ASU announces partnership with Real Madrid Graduate School

Three people pose for a group photo holding a soccer jersey.

(From left to right) Amy Ostrom, vice dean of ASU's W. P. Carey School of Business, Laura Planells Bolant, CEO of Linking Education, and Christopher Lee, faculty director of the W. P. Carey Sports Business program, at an event to announce the partnership between ASU's Sports Business program and the Real Madrid Graduate School. Photo courtesy ASU Global Education Office

By Lindsay Lohr |
December 05, 2022

While people around the world have their eyes glued to the screen to watch the World Cup, Arizona State University's Sports Business program and Global Education Office have proudly announced a new partnership with the Real Madrid Graduate School at the Universidad Europea in Spain. This partnership pairs one of the world’s most recognizable sports brands, Real Madrid CF, with America’s most globally engaged university.

Students interested in sports business can spend the summer or the full spring semester learning the industry at the Real Madrid Graduate School. Both options offer internship opportunities for students to gain experience in the sport business world with an international lens.

The Real Madrid experience — White Week

Beyond their regular coursework, students will also participate in the exclusive White Week event. This annual event is only available for students of the Real Madrid Graduate School. Highly prestigious executives from the sports business industry will offer master classes about their daily operations in marketing, digital transformation, venue management, the Real Madrid Foundation, operations, brand activation and partnerships. During this week, students will also visit Real Madrid CF’s facilities and other important sporting venues in Madrid, Spain, where they will be able to learn from different business models.

Emilio Butragueño, general manager at the Real Madrid Graduate School and director of institutional relations at Real Madrid CF, stressed the importance of this agreement. “We are very pleased to establish a partnership with such a prestigious university,” Butragueño said. “With this collaboration with Arizona State University, we seek to offer a different, unique and impactful international educational experience that combines classes in Phoenix and Madrid by highly renowned professionals from the sports industry.”

Students interested in participating in this exciting new program can learn more and apply here.