Sports & Sponsorship Management Professional Interview

The Interview Portal; United Kingdom; Remote; GBP 30,000 - 60,000; Full time

Job summary

An established industry player in sports management seeks a passionate Sponsorship Data Analyst to join their dynamic team. This role offers a unique opportunity to delve into the world of sports sponsorship, where you will analyze data from various teams and leagues to help brands optimize their investments. You will play a crucial part in shaping sponsorship strategies, ensuring alignment with brand values and maximizing ROI. If you are driven by a love for sports and a desire to make a meaningful impact, this position is perfect for you. Join a forward-thinking organization that values innovation and collaboration in the exciting sports industry.

Benefits

Flexible Working Hours

Health Insurance

Professional Development Opportunities

Team Building Activities

Qualifications

• Strong understanding of sports ecosystem and sponsorship dynamics.
• Experience in event management and digital marketing strategies.

Responsibilities

• Gather and analyze sponsorship data for sports teams and leagues.
• Guide brands in making informed sponsorship investment decisions.

Skills

Data Analysis

Digital Marketing

Event Management

Communication Skills

Attention to Detail

Education

BBA in Event Management

Master’s in Sports Business Management

Tools

SponsorUnited Platform

YouTube Live Streaming

Job description

Sports doesn’t just create athletes—it creates an ecosystem of leaders, thinkers and strategists who not only share their love for sports but also help unleash its true power in transforming lives.

Chinmai Bhoi, our next pathbreaker, Sponsorship Data Analyst at SponsorUnited (UK), analyzes sponsorship data from various sports teams and leagues that helps brands make informed decisions about where to invest their sponsorship budgets.

Chinmai talks to Shyam Krishnamurthy fromThe Interview Portal about her first real break with IPL, through an internship with Mumbai Indians which opened the floodgates for her career in sports management !

For students, If you’re passionate about something, start early, be curious, and never stop learning. Say yes to opportunities—volunteer, intern, explore everything you can. Never give up !

Chinmai, can you share your background with our young readers?

I come from a family deeply rooted in sports—my father was the first national Kabaddi player, and he always dreamed of seeing his child represent India. Though he had three daughters instead of a son, that didn’t stop me from picking up the baton. From a very young age, I was determined to become an athlete and make my country proud. I used to wake up at 3 AM to run with my father, attend school, play sports during school hours, head to tuition classes, and then play again in the evenings. This intense routine was my life until the 8th grade.

I immersed myself in a wide range of indigenous sports in my pursuit of excellence—gymnastics, fencing, atya-patya, cycle polo, jump rope, marathons, and rope mallakhamb. I represented Maharashtra in every sport I participated in, and eventually, I had the honor of representing India in rope mallakhamb. One of my proudest moments was teaching Malaysian students this traditional sport.

Unfortunately, a major leg injury forced me to step away from competitive sports. At that point, my parents encouraged me to pursue a more conventional path in science, so I enrolled in a degree in microbiology. During that time, one of my zoology professors offered me a chance to volunteer at a sports event, which turned out to be the Barclays Premier League (now just the Premier League). I had the incredible opportunity to work with Leicester City Club, and that experience was a turning point—I realized I could actually build a career in sports without being an athlete.

What did you do for graduation/post graduation?

Despite my parents’ initial resistance and their push toward pharmacy, I followed my passion and enrolled in a BBA in Event Management. Back then, I didn’t even know a degree in Sports Management existed. Eventually, I pursued a Master’s certification in Sports Business Management from the University of Massachusetts (distance education), and most recently, I completed my Master’s in Sports Business Management from Manchester Metropolitan University.

What were some of the key influences that led you to such an offbeat, unconventional, and unique career in Sports Management ?

My journey into the world of sports management wasn’t a straight line—it was built through exploration, incredible mentors, and key moments that opened my eyes to what I truly wanted.

