Winning sports careers: The everjobs guide to a career in sports

Career opportunities in the sports industry aren’t limited to those with athletic prowess; there is a wide range of positions in the field for non-athletes too. These jobs support the sports industry by providing mental and physical health services, sales and marketing revenue, and sports media content. 

everjobs.lk interviewed Sri Lanka Anti Doping Agency (SLADA) Board Director and Director of National Institute of Sports Science (NISS) Sajith Jayalal in the wake of the Big Match season, and he outlined some of the most popular careers in sports for non-athletes in Sri Lanka and the growing presence of women in the industry.

“There are coaching positions in every level of sports, from school or college to professional sports. Each level brings different responsibilities and requires coaches to have various educational backgrounds and sports experience. As in the case of NISS, we offer a diploma course in sports, providing training and facilitating for continuous improvement of talent, skills and competencies of sporting sector personnel. The course has been conducted for more than three decades and alumni serve as sports officers, physical training instructors in government and private sector organisations throughout the country as well as overseas,” he said.

The everjobs career report reveals that the field of sports marketing encompasses a wide range of positions in settings such as public relations, and professional sports organisations. For those who want to work behind the scenes in the sporting industry, sports journalism is an option. Sports journalism includes many different careers in online media, print and broadcast journalism. 

Additionally, sports medicine and sports psychology careers are also on the rise. The field includes medical doctors (MD) and osteopathic physicians (DO) who have completed sports medicine fellowships. Sports medicine also includes other healthcare professionals who treat acute and chronic injuries and advise athletes on improving their overall health. Sports psychology combines psychology, science, and sports, where practitioners in this field focus on improving the mental health of athletes in a variety of settings.

When asked about the growing presence of women in the Sri Lankan sports industry, Jayalal said: “There are more than enough careers in sports, and at one time they were only open to men. I’d say that has changed considerably since Susanthika Jayasinghe’s inspirational Olympics performance. After the year 2000, more opportunities became available for women to pursue sports-related careers. Unfortunately, there is still a long way to go in some fields.”

everjobs is a job portal currently operating in Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Cambodia, Myanmar, Cameroon, Ethiopia, Ivory Coast, Senegal, Tanzania and Uganda. Launched in 2015, everjobs aims to become the leading job portal in fast growing markets finding the right match for both, employers and candidates. The company is backed by Rocket Internet as well as the Asia Pacific Internet Group (APACIG).