Brown and Wright to follow Giles’ footsteps
Sussex Cricket Sussex duo Ben Brown and Luke Wright are embarking on the same sporting director qualification that shaped Ashley Giles’ England role.
A host of cricket pros are among the group of sports and business people studying for one of the most important and respected roles in the sports industry as Manchester Metropolitan University’s pioneering sporting director course welcomes the latest cohort of students.
The 2019 line-up for the Masters of Sport Directorship (MSD) course includes Brown, and Luke Wright as well as Lancashire captain Dane Vilas and former South African international Robin Peterson.
One of the highest-profile alumni of the two-year, parttime MSD is England Cricket managing director Giles, who graduated from the course in 2017 and has credited his studies at Manchester Met with moulding the way he carries out his role for the ECB.
“The MSD enabled me to develop as a person as well as in my role as a sporting director, and has probably shaped the way I carry out my role now,” said Giles.
The acclaimed course is in its sixth year and MSD graduates and current students also include former England international Vikram Solanki, England selector Mo Bobat and Lancashire performance director Mark Chilton. A total of 14 cricket professionals have enrolled since the 2014 launch.
A record number of students from overseas sporting organisations have embarked on the MSD this year, with FC Copenhagen, Australian football club Ballarat City, and sports academies in te UAE and Abu Dhabi among those represented by the class of 2019.
Mark Batey, head of the MSD course, said: The MSD has transformed the careers of many of our students and graduates and has made a resoundingly positive impact on the organisations they work for, in cricket, football and beyond.
“The unique combination of high-performance leadership, governance and commercial management that students learn on the course, along with practical insights for harnessing creativity and innovation, are increasingly essential to successful sports organisations worldwide.”
He added: “The reputation of Manchester Met’s unique MSD as the go-to qualification for the sporting director role is gaining international traction and it is great to see such a globally diverse range of organisations coming on board this year.
“We already have a waiting list of applicants for next year’s MSD.” Ben Brown and Luke Wright are to study for a sport director qualification