During my BBA degree, I had the opportunity to work across all kinds of events—corporate gatherings, weddings, concerts, exhibitions, flea markets, and sports events. I didn’t limit myself. I worked on some of India’s biggest platforms like Sunburn, Kygo’s India Tour, high-end diamond exhibitions, business conferences, Indian Premier League (IPL), Pro Kabaddi League, the Ultimate Table Tennis League, multiple weddings, and also organized TEDx and flea market events. I made it a point to try everything—from the largest to the smallest setups—just to understand where I truly fit in.

Each stage brought key people who influenced me. My first inspiration was my dad during my childhood—his passion for sports sparked mine. Then in college, I met Amit Narvekar. Every event we worked on, I noticed how he seemed to know everyone and everything. I was a sharp observer and wanted to be just like that—knowledgeable, connected, and respected. He helped me realize the importance of building relationships and learning constantly.

Later, I met Neel Shah, the director of my certification program. He wasn’t just a teacher—he was a life mentor. His program had a 6-month personal development module that completely transformed me. I started expressing myself more, asking questions, and discovering parts of myself I didn’t know existed. As a US citizen with a unique perspective, he helped me see things differently and gave me the confidence to speak up.

Another key mentor was Jonathon Rego, whom I met during an internship. His energy, vision, and words—especially “never stop dreaming”—changed how I approached life and decision-making. He taught me not only to think practically but also to stay deeply connected to my purpose.

Right before I came to the UK, I worked at Hotstar and met Jaideep Chakrabarty. He’s more than a mentor—he’s a constant reminder of why I started. Even now, while I am studying and working in the UK, he pushes me to keep going, to not give up. His passion for what he does reminds me of my own.

My ultimate turning point, though, was volunteering for the Barclays Premier League event in India. That experience made me realize that I didn’t have to be an athlete to stay in the world of sports—I could build a meaningful career behind the scenes, creating experiences and contributing in my own unique way.

I truly believe that mentorship and being surrounded by people with a growth mindset is key. Every mentor, every event, every challenge pushed me closer to who I am and the career I’m building.

How did you plan the steps to get into this career?

My career in sports started quite organically. In my first year of college, I began volunteering at various events—my degree college was extremely supportive and gave us several opportunities to gain hands-on experience.

During my BBA, I took up multiple internships in event and sports management roles. Each organization and role gave me a unique exposure to different aspects of event execution, from grassroots planning to VIP management. Here’s a breakdown of each experience:

1. Sports For All (SFA) – Venue Manager

About SFA: SFA is one of India’s leading grassroots sports platforms, organizing large-scale school-level sports competitions across multiple disciplines.

My Role:

• I managed two sports contingents during a multi-sport event.
• Responsibilities included timeline management, production setup, and ensuring all venue requirements were met.
• I coordinated instrument placement, athlete and coach logistics, and ensured judges’ and technical staff had what they needed.
• The experience gave me hands-on learning in sports operations, real-time problem solving, and venue readiness under tight schedules.

2. First Rain Exhibits – Event Operations Manager

About the Company: A Delhi-based company stepping into the event execution space, organizing exhibitions and large-scale open-ground events.

My Role:

• I was part of their very first event, managing it end-to-end.
• Responsibilities ranged from event planning, production layout, and electricals setup, to vendor management.
• I was also involved in selling and setting up concession stalls, which involved ground-level execution, hiring labor, and coordinating vendors.
• This taught me about event infrastructure, resource allocation, and budget-based decision-making.

3. Mumbai Mirror – Promotions Manager

About the Company: A prominent newspaper brand hosting a film festival in Mumbai, though its core team operated from Delhi.

My Role:

• I led the local marketing and promotions strategy in Mumbai.
• My task was to create awareness about the festival and engage with corporate clients and media houses.
• I acted as the bridge between the Delhi team and the Mumbai market, ensuring local nuances were well understood.
• This role enhanced my skills in strategic promotions, target audience engagement, and corporate partnerships.

4. Percept Ltd – Accreditation Manager

About the Company: A well-established name in the Indian entertainment and event industry, handling mega-events and celebrity engagements.

