Hello friends! 👋

Welcome to this ✨  free edition ✨  of the SportsGrad Newsletter. Each week we take a deep dive into ‘how to get a job in sport’.

Last year, Reuben met Francisco Garcia at a SportsGrad Meetup in Sydney. Fran was young professional from Portugal who had left his job at Sporting CP (one of the big football teams in Portugal), to move to Australia. During their conversation, Reuben told Fran that he was going to Lisbon in 2023.

Fran responded with, “let me know when and you can stay with my family”.

Fast forward to September this year, when Reuben and his partner Chloe had crashed in the spare bedroom at Fran’s, and were hanging out together in Portugal (how good is having a network for cheap accommodation!)

Well now, Fran is back in Australia and has taken an ELITE approach to growing his career, just wait until you read his blog. So without further ado…

Meet Francisco Garcia (ex-Sporting CP), the Portuguese SportsGrad member who hit pause on his sports career to venture to Australia - this is how he did it 👇

Where did you grow up and what’s your background in sport?

I was born and raised on the Estoril coast, just outside of Lisbon. I then moved to the UK for university, completing a bachelor’s in Business Management at the University of Sussex, in Brighton and then a master’s in Sports Business at Loughborough’s campus in London. Throughout my time in the UK, I completed a three-month marketing internship at BUA FIT, a health and fitness start-up in London, as well as being a Student Ambassador for England Rugby in Brighton.

After university, I moved back to Lisbon to join Sporting CP for one year, firstly in Sponsorship Activation and then progressing into Account Management.

Why did you join SportsGrad?

I joined SportsGrad when I decided to move to Australia on a work-and-travel sabbatical. My objective within this year was to travel across all of Australia’s states and territories, whilst maintaining my involvement with the sports industry whenever possible. I believed that SportsGrad would be an effective way to rapidly build a network down under, as opposed to finding the right people and reaching out ‘cold’. Within this process, not only was I able to connect with like-minded people working in sports, but I ended up hosting Reuben and his partner, at my house in Lisbon.

Maybe this began as a lucky coincidence, since Reuben’s European tour was during the Rugby World Cup that I happened to attend. Nonetheless, a conversation for a few minutes at the Sydney meetup, where we first met, turned into a memorable couch-surfing experience months later.

Why do you want to work in sport?

Sport has always been present in my life in some shape or form, whether this was playing or attending major events. I have always been involved in multiple sports from a young age, with rugby (union) being the one I took on most competitively. In parallel, my Dad took me to football matches since my childhood, where I quickly developed a passion for the fast-paced nature of match days. I believe that aligning my career with an area I am passionate about is incredibly fulfilling.

Consequently, I’ve always been intrinsically motivated to perform well within the industry. My aspirations for working in Australia in 2024 include any full-time opportunities in Commercial or Events areas, across clubs, agencies/brands or governing bodies. Another objective of mine is to balance this with Spark Events on a casual basis throughout Australia’s major sports and entertainment events.

What challenges have you encountered while moving to a new country?

Australia has a strong cultural connection with sport, although the sporting landscape across the country differs significantly from Europe. Some of the most popular sports include Australian Football, Rugby League and Cricket, whereas Football (Soccer) is only classified as the 5th most popular sport (Gemba, 2023). Some roles across these sports require a thorough knowledge of their rules, competitive landscape and governing bodies, which can be challenging at an initial stage.

What has your approach been towards building new connections and finding opportunities?

My approach combined networking occasions, such as coffee, SportsGrad meetups, volunteering and working at grassroots clubs. Firstly, whilst I was still in Portugal, I began making some calls and reaching out to people I was interested in meeting, to know more about them, their role and how they got there. This included Nathan Perrone, who holds the same role I had at Sporting, at Western United FC.

Secondly, as I travelled across Australia I constantly reached out to fellow SportsGrad members for a coffee when I was in their city. I met Juri Bilcich, who is a talented Sports Writer when I was in Perth. Meeting Juri was motivating because throughout my travels I had begun my travel journal and Juri was helpful in giving me some insights on improving my writing style. Likewise, I met up with Minh Pham and Chris Neill in Adelaide, who work in Sports Business Development and Advertising respectively, two areas I may be keen to pursue in the future.

Thirdly, attending meetup events and getting involved in volunteering opportunities are just as important. I arrived in Australia a couple of weeks before the SportsGrad meetup in Sydney last February, and after attending it, I unconsciously established a group of friends in Sydney – the European contingent including Matija Marinkovic from Serbia and Laurie Michel from France. Similarly, volunteering can be crucial, which I learnt when I was a Point Spotter at the HSBC Sydney 7s at the end of January. My main function was to relay try scorer and goal kicker insights to the results area via two-way radio.

During this experience, I met Bruce Lin, who was working with me on the Spotters team and quickly became a close friend. I was seeking casual work at the time, Bruce recognised my work ethic, and without hesitation reached out to a friend of his who owns a beachside kiosk. I had a trial there and that trial shift turned into a month-long adventure, where I even ended up serving Ed Sheeran the famous tama chicken burger!

Lastly, I also reached out to a couple of grassroots soccer clubs, and ended up working as an event assistant for Dunbar Rovers FC, at their annual business lunch. Throughout the event, I supported the media team by interviewing some of the special guests attending. This included Sarah Walsh and Luke Wilshere, former Matilda and Socceroo respectively.

What advice can you give for someone moving to Australia, and how they too can make the most out the Community?

My advice to others moving to Australia on a sabbatical/gap year would be to reach out to people with similar interests as you, and not any ‘random’ people within the industry - this will help establish meaningful connections. In addition, having a clear plan of what you want to do in Australia and where. For example, in the sports industry, having a look at where the next major events will be can help define a timeline. Lastly, there are plenty of opportunities within the sports industry in Australia at grassroots and volunteering levels, which are excellent ways to meet new people, gain new skills and potentially get yourself into the sector.

SportsGrad presents a variety of tools to its members so it’s important to capitalise on these to make the most of the community. Organising your time is important to ensure you can make it to meetups, online networking sessions or even the Friday morning coffees. There is always something going on, so just make sure to get involved.

Woody Allen once said that “showing up is 80% of success”, and the same applies here.

Where are you in your journey now, and what are your feelings towards networking following this?

To summarise, this work-and-travel sabbatical in Australia was so incredible, that I decided to stay for (at least) one more year. In addition to all the great travel experiences and being involved with major events, one of the biggest takeaways for me this year was the people I met. Many of the meaningful connections I established have become good friends.

When I arrived in Melbourne, Nathan Perrone invited me to watch Western United FC vs Adelaide United for the A-League. We went on a road trip to Ballarat, and I followed Nathan around performing his match duties. Throughout the day, I met his colleagues and the club’s technical staff, before watching the match from the sideline. Despite Western United’s 1-3 loss at home, this great day out ended with me having dinner at Nathan’s.

So many good things can happen by just knowing the right people, therefore having a strong network to lean on is key.

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