Sports Science students jet to Dubai for internship with Al Ahli Football Club

The Performance Analysis and Sport Science Internship provided a very real experience of what it is like to work in a professional football club.

The students got a great insight, travelling to home and away matches, experiencing pre-match briefings and working with the analysis software, Prozone. Using Prozone, they extracted data for analysis, either for producing information for coaches or post match reports. This software was further used to study opposition teams, looking at their style of play, formation, set pieces and key players. They also used the Dartfish and Sportscode software for coding, scouting players from matches to create a short movie of the player.
 
Sam explains, “Our role in the placement was not structured so it allowed us to get a experience of the day to day jobs we would be doing, and how each day was different. They gave us a real feel for the atmosphere and really made us feel a part of the team.”

The feedback from the club was extremely complimentary about the two students who have been exemplary ambassadors for the University, the School of Life Sciences, and the Sports Science course. As a result, the School are now discussing the possibility of having a one year paid internship opportunity for future Sport Science students.