Chris Loxston

Alumni

Chris Loxston

Career Path: Director of Recruitment, San Diego Wave
Location: San Diego, USA

I knew that I wanted to work in professional sport from an early age when I realized I was never going to be good enough to play professionally myself. I was fortunate to be offered a position at the English Institute of Sport whilst still studying for my BSc which allowed me to gain invaluable experience at the very beginning of my career. I then made the move to Dubai when I was offered a job in football with Al Ahli Football Club. I stayed 8 years here also having the chance to work with the UAE and Saudi Arabian National Teams.

I was very fortunate to work with some world class players and coaches during my time and learnt a lot of what I know now. I then made the move to FIFA as the first ever Performance Analyst employed by the organization. In my 5 years at FIFA I led the team that developed the FIFA Football Language, the blue print for how FIFA now analyse football. I also led the Technical Study Group who were responsible for selecting the Gold, Silver, Bronze Ball, Boot and Glove awards at all FIFA tournaments including the World Cup. I then took a role in San Diego with the Wave where I currently am now, first as an assistant coach and now in my current role as Director of Recruitment.

Director of Recruitment - Sand Diego Wave Futbol Club (San Diego, USA)

Group Leader Football Performance Analysis & Insights - FIFA (Zurich, Switzerland)

Head of Performance Analysis - Al Ahli Football Club (Dubai, UAE)

Men's National Team Performance Analyst - UAE FA (Dubai, UAE)

Men's National Team Performance Analyst - Saudi Arabia FA (Saudi Arabia)

Performance Analyst - English Institute of Sport (Sheffield, UK)

What are you doing now?

I work as the Director of Recruitment for San Diego Wave a professional team in the NWSL in the USA. I lead on all player recruitment for the organization.

What was it about Northumbria that made you decide to study here?

The city really stood out to me and I had a phenomenal 3 years in Newcastle and met a lot of great people. The uni had great facilities and I felt it was a place that I would enjoy my time whilst studying.

What was it like studying at Northumbria?

It was a good mix of taught and self guided learning. It's a big difference transitioning from School to University as ultimately you have chosen to be there so its more on you to get the most out of it for your future and career.

How connected was your course with industry?

I started my course 19 years ago so at the time although we did have a 6 week placement which I did with the English Institute of Sport I feel the courses offered now are far more connected with industry. That said although at the time I may not have thought everything I was learning would be relevant to working in the real world the skills and competencies were all very transferable.

If you took on a placement during your course how did you feel this helped you in your career/ with your studies?

Without question, without that placement I would not have got my first full time job as although not in the same regional centre, the connections I made allowed me to be put forward for the position.

What was the best thing about your course?

The people I met. Newcastle is such a great city and I still keep in close contact with many of the people I studied with and now through social media I get to see where a lot of my course cohort are now working and many are in impressive positions all around the world.

How did studying at Northumbria help you achieve your career goals/ give your career an edge?

So many of the skills I learnt are transferable to real world industry. Northumbria is a respected sports university and this also helps when applying for those first career positions.

Which skills/knowledge did you learn on your course that you use most now throughout your career?

Critical thinking. In professional sport you have to be able to understand where you can have the biggest impact with the time available so being able to critically work through these processes has been one of the main aspects to my career to date.