Thank you for an inspiring spring semester! 

Summer is here, and we want to extend a warm thank you to all our partners, colleagues, students, and friends who have been part of the Center for Sports and Business this past semester.

This spring has clearly demonstrated the power of collaboration between sports, academia, and business – and reinforced the relevance of sport as a platform for learning, development, and societal impact.

Milestones and new launches in Executive Education

This semester has brought several key developments in our educational work:

• We celebrated 10 years of the Management Diploma for Athletes (MDA) – a program that supports elite athletes in their transition to new careers.

• We launched Nästa Steg, a new program for high performers from both sports and the Armed Forces, connecting elite experience with new career paths.

• Our collaboration with the Swedish Professional Football Leagues continued through the Sustainable Club Development program, focusing on leadership and organizational development.

• The second edition of the European Sports Business Program was successfully delivered together with our university partners WHU and ESSEC.

Exploring the future of sports and inclusion

This spring, we created several important spaces for dialogue on the future of sport:

• At CSB Partner Day, we addressed the opportunities and challenges of digitalization in sport.

• Together with the Swedish Sports Confederation, we hosted the seminar Who Leads Elite Sports? focusing on governance, leadership, and inclusion.

• We contributed to the launch of the SHL Impact Forum – a new meeting place for courage, innovation, and community within Swedish hockey.

• Our partnership with ENABLE kicked off with a fully booked seminar on the future of Swedish football.

• The Swedish Olympic Academy (SOA) hosted its first Open Friday on the theme Elite Performance & Balance – Take Care of Yourself.

• In partnership with the Swedish Sports Confederation, we also initiated a new long-term collaboration on the commercial development of Swedish sport, focusing on revenue models, partnerships, and sustainability.

Student engagement and bridging sport with the arts

The SSE Sport Initiative continues to grow as a platform for performance, creativity, and well-being at the Stockholm School of Economics. Highlights from this spring include:

• Two Art/Sport Talks, including The 2004 Hockey World Championship & the Commercialization of TV Broadcasting and SNETT/INÅT/BAKÅT (Terrorboll) by Klas Barbrosson – where art and sport met in new and thought-provoking ways.

• Together with the student committee IDU, we organized Sport & Business Week and Sport & Business Night – with rich conversations around sport, business, and movement.

• Olympic judoka and MBA student Sami Chouchi led an inspiring judo session at SSE.

• The bachelor course Hybrid Organisations – Value Creation and Strategy ran during the first part of the spring term, with a focus on institutional logics and their impact on sport organizations.

• MDA students contributed to this spring’s Sport Talk, sharing their reflections on what they carry with them from sport – and what they need to learn for their next chapter.

Strengthening international collaboration and representation

On the global stage, our international relations have continued to deepen:

• A transatlantic exchange with the University of South Florida brought new insights.

• Our collaboration with Norway expanded through the Nästa Steg program.

• We strengthened academic partnerships with Harvard, Bocconi, King’s College, ESSEC, and WHU, creating new opportunities for joint research and education.

• The Collective Visibility network now includes over 750 female sport experts worldwide, contributing to greater visibility, representation, and influence in the sports sector.

Looking ahead – with energy and curiosity

We are proud to be a platform where academia, sports, and business meet. Thank you to everyone who has contributed to our work this spring!

We look forward to a fall filled with new ideas, conversations, and collaborations – both in Sweden and internationally.
Until then, we wish you a summer full of rest, inspiration, and renewed energy – on or off the field.