Georgetown University

With the World Cup comes immense logistical and operational hurdles, from venue management to ticketing models and sponsorship opportunities. This year, the challenges come with the extra layer of teams playing across the U.S., Mexico and Canada — the first World Cup to be co-hosted by three countries.

Georgetown’s new Executive Master’s in Global Sports Operations & Strategy program, in collaboration with the Manchester City Sports Business School, will offer students first-hand insights from professionals at the cutting-edge of the global sports industry with online asynchronous courses and two one-week residencies in Manchester and London in the United Kingdom and in Washington, DC, and New York City.

“We are not just focusing on soccer. There are other global sports that we are going to explore to examine how things are done and why things are done,” said Bobby Goldwater, the faculty director of the program. “We will provide access for students that they will not be able to get any other way.”

We sat down with Goldwater to pick his brain on the major decisions and economic impact of the 2026 FIFA World Cup and what it might mean for the future of the sports industry.

Is The 2026 World Cup a Model for the Future? A Sports Executive Weighs In. - Georgetown University A sports executive explains the World Cup's complex business operations and economic impact and what it might mean for the sports industry

"Now in my senior spring, as I prepare to graduate, I am happy to report that I did not become a new person during these four years. Instead, I became a smarter, kinder, more worldly, and harder working version of myself. Georgetown provided the people and the opportunities for me to discern just who I was and what I was called to be at my university."

Written in the weeks leading up to graduation, Michael Woch (SFS'26) reflects on the ways that his time at Georgetown helped him grow into the best and most authentic version of himself.

Becoming a Better Version of Myself | LearningWell Magazine Looking back on a transformational college experience