Saints Sport St Andrews secures sponsorship

Saints Sport at the University of St Andrews has secured a £3000 sponsorship deal with knowledge on demand company, AlphaSights, to support its championship winning students Football Club.

The Saints Football Club, whose teams were crowned national champions at BUCS 2022, will use the funding to improve the performance programme for the next season, including a new team kit with AlphaSights logo.

The Club will also invest in play and training analysis equipment that will support the players learning and development each week, home and away.

The purchase of video analysis and new GPS equipment includes a device that the players would wear in training and games to track and record movement. The GPS equipment, usually only found in the professional game, will allow for training and post-match analysis of player performance.

AlphaSights is the global leader in knowledge on-demand and one of the fastest-growing companies in the world, with offices across the US, Europe, Middle East and Asia. As well as sponsoring Saints Sport Football Club, the company works with the University Careers Centre offering placements and Insight Days, as well as a Graduate Associate Programme. The fast-paced, two-year programme is a springboard for ambitious graduates who want to embark on a fast-track commercial career.

AlphaSights Senior Vice-President for Europe, Dominique Kleeman, commented: “We're delighted to be partnering with the University of St Andrews as the official lead sponsor of their Football Club. We’ve built a great relationship with the University over the past few years, with many students joining our Graduate Associate Programme – we hope to welcome more this year. We’re looking forward to supporting the Football Club and wish them the best of luck for the season!”

The Saints Sport Performance Sport programme aims to attract and support the very best athletes at St Andrews, not only those who aspire to gain a world-class education but also contribute significantly to teams and achieve individually.

Women’s football is one of ten performance teams recognised by the Performance Sport programme, which benefits from a dedicated Director of Football and additional support such as performance analysis, increased funding, greater access to training facilities, and long-term development and performance strategies.

St Andrews alumnus and a campus recruitment associate on the partnership, Michael Tomenson, helped to broker the deal: “My time at St Andrews as a student will forever be one of the critical formative experiences that has shaped my personal and professional trajectory. Having the opportunity to return to St Andrews as a representative of AlphaSights is a wonderful honour, and we hope to leverage this partnership into a fruitful relationship over the coming years.

“St Andrews and AlphaSights fit very well due to our shared pursuit of excellence in everything that we do, and we hope to be able to continue to work with the exceptional students that are graduating from such an esteemed institution.”

In a season that saw record levels of membership, the Club raised more than £2000 for three different charities, £280 for the Ukraine appeal, £1080 for the Zambian Cancer Society and £988 raised for Movember. Five women also volunteered their time with local girls’ football club St Andrews and East Neuk Girls to inspire the next generation of players.

Stuart Milne, Saints Sport Director of Football, said: “Following on from a successful season the Football Club is delighted to have this opportunity of working with AlphaSights. For several years now we have been working hard to find the right club sponsorship opportunity, with a company that is well aligned with our vision, values and success to help us go to the next level. This opportunity is a good fit and I look forward to working with all involved to make it as successful a year as possible for all concerned. We as a club are excited to see where this partnership can go over the next year.”