Andrew Slater, an LLM International Sports Law in Practice graduate, is now the Head of Marketing at Ipswich Town Football Club. In his role, Andrew leads the marketing strategy across various aspects of the club, including ticketing, membership, fan engagement, retail, branding, corporate initiatives, non-matchday events, and international expansion. He also supports other areas such as the commercial department and the Ipswich Town Football Club Foundation. Andrew describes his role as wide-reaching, offering exciting opportunities to contribute to the club's growth.
Reflecting on what he enjoys most about his job, Andrew shares:
“The thing I love about my job is being able to make a difference. We’re very lucky in that the club is full of exceptionally talented individuals, who also like working as a team to drive us forward. I’m able to use my knowledge and expertise to help drive the marketing angle, but ultimately need to work closely with many stakeholders to take it forwards. We’re on a journey at Ipswich Town Football Club, and marketing is playing a big part in that.”
Andrew credits the LLM International Sports Law course with helping him prepare for this role:
“The sports law course helped me understand football in a business context. I’ve been lucky enough to work across multiple sports in multiple sectors – but football is a different beast due to the highly commercial nature of it all. The course actually was part of my route into the role – during the interview process, I was interviewed by the COO, and we discussed multiple angles of sports law, how media rights could change the football landscape, and of course, the delicate conversation that is the Super League.”
Andrew frequently applies what he learned on the course in his job:
“I use what I learned in the course pretty much daily. Just yesterday, I was on a call discussing opportunities in the US market, given the change of regulation by the NCAA around earnings on NIL for college and university students. I’ve also a much better understanding of legal implications from a wide range of subjects and am able to input into challenging conversations in an informed and respectful manner.”
When asked about his favourite part of the course, Andrew highlights the Commercial Regulation and Contractual Obligations in Sport module:
“Throughout my career, it’s obvious I’m a very commercial marketeer, and this was a new take on how to extract value from a legal standpoint. It also provided some fantastic context on international sports marketing and contractual regulation. There were also some incredible international placement opportunities across the US and South Africa. As I say though, I did enjoy the whole course.”
Andrew has advice for prospective students considering the course:
“The more you put in, the more you get out. Turn up to sessions ready to engage and have debates/conversations with your classmates.”
Following the previous years’ success, the LLM International Sports Law students again in 2023-24 unanimously decided that they are 100% satisfied with the course. Would you like to join us? Check the website to find out more!
