Hello, welcome to The Ultimate Guide to Jobs in Sport! 👋 

Here you’ll find interviews with (almost) every job in the sports industry.
We ask people living the dream:

“How did you get your job?” and “What does it actually involve?”
So that you can land a dream job in sports too.

Enjoy!

#346: Working in Football Partnerships – From Collingwood FC to Williamstown FC with Luke Attard

Meet Luke Attard, the ex-Collingwood FC professional and now Head of Commercial & Partnerships at Williamstown Football Club.

Luke started his career in sport volunteering at his local sports club alongside a year in the AFL SportsReady program. In 2018 his break in the industry came via Collingwood Football Club working in the membership team where he started to grow a passion for partnerships and sales.

Luke’s hunger for success and eagerness to learn saw him transition into the partnerships team at the Pies followed by sales roles outside of sport and then returning to industry where he now heads up the commercial program at Williamstown Football Club.

Luke is quickly becoming a well respected, leading commercial operator in sport and his journey provides a clear blueprint on how to tackle your studies and early professional life to setup your career for success.

🔥 Quickfire Questions

1. What inspired you to work in sport?
   Two things inspired me, the first was my aspiration to have a career in sport, with the childhood goal of one day playing on the MCG. When the realisation hit that it’s probably not a reality, I changed the approach to still be part of the sport I absolutely loved growing up with. The second inspiration was once I got a taste working in sport, the feeling hit differently than any other role I’ve had in my career.

2. What was your first sports-related role?
   Membership Services Officer Traineeship through AFL Sportsready.

3. What did you study after high school?
   I went onto to complete a certificate III through AFL SportsReady as well as a Certificate IV in Credit Management at Kaplan.

4. What's one interview question you were asked to answer for this role?

   I got asked in my interview: “who was the last person you spoke to on the phone this week?” 
   Then followed up with: “who did you speak to first thing on Monday morning?”
   It hit me by surprise, I laugh about it now with the director who was interviewing me at the time.

5. A book or podcast recommendation that's helped your career?

   “Marketing to Mums”. Sounds weird right? But my logic was if I can enter a new business meeting talking like a marketing guru (not a sales guy), I’m changing the discussion from “support our club” to “this is why you need to partner/sponsor with our club”. Plus Mums are Australia’s most powerful consumers!

6. If you could try another job in sports for a day, what would it be?
   I’d love to give being the AFL head coach a go! I would be hopeless and the media would go bananas but what an experience it’d be haha.

What exactly does your job involve?

A jack of all trades in the best way to summarise it. My main focus is commercial partnerships however I also oversee the strategy of Membership, Merchandise and have assisted in the strategy around the clubs Events Centre. Across my time at Williamstown, I’ve stepped into roles and gained great experience across being the clubs GM Football or CEO when needed. I’ve also dabbled across marketing, HR and events over my tenure at Williamstown FC.

What are some of the responsibilities of your role?

- Securing new business partnerships
- Harness existing partnerships
- Delivering partnership entitlements
- Supporting Membership and Merchandise Strategy
- Supporting Marketing campaigns
- Building relationships in the community
- Leadership across the clubs internship program and amongst junior staff

What does your career journey look like?

Started at Collingwood FC in Membership as a Trainee via AFL SportsReady which then led me to land a role in Commercial Partnerships. Once Covid hit, I decided to leave the sport industry with roles at PepsiCo and NewsCorp but ultimately missed the industry and found my way back through the Head of Commercial and Partnerships role at Williamstown FC.

What do you think makes it difficult to get a job in the sports industry?

The question that I speak with any graduate that wants a career in Sport is “what makes you different than any other graduate who also applied for the position?”.

There is an influx of entry level candidates coming from all different education pathways (ie. SEDA, RISL, Universities).

If the answer is nothing, then the next question is “how are you going to standout to any recruiter if they are looking at multiple applications from similar backgrounds ?”

How did you decide that this was the career path you wanted to take?

A: I decided on my pathway through a volunteer position at South Melbourne Districts Sports Club. I fell in love with sponsorship in sport as a volunteer and then ultimately with a great mentor at Collingwood FC, I was able to continue this passion at an AFL level.

Can you recall a sliding-doors moment where a connection changed the trajectory of your career?

Absolutely. I still remember the day I initially spoke with Anthony Briglia in the kitchen area at Collingwood FC and asked him if he wouldn’t mind catching up once a month to help my sponsorship experience at a local level. He taught me everything I know today in commercial partnerships and was able to learn from him even further once I joined his team.

When you landed your job, what do you think made you stand out?

I think it needs to be a multiple of things that helps anyone stand out. For me personally, I think my hungry for success attitude would’ve helped and eagerness to steer the commercial ship in the opposite direction.

What advice would you give to your younger-self to help them take action?

Say yes to every opportunity, no matter how bad it sounds. Looking back now, some of those instant yes moments are ones I look back with a smile.

What’s your #1 ‘pinch me’ moment working in sport?

Preliminary final: Pies v Tigers at the MCG. Standing in the race near the pies cheer squad and right beside the ceo at the time (Mark Anderson) as the siren sounds to confirm pies are going to the 2018 grand final. A pinch me moment to go to a grand final as a staff member even though I’m a Richmond supporter!

What do you think your life would look like if you hadn't pursued a career in sport?

I probably would either be working in a trade (I still like to consider myself a handyman haha) or a Sales/Account Manager in a corporate business based in the city.

Others you might like to learn from:

#341: How the Hidden Job Market took this Grad to the Cricket Australia Commercial team in an Ashes summer

#337: How Dante beat 99% of Grads to land his dream job at Cricket Australia

#341: Meet the new host of the SportsGrad Podcast… Nathan Perrone