Anika's unique internship at the Pro Soccer club Villarreal CF in Spain

Anika’s experience report shows how an internship at a professional football club can be much more than traditional marketing work. From strategic projects at Villarreal CF to behind-the-scenes insights into professional sports and international collaboration, she shares why this internship in Spain became a true personal and professional highlight.

My internship at Villarreal CF in Spain was an experience I would recommend to anyone interested in sports, marketing, and international collaboration.

I completed my internship in the Commercial Department, which gave me valuable insights into the business and strategic side of a professional football club. At the beginning, a large part of my work focused on research and analysis, which helped me better understand the club and its international strategy. Over time, I was able to contribute more of my own ideas and work on concrete projects, which made the internship increasingly exciting.

One of the highlights was that we could attend matches for free—not only U19 games, but also women’s team matches and first-team games. There were also many other interns working across different departments such as coaching, psychology, and marketing, which created a great environment for networking and exchanging ideas.

A major focus of my work was analyzing international football academies and their online presence. I not only looked at Villarreal’s approach but also compared other major clubs to identify best practices. Based on this, I developed suggestions on how Villarreal could strengthen its international presence, for example through clearer website structures or stronger content strategies.

Alongside these tasks, there were also practical projects, such as photographing training sessions and helping develop a guidebook for new interns to make it easier for future participants to get started.