My Role:

• I managed accreditations (ID passes) for every stakeholder involved in the event – staff, vendors, VVIPs, and guests.
• Responsibilities included data collection, design and printing of IDs, and managing all on-ground signage and event prints.
• This required attention to detail, high levels of coordination, and confidentiality, especially with celebrity/VVIP access.

5. GS Worldwide Entertainment – Player Manager

About the Company: A company that manages sports celebrities and organizes celebrity cricket and entertainment events.

My Role:

• I was responsible for fulfilling player needs, both at the venue and the hotel.
• Duties included practice arrangements, availability of hydration and iceboxes, and ensuring comfortable logistics for players.
• This was a deeply athlete-centric role, where I learned about sports hospitality, player well-being, and team coordination.

Final Thoughts:

Across all these internships, I was fortunate to work with reputed organizations and have mentors who encouraged me to learn. Even when I was in entry-level executive roles, I took initiative, asked questions, and in some cases, ended up leading entire projects.

The key takeaway for sports management students: Diverse experiences build adaptability, and being curious and proactive can accelerate your growth in this industry.

These volunteering gigs eventually led to part-time work with multiple event companies during my second year. I was hungry to learn and keen to experience every possible side of the event industry.

In my third year, I got a breakthrough while working with DNA Networks, where I interned for the Indian Premier League, specifically with the Mumbai Indians team.

I worked for various major Leagues in India like IPL, PKL, Khelo India University Games, Sports For All.

My role was as Operations Manager, Hospitality and Players Manager.

I was managing all aspects of venue operations, from pre-event planning to on-site execution, overseeing facilities, coordinating event setups, and ensuring seamless operations to meet client expectations.

They appreciated my work ethic, and from there, I started getting freelance projects consistently. I worked across a wide range of events—not just sports, but also concerts, weddings, exhibitions, and more. I was juggling survival in a fast-paced city like Mumbai, living alone, and building my career from the ground up.

Eventually, I realized I was spreading myself too thin. I asked myself: What kind of events truly make me happy? The answer was always sports. No other event gave me the same satisfaction. So I decided to specialize. I focused solely on sports and had the privilege of working with almost every major sports league in India.

However, the financial reality hit me—while I had experience, the sports industry in India wasn’t very lucrative, especially when working through agencies. That’s when I decided I needed to upskill to move higher up the ladder and work directly with teams or leagues. I enrolled in a Master’s certification in Sports Business Management from the University of Massachusetts. Halfway through, COVID hit.

Despite the pandemic, I managed to complete my certification and was lucky to work with NBA coaches, which opened another side of my skill set. I discovered I wasn’t just good at organizing events—I was also good at marketing, communication, and storytelling. I even started my own Instagram page called Exploring Sports, where I highlighted lesser-known sports in India through vlogs and blogs.

Following that, I joined a company called Sales Sports Education, where I gained deep experience in sales. Later, I worked at Hotstar, handling digital sports operations and content writing. This exposure expanded my understanding of digital strategy and sports media.

The first event I ever volunteered at—the Barclays Premier League in India—had always inspired me to work in the UK sports ecosystem. That dream stayed with me, and I finally decided to take the leap. I came to the UK for a full-time Master’s in Sports Business Management at Manchester Metropolitan University.

Can you talk about Master’s Thesis and Internships in the UK Sports Industry

During my Master’s in Sports Business Management at Manchester Metropolitan University, I explored a deeply personal and under-researched topic:

“Why do Indian women’s cricket athletes quit the sport in the middle of their careers?”

In the UK, dissertations are structured very differently from what I was used to in India. The focus here was on independent research, critical analysis, and academic rigor. I followed a systematic process: conducting a literature review, designing qualitative interviews, collecting and coding primary data, and analyzing it through thematic analysis. The findings highlighted key barriers such as lack of financial support, gender-based expectations, and limited career progression opportunities—which often force women to leave the sport despite their potential.

This research gave me a strong foundation in gender studies in sport, policy analysis, and athlete career development, which continues to shape my goals around creating a more inclusive and supportive ecosystem in Indian sports.

