Sports Internships Abroad

A sports internship abroad might involve a focus on sports management, sports events, education, or sports medicine.

Sports Medicine & Physiotherapy

This is a wonderful field to intern in if you’re also interested in medicine, physical therapy, and rehabilitation. Students will be able to work with athletes who may be sick or injured. You’ll gain an interesting perspective in both sports and the field of medicine, allowing you to combine your two passions. Interns may work in hospitals, physical therapy offices, with nutritionists, or even behind the scenes at sporting events where athletes may get injured.

Strength & Conditioning and Performance

Athletes are only getting better, and that is largely due to new research improving the ways in which they are able to improve their strength and conditioning. Competition in sports is fierce, and athletes want to gain any competitive edge they can by hiring strength and conditioning coaches, nutritionists, and performance-based experts.

Sports Management

Students can express their professionalism and intern directly with the managers of certain sports teams and learn the ins and outs of managing an entire team successfully.

Sports Competitions

Students will be directly involved in the planning and execution of sports competitions with specific sports teams. This may include speaking to other sports teams and arranging competitions, planning and arranging housing and transportation for the team, or speaking to the arena where the sport will be held. Depending on the requirements of your internship, you may or may not be directly involved in the actual competition!

Education

Whether you're coaching youth or interning at a school / after school program, you can learn more about how sports and education work together in another culture through a sports education internship abroad.

Australia / New Zealand

Australia and New Zealand are passionate about their sports. Interns will have access to sports like football, surfing, cricket and cycling. If you’re interested in playing rugby or helping manage a rugby team, then you should consider interning in Australia or New Zealand.

England

England is known for their boisterous crowds that go crazy at every sporting event, especially football. This is an ideal country for interns looking to dive straight into the action of it all. Track and field, cycling, and rowing are also very popular activities here as well.

South Africa

Interning in South Africa is like stepping into another world. South Africans take great pride in their sports, making this an ideal location for interns who want to experience the strength of a country's pride, especially on game day. Interns may even find themselves shouting with other South Africans during sporting events where everyone is dressed in their country's colors. Football, cricket, and rugby are very popular sports here.

Jamaica

Jamaica has some of the best track and field athletes in the world. If this is a sport that interests you, then you should consider interning in Jamaica. Jamaica is known as the “sprint capital of the world,” making it an ideal place for those looking to intern in track and field.

Malaysia

Malaysia is a wonderful country to intern in if your passion is water sports such as SCUBA diving. Interns will receive hands-on experience running a dive center, SCUBA diving with customers, and may even receive their Dive Instructor Certification during the process. Make sure you know the certification requirements that you should have prior to arrival for your specific school.

Visas

While most internships are unpaid, it doesn't mean that you don't need a visa. In some countries, you may be able to do an internship while on a tourist visa, whereas other countries will forbid any form of work without the necessary visa. Be sure to research the requirements according to your nationality and the location in which you're hoping to intern.

Housing

Housing varies by destination and can include staying in a dorm, guesthouse, homestay, or apartment. If you're in charge of finding your own housing, search engines like UniPlaces (an apartment finder mostly focused on Europe) and Homestay.com (which can match you with homestay families) are good places to start.

Packing Tips

You should pack comfortable, stretchy clothing. Since your internship may require a lot of physical activity, activewear will be your new best friend--just be mindful of local customs, especially if you're in a more conservative country where showing too much skin / tight clothes might be considered inappropriate. You should also consider investing in comfortable, quality sneakers that will allow proper agility and comfort.

Resources

In addition to Go Overseas, sports management degree hub has tips on finding sports management internships.

Safety & Wellbeing

Make sure you receive all of the necessary vaccinations before embarking to a new country. You may also want to get a check-up with your doctor prior to departure. Talk to your doctor to figure out what's best for you.

Interviewing

You may need to submit sports audition tapes of yourself participating in sporting events, write essays, or have an interview with the manager of where you would be interning. Remember to prepare for your interview, dress appropriately, and give it your all! An internship in this field will bring you places you never thought possible and will set you apart from other students competing for the same employers as you.