The number of strategies that go into one game has always fascinated me. » Maxime Jos Currently, he does not have the opportunity to play... « I am focusing on martial arts, notably boxing, which I practice a few times a week, but hopefully in the years to come I will get back into it. » Maxime Jos « When I was at PACE University, New York City, I went to watch the homecoming game of my university. It was an interesting experience. As I had been playing this sport for the last 2 years, I understood the several aspects of the games. » Maxime Jos Thankfully for Maxime, this opportunity presented itself again, in his new city, London. For the past 15 years, the NFL London, has made a lot of efforts to make the « American Games » popular beyond the United States. In 2017, Roger Goodell, who was the league commissioner at the time, implemented the International Series. Since then, NFL teams have come to play in the UK on a yearly basis (apart from 2020 because of Covid 19). « Since the UK attracts NFL teams to come and play on their territory, I had the chance to go to Wembley to see an NFL game a few months ago. There was a great atmosphere, a great spirit. » Maxime Jos

Working experience for an NFL agency

During the third year of the Bachelor programme, our students have the occasion to travel overseas and study for a semester in a partner university. Maxime took this option and fulfilled his dream by heading to the US. Maxime went to PACE University (New York City), and, thanks to the J1 Visa, he was able to work for companies on the American soil once his semester was over. An opportunity that he seized, to discover a new market and to develop his NFL passion and knowledge. « I did work for an NFL agency in New-Jersey. It was a great experience, I earned a lot about marketing, branding and prospecting. The job, at the time, was prospecting brands for the players. Players have their own interests, and they want to represent brands they feel comfortable with, so our job was to find these companies and negotiate for them. If I had the opportunity to do it again, I would seize the chance again, of course! » Maxime Jos While pursuing his studies, Maxime keeps an eye on the NFL, and will, obviously, be focusing on the Superbowl on the 12th of February... « I’ll be in front of my TV, same as every year, watching it with a lot of frenzy! » Maxime Jos Written by Guillaume Faure, Communication Officer AMOS London

The view of an insider on how things went in Doha

On the 18th of December 2022, at the Lusail Stadium, the 22nd Men Football World Cup ended on a dramatic final, which saw Lionel Messi and his teammates winning the most desired trophy. Never in history, the attribution and the preparation of a World Cup had provoked this many reactions from governments, organisations, newspapers, and people all around the world. It was, within this tense climate, a little over a month ago, that our alumni Nathalie Deutsch, Workforce Operations Manager at TMS, was getting ready to live the biggest experience of her young career. A month later, we are reaching back to her, to have the view of an insider on how things went in Doha - Capital of the Qatari Peninsula. For our former Global Sport Business Master student, the general mood around the World Cup changed when the competition started. « A lot of people have criticized the competition, wanted to boycott, and they had their reasons for it. As a member of the staff, we did not agree with everything that happened here, however, at our level, we made sure to deliver everything ethically, and in a way, it was successful ». The competition was a success, as soon as Daniele Orsato (referee who officiated the first game of the tournament) blew the start of the first match, fans were once again enthusiastic. Focusing on the performances of their team, people were cheering all around the world and the polemics were put aside, leaving us with what a World Cup is meant to be: a moment in which the whole world comes together to share vivid emotions.

Fan experience

Over the past 4 months, I had the chance to write a couple of articles on her adventures, which taught us a lot about the organisation of such an event, notably the fact that changes are made up to the very last minute, and the result is never guaranteed. However, the hard work and dedication of the teams paid off as the fan experience received great feedback. « I had the opportunity to see a few games, especially the semi-finals and the final, and I have to say, apart from a few things that you will always have in this kind of competition (queueing to get into the stadium, customer service that could be improved...), the services were great. Overall, it was super easy to get around and there was a great atmosphere ». Regarding the games she attended, one obviously stuck to her: the final! « 80% of the stadium was filled with Argentinian fans, they were good fun! Every time Messi touched the ball, the whole stadium was like… wow! It was special moment ».

Collaboration between multiple stakeholders

Organising a Global Sporting Event is about finding a way to successfully collaborate with multiple stakeholders. And we have known from previous interviews and the international press that it is not an easy process. Multiple newspapers relayed the difficult relations between FIFA and the Qatari Supreme Committee for Delivery & Legacy during the build-up of the competition. However, according to Nathalie, once the competition started, the momentum took over and everyone found a way to work together. « When the operations come live, the collaboration between stakeholders gets better. We have meetings, and every time there is a problem, a representative of each entity is present to discuss it and find a solution. Everyone came together and worked closely to get things done. The approaches are sometimes different from a stakeholder to another, but the end goal is the same, having a wonderful competition. I think that the World Cup brought the best out of Qatar, and that is what everyone saw, whether they were there or in front of their television ».

The World Cup Legacy

According to the Qatari’s ambassador in Russia, the total cost of the world cup is around $200bn, which is according to Sky Sports, « many times higher than any budget spent on similar events in history ». Qatar has built 8 stadia, over 100 hotels to host the teams and the fans, as well as a brand-new underground for the crowd to navigate easily. With all these news infrastructures, the question that is yet to be answered is the one about the legacy. For Nathalie, everything was planned. « In terms of transport, the metro is something that was needed, whether international competitions are happening or not, it will still be of great use for the locals and tourists ». « Regarding the stadia, from what we know, they will have a capacity reduction and will be used for local or international events » (as mentioned in the previous articles, Qatar will host the upcoming international Asian Games as well as the Asian Football Cup AFC). The Education City stadium will become part of the wider Qatar Foundation facilities for university students. « The stadium made up of ship containers (Stadium 974) will be dismantled and repurposed. Obviously, Qatar is not going to be as busy as some other countries, which have an all year long sporting calendars, but they will still use the vast majority of the infrastructures that were built for the World Cup ». « All in all, Qatar proved that they were able to create and manage a mega event, and it will probably bring many opportunities for this country in the years to come ».

Post World Cup Duty

In the mind of most spectators, once the final is over everything ends and their lives go back to normal, and the only things remaining are memories. But for the managers on the field, it is another story. The work there isn’t quite finished, it is even the beginning of a new adventure. The first two weeks after the competition consisted of sending her staff home, and since the new year Nathalie has been focusing on a legacy job. « I am currently busy compiling information and data from the competition, then writing action reports, preparing handovers for whoever wants to know about the event, because there are other events coming up, and even if my team will not be there, someone will need to use what we built to deliver the future events ». Nathalie will be staying in Qatar until the end of March, ensuring that all reporting is done, before heading back to London where she will have some well-deserved holidays! After that she will be looking for a new job, whether in Workforce or any other part of the sporting event industry! There is no doubt that the future of this promising young lady will be bright as well as for the companies who will have the chance to have her on their team. And we will, of course, keep following her in her next adventures! Written by Guillaume Faure, Communication Officer AMOS London