AVĚěĚĂÍř

The mentality that perseverance and hard work will pay off in the end perfectly encapsulates the career of Charger alumnus Simão Sousa Branca ’18 M.S. thus far. Persistence and an unwavering passion for soccer led Simão to landing a position with the prestigious Portuguese Football Federation to help work on its bid to host the FIFA World Cup in 2030.

Prior to his time at the AVĚěĚĂÍř, SimĂŁo received a degree in economics at the University of Reading in England. However, he was not passionate about work in the field of economics. He heard about programs in the United States where you could receive a scholarship to play soccer. SimĂŁo explained, “I got a few offers. The best one, the one I enjoyed the most, because of the master’s program, the quality of the team, and the location was the AVĚěĚĂÍř.”

“I wasn’t familiar with the University, and I didn’t know much about it,” he continued. “I did some research, and I was very pleased with what I found, and I took a leap of faith and moved over to America.”

During his year and a half pursuing his graduate degree and playing two seasons of soccer, Simão thoroughly enjoyed his experience as a Charger, describing it as “the best sports experience I had so far.”

In addition to playing competitive soccer on the , Simão excelled within the Sport Management graduate program. He appreciated the high quality of the professors on campus, as well as the numerous field-trip opportunities he and his classmates were able to go on to meet many interesting people. Simão concluded that his experience, “worked out pretty well for me. I felt I was a good asset to the program. They challenged me and brought out the best in me.”

‘You have to be persistent for what you want’

Following his graduation from the University, SimĂŁo was able to apply for Optional Practice Training (OPT), which would enable him to work in the United States for one more year.

“You have that year to convince your employer that they should hire you so that you can keep going and get a visa after that,” he said. “This is a very complicated process because you are competing against everyone else and visas are expensive. You basically have to prove that you are better than any American going for the same job by the amount they have to invest.”

He did just that, earning an opportunity with the after networking with members of the Red Bulls staff as part of an opportunity created by the University. He worked with their operations marketing team and in game-day operations, engaging with fans and ensuring partnerships were well-represented. After about a year with the team, he ultimately made the decision to return to Portugal, a choice that was perfectly timed as Covid-19 forced a lockdown just a few months later.

Simão quickly realized that having a sport management degree in the United States is very different than in Portugal. Due to Portugal being a much smaller country, the sports industry is not as big compared to the United States in terms of careers and market value. Simão explains, “There isn’t the same amount of opportunities.”

With this in mind, he had two options that he could not be steered away from. The first was with the Portugal Football Federation, and another option was to work for his hometown, Porto, in the city hall's public events department.

Simão applied to both, but unfortunately the Portugal Football Federation wasn’t hiring at the time. The position with Porto moved a bit faster, and he took that opportunity.

“I was working for the culture department,” he said. “Not specifically related to sports, but I helped with anything related to events such as art shows, cinema, really anything related to culture. This was my first real experience in the job market.” The job was more of a finance role, and he felt like he was spending too much time behind a computer and wanted to be out in the field more.

While he was working at Porto, SimĂŁo stayed in close contact with the Portugal Football Federation. This was something he had learned during his time at the AVĚěĚĂÍř. “Whenever you make a connection, don't lose that connection,” he said. “Reach out to them, send a message on LinkedIn, or email them you have to be persistent for what you want.”

‘A once-in-a-lifetime opportunity’

After about three years, Simão decided to leave his job at Porto and began exploring opportunities abroad. Then, out of the blue, the Portugal Football Federation called him for an interview with the 2030 project. This is a team that works alongside the country’s World Cup project to enhance Portuguese soccer in many specific areas.

Unfortunately, Simão did not receive an offer for the job, “but they told me that they still believed they had something for me. I interviewed with the World Cup team, and we hit it off instantaneously. Two weeks later I was hired and began working for the Portugal Football Federation.”

Simão describes his path to being part of the team that prepared Portugal’s joint bid with Spain and Morocco to host the 2030 FIFA World Cup as “lucky.” However, he acknowledges that much more than luck went into it. Simão explained, “I can’t just say I was lucky. I worked for it. I have perseverance, and sometimes things end up happening. You have an idea of what you want to do but you never know exactly how or all of the details. Then this opportunity showed up, and it matched all my expectations.”

He also feels lucky to be able to work within a sport that he loves for the country he is from. “Having something as big as the World Cup in your country, especially one as small as Portugal, is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. It is something amazing to be a part of.”

Due to the 2030 World Cup bid being joint between three different federations (Portugal, Morocco, and Spain), there were a lot of moving pieces. Each country had their own team, and within each team there is the committee.

“Below the committee there are the operational teams, and within each they have their own topics,” he said. “FIFA gives us all the rules, and we have to present the bid within all their requirements and standards. The chapters range across several topics. Number 1, and most important, is stadiums, but it is also necessary to provide information on other topics, such as training sites, security, and sustainability for example.” Simão explained that he worked specifically with organizing stadiums, training sites, accommodations, FIFA fan festivals, and competition-related events. Simão described his experience as the following: “We were a small team, so we were all willing to do our parts. Sometimes if someone needed help with something I wasn’t familiar with or particularly fond of, I still helped out.” His days were filled with completing any task that his team needed done. That is what a teamwork environment is all about.

‘Never Close Any Doors’

SimĂŁo believes that the most beneficial part of going to the AVĚěĚĂÍř for his master’s degree was the real-life experiences the program provided. He felt that as an international student, being able to go out in the field and experience new sports he was unfamiliar with was extremely valuable.

Beyond that, the AVĚěĚĂÍř provided a collaborative setting for him and his classmates.

“We would do projects, and my classmates would talk about the American model, which is all about making money, and that is very different from how it is done in Europe. My perspective was very different, which was very good for the exchange between students and teachers.”

When asked what one piece of advice he would give to someone entering the sport industry, Simão immediately stated, “Never close any doors. Just because you enjoy something in particular, such as a certain sport or job, does not mean that there isn’t something else out there you would enjoy doing.”

Simão further explained his point: “What I think is very important is, when you get your master’s degree, you are one step ahead of the undergraduate degree. So, you need to have a different perspective of not just getting through it and getting it done, but dedicating yourself, making sure that when you get to the other side of it that you are getting something new, that you've learned something, and that you are looking for something more specific now that you have gone through the whole process. So always keep your options open. Never close any doors.”

Shealin Callahan ’26 M.S. is a candidate in the University’s graduate program in sport management.