Mr Sean Hamil — Birkbeck, University of London

Overview

Biography

Sean Hamil is a Senior Lecturer in Management in the Birkbeck Business School. He is is the academic programme director of the Birkbeck portfolio of sport management programmes, and a Director of Birkbeck Sport Business Centre, one of Britain’s leading academic centres for the study of the business of sport – www.sportbusinesscentre.com.

His key research interest is in the field of the governance and ownership structures of sport organisations, in particular football club ownership structures with a specific reference to the mutual ownership model, and the associated organisation of sport competitions by these organisations.

He has extensive experience in delivering high-level executive education to senior managers in the European sport industry:

He is a member of the academic scientific committee of the Executive Master in Global Sport Governance (MESGO) in which Birkbeck is a partner with four other leading European universities: Centre de Droit et d’Economie du Sport, University of Limoges, France; Johannes Gutenberg University of Mainz, Germany; Institut Nacional d’Educacio Fisica de Catalunya and Lleida University, Barcelona, Spain; HEC Lausanne, University of Lausanne, Switzerland. The programme is a high-level executive training programme supported by four of Europe's leading sport federations: EHF (the European Handball Association); FIBA (International Basketball Federation); IIHF (International Ice Hockey Federation); and UEFA (Union of European Football Associations), together with the Council of Europe.
He is a member of the academic scientific committee of the UEFA MIP (Executive Master for International Players) programme, in which Birkbeck is a partner with the Centre for the Law & Economy of Sport (CDES), University of Limoges, and with UEFA.
He delivers the module on “The Organisation of World Football”, which explains the organisation and governance structures of world and European football, on the UEFA Certificate in Football Management (CFM), a management development programme for executives in UEFA member national associations and other stakeholders in European football.
He is a guest lecturer on the Euroleague Basketball Institute/Vytautas Magnus University Sport Business MBA on the subject of sport governance.
He was the academic lead for the FIFPro (World Football Players Union)\Birkbeck Certificate in Professional Education (Postgraduate) executive education programme (2015).

He is a member of the Scientific Committee of the 11th International Sport Business Symposium – The Future of the Olympic Games. Paris, France, 8th August 2024.

Before entering academic life, he worked in economic forecasting and marketing consultancy with the Henley Centre for Forecasting, now part of the WPP international marketing and advertising services group. He later co-authored and author two books on corporate social responsibility – Changing Corporate Values. London: Kogan Page, (1990); and Britain’s Best Employers. London: Kogan Page, (1991).</

Web profiles

Sport Business Centre

Professional activities

Member of the academic scientific committee of the Master in European Sport Governance (MESGO)

Lecturer on the UEFA Certificate in Football Management (CFM)

ORCID

0000-0001-8442-8124

Research

Research interests

The governance and regulation of professional sports organisations.
The economic and sporting design and regulation of sport competitions.
Business strategy in the professional sports’ industries.
Ownership models of professional sport businesses, with a particular interest in the co-operative ownership model of professional football clubs.

Supervision and teaching

Teaching

Teaching modules

Sport Economics and the Design of Competitions (BUMN001H7)
Management Studies I (BUMN077H4)
Sport Marketing (MOMN035H7)