While studying, I also actively pursued internships to gain hands-on UK experience and break into the highly competitive local market.

1. Fabulous Fan Fayre (Manchester City FC – Hospitality Operations)
Team Leader – Matchday Operations

• Led a team of 15 hospitality staff, ensuring smooth service for 1,000+ guests per game.
• Supervised a group of 5 chefs and 8 till staff, coordinating the premium hospitality experience.
• Developed operational planning skills and got an inside look at how a top-tier Premier League club executes fan engagement on matchdays.

This was a paid role, and it greatly enhanced my understanding of elite-level matchday logistics, customer service, and people management within a high-pressure environment.

2. Matchday Live (Manchester Met University Games – Media Production)
Live Stream & Social Media Coordinator

• Managed YouTube live streaming, vision mixing, and handled technical operations during university sporting events.
• Created engaging social content and supported event broadcasting.

Though this was an unpaid opportunity, it added immense value—it gave me UK-based media production experience, built my confidence, and showed future employers that I was proactive and committed to earning my place in the UK sports industry.

Sports I worked on during my UK experience:

• Football (Premier League – Manchester City FC)
• University-level multi-sport events (Track & field, basketball, volleyball, etc.) through Matchday Live

Together, these experiences helped me understand the sports business landscape in the UK—from both operational and media perspectives—and set the tone for my job search. Even when applications didn’t lead to offers, these roles helped me land interviews by demonstrating real effort, adaptability, and on-ground UK experience, which is often a key challenge for international professionals.

The transition wasn’t easy. The education system was completely different, and adapting to UK-style academic research and writing was tough—especially after years of using American English. On top of that, I had to learn the culture, build a network from scratch, and survive. But I pushed through and completed my degree.

What were some of the challenges you faced? How did you address them?

• Challenge 1: Navigating financial instability early in my career
  Working as a freelancer in the Indian sports industry didn’t provide steady income. I addressed this by diversifying my roles—taking on marketing, sales, and digital media gigs, and eventually upskilling through education.
  
• Challenge 2: Adapting to a new country and education system
  Moving to the UK was a dream, but the learning curve was steep. I was unfamiliar with research-heavy academic writing and had to adjust my communication style. I invested extra time in writing centers, peer feedback, and eventually found my footing.
  
• Challenge 3: Job rejections and biases post-graduation
  Despite 7+ years of experience, I faced multiple rejections. Many employers said I was overqualified or didn’t value Indian experience. I didn’t give up—I kept networking, applying, and learning until a US-based company expanding into the UK hired me as a Sponsorship Scout. I now analyze digital and on-ground sponsorships across football, basketball, and rugby in the UK and Europe.
  

How did you get your 1st break?

My first real break was the IPL internship with Mumbai Indians while working with DNA Networks. That project opened the floodgates for future freelance opportunities and gave me the credibility to keep growing in the field.

Getting a break in the UK job market was far from easy—even with 7+ years of experience in the sports industry in India. But I knew I had to adapt and take a different approach here. I started by constantly personalising my CV and cover letters to suit every job role I applied for, making sure each application reflected exactly what the employer was looking for.

I also leveraged LinkedIn heavily—not just for job applications, but for building genuine connections. I followed industry professionals, engaged with their content, and reached out directly to people working in roles I aspired to. At the same time, I started attending networking events, industry conferences, and university-hosted meetups, where I could meet professionals face-to-face and learn how the UK industry worked.

I joined community groups focused on the sports business sector in the UK—whether it was online forums, alumni circles, or women-in-sports networks. These platforms gave me insights, opportunities, and access to mentors and job leads I wouldn’t have found otherwise.

Eventually, all this consistent effort paid off when I landed my first UK-based role with SponsorUnited as a Sponsorship Data Analyst—a position that aligned perfectly with both my background and my long-term goals in sports business.

Where do you work now? What do you do?

I currently work at SponsorUnited as a Sponsorship Data Analyst.

