Leading sports industry journalist and consultant Rachael Church-Sanders has joined the World Academy of Sport (WAoS) as Deputy Director, Research in addition to Jose Gigante as Academies Coordinator and Faye Waterhouse undertaking administration in the Programme Services team.

Rachael will work closely with the Academy’s Director, Academic & Research, Professor Gordon Mandry on developing a range of teaching cases and materials for the organisation’s postgraduate certificate students which will also add to the industry as a whole as they are made available to the academic community and broader industries.

Rachael will also be looking after the World Academy of Sport's Research Division, offering customised research to federations, cities and other rights owners within the sports industry such as competitor analyses and market sizing.

She says: “I am delighted to be joining the World Academy of Sport team on an official basis having previously been a guest lecturer for them. With my experience encompassing a wide spectrum of verticals within sport – from digital media through to hosting major sports events – I am looking forward to working as part of the WAoS team to contribute to its overall growth.”

Professor Mandry commented: “I have been impressed with the broad background that Rachael has had in academia and industry and is ideally suited to further develop the WAoS research initiatives. Her ability to lead primary research initiatives on progressive industry topics and issues shall further strengthen the leading industry position that WAoS continually demonstrates for sport management education.”

Rachael is the author of several widely-acclaimed business reports including Sport on the Internet (2000), Creating a Winning Online Bank (2003), The Global Business of Sports Television (2003), Bidding and Hosting: The Guide to Successful Sporting Events (2003), The Global Business of Poker (five editions 2006 to 2013), Ultimate Sports Cities: Strategies for Successful Event Hosting (five editions 2006 to 2014), Bingo in the Digital Age (2009), Ultimate Sports Websites: Creating a Winning Online Proposition for Sport (2009 and 2010), The Global Business of Skill Gaming (2010), The Global Business of Online Casinos (2010 and 2012), Online Sports Betting: Strategy and Outlook (2011), Social Gaming (2011), Digital Strategies for Sport 2011-12 (2012), Digital Sports Betting: A Market Assessment and Outlook (2012) and The Global Business of Lotteries (2014).

A regular conference chair, moderator, speaker and university guest lecturer who has often appeared on radio and television, Rachael is the previous editor of both the European Sponsorship Newsletter and PACT Magazine for the Producers’ Alliance for Cinema and Television. As well as a previous Financial Times newsletter editor, she was also Head of Reports at FT Media & Telecoms. Church-Sanders sold her consulting company ArkSports to SportBusiness Group PLC in January 2007, including the company’s successful brands Sport and Technology (the online publication of which she was editor) and Sport and Technology: The Conference.

Rachael has a BA Honours degree from Queen’s University Belfast and an MPhil from Exeter University. She is a season ticket holder at Exeter City Football Club and the former chairman of Bromley Common Football Club.

Jose Gigante has also recently joined the WAoS team as Academies Coordinator to work with the growing portfolio of International Federation Academies that the WAoS manages in partnership with the respective IFs. Jose has spent his career in various capacities throughout the sports industry notably having been a research fellow at IESE Business School in Madrid Spain and also moving to the Paralympic Games Department as Games Coordinator at the International Paralympic Committee.

During his time at the IPC Jose worked with the WAoS on developing the IPC Academy research initiative undertaken during the London 2012 Paralympic Games. He also managed this games time project throughout Sochi 2014 Paralympic Games earlier this year before joining the WAoS.

Finally Faye Waterhouse also joins the Programme Services team to assist the administration of programmes throughout the WAoS portfolio. Faye is currently finishing her final university exams and will increase to full time in the coming weeks.