Publications

Article

Evans, Richard and Walters, Geoff and Hamil, Sean (2022) Gambling in professional sport: the enabling role of regulatory legitimacy. Corporate Governance: The International Journal of Business in Society 22 (5), pp. 1078-1093. ISSN 1472-0701.
Walters, Geoff and Hamil, Sean (2013) The contests for power and influence over the regulatory space in the English professional football industry, 1980 – 2012. Business History 55 (5), pp. 740-767. ISSN 0007-6791.
Hamil, Sean and Morrow, S. (2011) Corporate social responsibility in the Scottish Premier League: context and motivation. European Sport Management Quarterly 11 (2), pp. 143-170. ISSN 1618-4742.
Hamil, Sean and Morrow, S. and Idle, C. and Rossi, Giambattista and Faccendini, S. Hassan, D. and Hamil, Sean, eds. (2010) The governance and regulation of Italian football. Sport in the Global Society – Contemporary Perspectives. Soccer & Society 11 (4), pp. 373-413. ISSN 1466-0970. ISBN 9780415445702.
Hamil, Sean and Walters, Geoff Hassan, D. and Hamil, Sean, eds. (2010) Financial performance in English professional football: "an inconvenient truth". Sport in the Global Society – Contemporary Perspectives. Soccer & Society 11 (4), pp. 354-372. ISSN 1466-0970. ISBN 9780415445702.
Hamil, Sean and Walters, Geoff and Watson, L. Hassan, D. and Hamil, Sean, eds. (2010) The model of governance at FC Barcelona: balancing member democracy, commercial strategy, corporate social responsibility and sporting performance. Sport in the Global Society – Contemporary Perspectives. Soccer & Society 11 (4), pp. 475-504. ISSN 1466-0970. ISBN 9780415445702.
Hassan, D. and Hamil, Sean Hassan, D. and Hamil, Sean, eds. (2010) Models of football governance and management in international sport. Sport in the Global Society – Contemporary Perspectives. Soccer & Society 11 (4), pp. 343-353. ISSN 1466-0970. ISBN 9780415445702.
Hamil, Sean and Holt, M. and Michie, J. and Oughton, C. and Shailer, L. (2004) The corporate governance of professional football clubs. Corporate Governance: The International Journal of Business in Society 4 (2), pp. 44-51. ISSN 1472-0701.
Hamil, Sean and Michie, J. and Oughton, C. and Shailer, L. (2002) The state of the game. New Academy Review 1 (1), pp. 79-92. ISSN 1476-7201.
Hamil, Sean and Michie, J. and Oughton, C. and Warby, S. (2000) Recent developments in football ownership. Soccer & Society 1 (3), pp. 1-10. ISSN 1466-0970.
Hamil, Sean (1999) Corporate Community Involvement: a case for regulatory reform. Business Ethics: A European Review 8 (1), pp. 14-25. ISSN 0962-8770.

Book

Hassan, D. and Hamil, Sean, eds. (2010) Who owns football: the governance and management of the club game worldwide. Sport in the Global Society – Contemporary Perspectives. Abingdon, UK: Routledge. ISBN 9780415445702.
Hamil, Sean and Chadwick, S. (2009) Managing football: an international perspective. Amsterdam, The Netherlands: Elsevier. ISBN 9781856175449.
Hamil, Sean and Michie, J. and Oughton, C. and Warby, S., eds. (2000) The changing face of the football business: Supporters Direct. Sport in the Global Society. Frank Cass. ISBN 9780714651361.
Hamil, Sean and Michie, J. and Oughton, C. and Warby, S., eds. (2000) Football in the digital age: Whose game is it anyway?. Edinburgh, UK: Mainstream Publishing. ISBN 9781840183290.
Hamil, Sean and Michie, J. and Oughton, C., eds. (1999) A game of two halves? The business of football. Edinburgh, UK: Mainstream Publishing. ISBN 9781840182255.