My role involves gathering and analyzing sponsorship data from various sports teams and leagues. The goal is to help brands make informed decisions about where to invest their sponsorship budgets. Using this data, we guide brands toward the right team or league to partner with in the upcoming seasons, ensuring their values align and the ROI is maximized.

In my role at SponsorUnited, I work across a wide range of sports and entertainment properties. My focus includes:

• Football, Rugby, and Basketball at a high level, where I analyze both digital and on-ground sponsorship opportunities.
• I’ve evaluated sponsorship potential for 13+ sports clubs and tournaments, delivering actionable insights to maximize returns for our clients.
• My work involves detailed research across club websites, social media platforms, and live event observations, using the SponsorUnited platform to track trends and brand placements.

This role has deepened my understanding of how commercial partnerships function across European sports markets and how different sports approach fan engagement and sponsorship activation.

Are you currently also working with Synergy Promotions in the UK?

Yes, I also work part-time with Synergy Promotions. While this role isn’t related to sports, it’s something I took up out of personal interest in luxury fragrances and beauty products.

What makes it relevant for me professionally is that it offers a direct window into UK consumer behavior—from understanding customer preferences and spending power to learning sales and branding strategies that are transferable if I ever work on sponsorships or campaigns involving beauty, wellness, or lifestyle brands in the sports industry. It’s helped me see how brand storytelling works at a retail level.

What skills are needed for your job, and how did you acquire them?

The job requires a strong understanding of the sports ecosystem, data analysis, digital marketing, attention to detail, and good observational skills—especially for spotting branding across digital and physical assets.

I acquired these skills through years of hands-on experience in the sports industry in India, from working with multiple leagues and teams, to handling marketing, sales, and digital strategy. My education in Sports Business Management in the UK further sharpened my analytical and strategic thinking.

What’s a typical day like?

My day starts with a team huddle to align on daily tasks and goals. Depending on the teams I’m analyzing, I study their digital presence across platforms, examine their sponsorship activations, and track brand placements—both online and on-ground. On non-match days, I plan ahead using past data and match-day insights, and when I can visit stadiums, I observe live activations to understand how sponsorships are executed in real-time.

What do you love about your job?

I love that this job is driven by passion. It’s not just about brands and business—it’s about contributing to the growth of sports and physical activity. In a world increasingly glued to screens, my work supports initiatives that bring people together through sport, movement, and human connection.

How does your work benefit society?

Although my work may not directly impact society at first glance, the ripple effect is powerful. By helping brands sponsor the right teams and leagues, I indirectly contribute to the promotion of physical activity, sports infrastructure, and athlete development. When sports grows, it inspires people—especially youth—to be active, disciplined, and emotionally strong. It builds communities, national pride, and better lifestyles.

A memorable experience close to your heart?

One of the most touching moments in my career was working with a non-profit organization in India that used sports to teach life skills to underprivileged children. I met kids from extremely difficult backgrounds—yet their discipline, positivity, and fluent English blew me away. These were kids society had written off, but sports gave them confidence, a sense of purpose, and a future.

That experience made me realize that sports doesn’t just create athletes—it creates leaders, thinkers, and survivors. It showed me the true power of sport in transforming lives.

Your advice to students?

If you’re passionate about something, start early, be curious, and never stop learning. Say yes to opportunities—volunteer, intern, explore everything you can. Don’t chase money first—chase skill, experience, and purpose. Be okay with taking the unconventional route if it means being true to yourself.

Surround yourself with mentors and people who inspire growth. And most importantly, don’t be afraid to start small or fail—it’s all part of your story.

Future Plans?

I want to use my platform and knowledge to make every sport in every corner of India visible and celebrated. Through vlogging, content creation, and awareness campaigns, I hope to connect people with lesser-known sports, support the growth of women’s sports, para-sports, and encourage a more inclusive, sustainable sports industry in India.
My dream is to help create a future where sports is seen not just as entertainment—but as a career, a lifestyle, and a tool for change.