PhD Studentship: Operationalising Artificial Intelligence in Elite Sport Organisations: Readiness, Governance and Integration Pathways

Manchester Metropolitan University; Manchester; On-site; GBP 20,000 - 24,000; Full time

Job summary

Manchester Metropolitan University invites applications for a PhD studentship exploring how organisations move from experimenting with AI to embedding it in sport. You will design and lead a comparative multiple case study of how clubs adopt and govern technology, with fieldwork that includes interviews and social network analysis.

The project examines governance, regulation and relationships with technology providers and leagues, aiming to deliver a practical diagnostic tool for the sector.

Qualifications

• Experience working/studying in, or with sports organisations, governing bodies or sport technology providers.
• An understanding of AI regulation.

Responsibilities

• Design and lead a comparative multiple case study of how clubs adopt and govern technology.
• Conduct semi-structured interviews with senior decision makers and perform social network analysis.
• Train in case study design, qualitative interviewing and network methods.

Skills

Sports sector exposure

AI regulation awareness

Job description

This PhD tests a new explanation: readiness for AI depends not only on money, staff and data, but on an organisation's relationships with technology suppliers, regulators and peers. Working across football, cricket and basketball, including women's professional sport, you will investigate how organisations move from experimenting with AI to embedding it, and help create a practical diagnostic tool for the sector.

You will gain advanced skills in case study research, interviewing and social network analysis while working with decision makers in sport, and you will be encouraged to shape the research design.

You will design and lead a comparative multiple case study of how clubs adopt and govern technology. The fieldwork combines semi-structured interviews with senior decision makers and social network analysis of the relationships between clubs, technology providers, leagues and governing bodies. You will receive training in case study design, qualitative interviewing and analysis, and network methods, including data collection, measurement and modelling. The research will examine whether current governance arrangements for technology reduce or widen resource and performance inequalities between clubs, and the results will feed directly into policy discussions with partners in the sport.

Objectives

• Explore how data quality and interoperability, undermined by conflicting standards across vendors, leagues and governing bodies, constrain AI deployment.
• Explore and understand what organisational and technical factors shape integration of AI systems with legacy and outsourced infrastructures, and the trade-offs imposed.
• Explore how ESOs reconcile short-term operational gains with long-term capability building, and how technical debt accumulates through AI procurement.
• Analyse how governance, regulation and position within the technology ecosystem shape unequal organisational capacity to operationalise AI.

Funding

This studentship is open to home and international applicants. Home and international tuition fees will be covered for the duration of the 3-year award.

The student will receive a standard stipend payment for the duration of the award. These payments are set at a level determined by the UKRI, currently £21,805 for the academic year 2026/27.

Candidate requirements

• Experience working/studying in, or with sports organisations, governing bodies or sport technology providers.
• An understanding of AI regulation.

This PhD project is one of six independent projects open for applications, with only four funded studentships available. All applications will go through an initial review stage conducted by the project supervisors. Candidates selected from this stage will be invited to a second-round interview, where final funding decisions will be made based on performance across all projects.