Management School students take part in SportsPro Sustainability Hackathon 2024

Published on 1 March 2024

Students from across our MBA Football Industries and MSc Sports Business and Management programmes recently had the chance to take part in the SportsPro Sustainability Hackathon where they competed against several other universities from across the world.

Teams were given 48 hours to devise innovative solutions as a means of helping the world of sport to become more socially, environmentally and financially sustainable.

Taking place across three rounds, the solutions had to align with the United Nations’ 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and teams had the support of a range of experienced mentors from organisations such as International Olympic Committee (IOC), Euroleague Basketball, England Rugby, Pledgeball, the Cleveland Cavaliers, Concacaf and Lewes FC.

Students representing the Management School focused on creating a fanzone in Toronto for the upcoming 2026 FIFA World Cup as well as focusing on games due to be hosted in Monterrey, Mexico as part of the cup.

Teams sought to showcase commercially viable sustainable business frameworks – outlining, for example, how the FIFA World Cup could accelerate their climate priorities through initiatives such as increasing the use of public transportation and linking this investment with a FIFA partner.

Through assessing established proposals by the Moneterrey local council to build more highways, metro lines and bike lanes - in addition to acquiring 2,000 more buses by 2026 – the ULMS team were able to expand on such plans through the development of a further business plan in partnership with Hyundai and local authorities.

Such sustainable solutions included developing an app to unify payments and track journeys making the use of public transportation more accessible by integrating the array of options available, while also adding electric and hydrogen powered buses.

Underpinned by the Triple Bottom Line ethos – which sets out to maintain that companies commit to focusing on social and environmental concerns as much as they do on profits – the Hackathon allowed ULMS students to hone their creativity, communication, organisational and project management skills which will be invaluable in their career journey.

Ultimately, the Hackathon serves as a larger platform for driving sustainability in sport and allows space for new innovative ideas that can be implemented across major events, the supply chain or by fans attending specific venues.