This week, the European Sports Business Program (ESBP) officially launched its first module - Corporate Foresight & Strategy Making - at WHU Otto Beisheim School of Management in Dusseldorf, Germany.

Sport is a global phenomenon affecting millions of people all over the world. Yet, men dominate in many sports. Male stars make more money, male sport executives often hold the power and in many conferences, men sit on panels and are invited as keynote speakers. In this event we celebrate the collective visibility of women.By sharing best practice and describing pioneering events, we aim to leverage the power of women in sports. Join us at the Stockholm School of Economics to debate these issues, network and learn from each other.

The Strategic Management Group at the Center for Sports and Business invites management scholars working with sports data to a two-day workshop in Stockholm (Sweden). For this workshop, we are now calling for papers - both early idea proposals and full papers - with submission deadline on March 28, 2024. More information below.

The Center for Sports & Business, in collaboration with the SSE Sport Initiative, kicked off an innovative student workout session with champion boxer Anna Laurell Nash and industry experts from Grant Thornton.

In order to increase knowledge about sports and commercialisation, the Swedish Sports Confederation initiates a collaboration with the Stockholm School of Economics' Center for Sports and Business. The work aims to contribute to a better understanding of the conditions that commercialisation entails for the Swedish sports movement.

November 15, 2023 marked a key milestone for the partnership between the Center for Sports & Business and the Swedish Hockey League as we hosted the event SHL & NHL Business Forum - Growing the Game. Prominent speakers featured in the event included Jenny Silfverstrand, CEO SHL, David Proper, Senior Executive VP of Media and International Strategy at the NHL, Omar Mitchell, VP of Industry Growth and Sustainability at NHL, Johan Carling, Head of Sustainable Development at SHL, Kim Martin, Head of Sports, Frölunda HC, Anna Lidström, Head of Sustainability at Spendrups, Dietmar Steinbichler, SAP, Brendan Shanahan, President Toronto Maple Leafs, Steve Yzerman, GM Detroit Red Wings, Rob Zepp, Director Strategic Initiatives, NHLPA, and Anders Larsson, President of the Swedish Hockey Association.

On Thursday, November 16, the Center for Sports and Business organised the third edition of its partner day at the Stockholm School of Economics for its sports partners. The theme was "Insights from the Global Stage - International Perspectives Linked to Innovation and Sustainability". The partner day featured Paolo Aversa (Jonas Persson Visiting Professor at SSE), Juliane Reinecke (SHL Visiting Professor at SSE), and Jonas Persson (CEO, Commercial Sports Media).

The Swedish Hockey League (SHL) is strengthening its cooperation with the Center for Sports and Business at the Stockholm School of Economics (SSE). SHL is supporting the center with a guest professor, new research projects, and student teams, as well as contributing to a European education program for executives, the European Sports Business Program. The goal is to develop in areas such as organization, digitalization, sustainability, innovation, partnerships, and commercialization.

Swedish elite sports are in a crisis. In just three years, 20 elite clubs in six different sports have vanished from the elite leagues. Responding to this in Swedish television (Sportspegeln on SVT), Professor and Director for the Center for Sports & Business at the SSE, Martin Carlsson-Wall notes: "I believe we are at a turning point."

Three of Europe’s top business schools – WHU – Otto Beisheim School of Management in Düsseldorf, Germany, the Stockholm School of Economics in Sweden, and ESSEC Business School in Paris, France – have announced the creation of the European Sports Business Program (ESBP), a new business management executive education offering for leaders interested in the European sports industry.