Book Section

Hamil, Sean (2021) Organisation of world football. In: Hickey, C. and Berthoud, J. (eds.) UEFA Handbook of Football Association Management. Nyon, Switzerland: UEFA. ISBN 9782940391097.
Hamil, Sean (2019) Not for sale: the development of and resistance to fan-owned sports clubs. In: Maguire, J. and Falcous, M. and Liston, K. (eds.) The Business and Culture of Sports: Society, Politics, Economy, Environment, 1st Edition. Macmillan Reference USA. ISBN 9780028664989.
Schubert, M. and Hamil, Sean (2018) Financial doping and financial fair play in European Club football competitions. In: Breuer, M. and Forrest, D. (eds.) The Palgrave Handbook on the Economics of Manipulation in Sport. Basingstoke, UK: Palgrave Macmillan. pp. 135-157. ISBN 9783319773889.
Hamil, Sean (2014) Financial Fair Play – Why loss-making is a problem: the example of the English Football League. In: Budzinski, O. and Feddersen, A. (eds.) Contemporary Research in Sports Economics: Proceedings of the 5 th ESEA Conference. Schriften zur Politischen Ökonomik / Political Economics. Peter Lang. pp. 37-56. ISBN 9783631646571.
Walters, Geoff and Hamil, Sean (2013) Regulation and the search for a profitable business model: a case study of the English football industry. In: Soderman, S. and Dolles, H. (eds.) Handbook of Research on Sport and Business. Elgar original reference. Cheltenham, UK: Edward Elgar. ISBN 9781849800051.
Walters, Geoff and Hamil, Sean (2011) Corporate governance and the regulation of sport. In: Trenberth, Linda and Hassan, D. (eds.) Managing Sport Business: An Introduction. Foundations of Sport Management. Abingdon, UK: Routledge. pp. 64-78. ISBN 9780415570299.
Trenberth, Linda (2009) Organising and human resource management. In: Hamil, Sean and Chadwick, S. (eds.) Managing Football: An International Perspective. Amsterdam, The Netherlands: Elsevier. pp. 169-184. ISBN 9781856175449.
Walters, Geoff and Hamil, Sean (2009) Ownership and governance. In: Hamil, Sean and Chadwick, S. (eds.) Managing Football: An International Perspective. Amsterdam, The Netherlands: Elsevier. pp. 17-36. ISBN 9781856175449.
Hamil, Sean (2008) Manchester United: the commercial development of a global football brand. In: Chadwick, S. and Arthur, D. (eds.) International Cases in the Business of Sport. Butterworth-Heinemann/Elsevier. pp. 114-134. ISBN 9780750685436.
Carr, P. and Findlay, J. and Hamil, Sean and Hill, J. and Morrow, S. (2000) The Celtic Trust. In: Hamil, Sean and Michie, J. and Oughton, C. and Warby, S. (eds.) The Changing Face of the Football Business: Supporters Direct. Sport in the Global Society. Frank Cass. ISBN 9780714651361.
Hamil, Sean and Michie, J. and Oughton, C. and Warby, S. (2000) New developments in football ownership. In: Hamil, Sean and Michie, J. and Oughton, C. and Warby, S. (eds.) The Changing Face of the Football Business: Supporters Direct. Sport in the Global Society. Frank Cass. ISBN 9780714651361.
Hamil, Sean and Cannon, T. (2000) Reforming football's boardrooms. In: Hamil, Sean and Michie, J. and Oughton, C. and Warby, S. (eds.) Football In the Digital Age: Whose Game Is It Anyway?. Edinburgh, UK: Mainstream Publishing. ISBN 9781840183290.
Hamil, Sean and Michie, J. and Oughton, C. and Warby, S. (2000) Whose game is it anyway?. In: Hamil, Sean and Michie, J. and Oughton, C. and Warby, S. (eds.) Football In the Digital Age: Whose Game Is It Anyway?. Edinburgh, UK: Mainstream Publishing. ISBN 9781840183290.

Conference Item

Hamil, Sean (2007) Can supporters’ trusts play a meaningful role in the reform of European football?. Play the Game 2007, 2007, Reykjavik, Iceland
Hamil, Sean (2007) Supporters Direct: the role of fans' owned football clubs. PSA Sport and Politics Study Group Conference, 2007, Powys, UK
Hamil, Sean (2007) The financial performance of Scottish league football and its implications for the future of survival of Scotland 's football clubs? Is the current 42-club Scottish league structure sustainable and do supporter-controlled supporters' trusts (co-operatives) have a role in any successful re-structuring of Scottish professional football?. European Association of Sports Management (EASM), Annual Conference, 2007, Turin, Italy
Hamil, Sean (2006) The financial performance of Scottish league football and its implications for ground ownership by Scottish football clubs? Is the current 42-club structure sustainable?. Sport and Sport Exercise Sciences Research Institute Research Seminar Series 2006-2007, 2006, Ulster, UK
Hamil, Sean and Morrow, S. (2002) Corporate community involvement by football clubs: business strategy or social obligation. Scottish Trade Union Research Network Sixth National Seminar - Football and the Community, 2002, Glasgow, UK
Hamil, Sean and Morrow, S. (2000) Corporate Community Involvement (CCI) by football clubs: business strategy or social obligation. The Irish Academy of Management Annual Conference, 2000, Dublin, Ireland

Monograph

Evans, Richard and Walters, Geoff and Hamil, Sean (2021) Gambling to achieve success in professional sport: The case of the EFL Championship - a bubble waiting to burst?. London, UK: Birkbeck Sport Business Centre.
Hamil, Sean and Holt, M. and Michie, J. and Oughton, C. and Shailer, L. and Walters, Geoff (2003) The state of the game: the corporate governance of football clubs 2003. London, UK: Birkbeck, University of London.
Morrow, S. and Hamil, Sean (2003) Corporate community involvement by football clubs: business strategy or social obligation. University of Stirling.
Binns, S. and Hamil, Sean and Holt, M. and Michie, J. and Oughton, C. and Shailer, L. and Wright, K. (2002) The state of the game: the corporate governance of football clubs 2002. London, UK: Birkbeck, University of London.
Hamil, Sean and Michie, J. and Oughton, C. and Shailer, L. (2001) The state of the game: the corporate governance of football clubs 2001. London, UK: Birkbeck, University of London.