Cardiff Metropolitan University has been shortlisted alongside sporting giants such as Team GB, Adidas, the FA and the Premier League in the prestigious Fevo Sports Industry Awards 2025.
Cardiff Met has made a select shortlist of six in the Educational Institute of the Year category, recognising its commitment to developing elite athletes, working with disadvantaged communities to tackle inactivity and producing graduates with the skills and mindset to #changethegame.
Students, alumni and staff from Cardiff Met compete on and behind the scenes on the biggest stages across the world, from the Paris Olympics and Paralympics 2024 to the Guinness Men’s and Women’s 6 Nations rugby.
But it’s the partnership approach between Cardiff Met Sport, the University’s School of Sport & Health Sciences, sport governing bodies, local authorities, schools and clubs that is redefining how a modern, progressive and civically minded University can deliver multiple outcomes that make a real difference to communities.
Ben O’Connell, Director of Sport at Cardiff Metropolitan University said:
“As a university with around11,000 students, Cardiff Met is dwarfed by many of its sporting contemporaries in the sector. However, we boast one of the broadest provisions of sport; from semi-professional teams through to local community delivery. In any given week, we have coaches supporting Olympians and Paralympians at our facilities and community intervention specialists running diversionary activity for young people in Cardiff who have engaged in youth generated crimes. We believe this is a unique sporting eco-system which isn’t matched in the sector.
“This is complemented by our sport degree programmes where students access real-life experience through learning across our sports system supporting our teams, athletes and community programmes under the guidance of our staff. This includes our award-winning media provider, Cardiff Met Sport TV, which live-streams, promotes and tells the stories of Cardiff Met Sport.
“At Cardiff Met, we’re incredibly proud of our unique learning and research environment; one that benefits not only our students and the elite performers we develop and support, but more than 9000 local people of all ages and abilities each year.
“That number continues to grow, alongside the long list of students who have gone on to perform at the highest level – both on the sporting stage and in top roles in industry.
“Our Open Campus programme is a powerful collaboration between University and community, delivering sustainable change in sport, physical activity, outdoor play, and health and wellbeing opportunities in the Cardiff City region and beyond.
“Free and paid for community activities and programme on and off campus are linked to students’ degree outcomes, professional placements and research and innovation projects.
“More than 1,000 students are now engaging with an Open Campus way of working, developing the confidence and agency to deliver sustainable change within the community and breaking down barriers to participation.
“It’s incredibly exciting to see our groundbreaking approach and transformative impact being rewarded with a place among the biggest players in the sports industry in these awards.”
