BLACK IN SPORT LAUNCHES “NEXT UP BY BIS” CAREER ACCELERATOR PROGRAMME FOR DIVERSE VOICES
September 22, 2025
Global Sports Marketing Agency Octagon to Serve as Founding Partner of Black In Sport Fellowship Program.
London, UK, 23rd September 2025 – Black In Sport (BIS) announced today the launch of the “Next Up by BIS” career accelerator programme, with global sports marketing agency Octagon as the founding partner. BIS has become a space where new and diverse voices meet the biggest players in the business of sport, and now it’s turning that influence into even greater access and opportunity.
Designed to open doors for emerging professionals, the programme offers hands-on industry experience, mentorship, and the networks to help talent thrive in sport and entertainment. The 12-month paid programme will immerse one aspiring professional directly into the full breadth of Octagon’s work, offering a rotation across key teams and divisions, to experience how world-class sport and entertainment campaigns come to life from the ground up.
Open to recent graduates, career changers, and others at the early to mid-stages of their careers, “Next Up” will combine hands-on work with mentoring from senior industry leaders, plus industry exposure through BIS’ network. The goal is to equip participants with the skills, insight, and connections to build a successful career in sport and entertainment.
“BIS has always been about creating real pathways into the sports industry, not just talking about change,” said Ladi Ogunmekan, Co-Founder and Director of Black In Sport. “With the launch of our “Next Up” programme, Octagon as the first backer, and our ongoing work together at the BIS Summit, we’re showing what long-term, meaningful partnership can look like in action. This isn’t work experience, this is access, and we’re taking down the walls between raw talent and the rooms where the future of the sports industry is decided.”
“We are proud to extend our partnership with Black In Sport, whose mission to create opportunity and access across the industry aligns directly with our values at Octagon,” said Jeff Meeson, Managing Director, Octagon Europe. “Through this career accelerator and fellowship programme, we are committed to leading the way in driving greater equity across sport and entertainment, providing meaningful experience, building inclusive career pathways, and empowering the next generation of diverse voices to thrive at Octagon and well beyond.”
Applications for professionals interested in participating, applications open on 21st September, see https://blackinsport.com/nextup for more information. All submissions will be due by 10th October.
For more information contact: [email protected] or [email protected]
About Black In Sport
Black In Sport is a platform dedicated to celebrating and amplifying diverse voices in the sports industry. Through its annual summit and year-round programming, BIS provides a stage for powerful ideas, influential leaders, and transformative connections that drive sport’s future.
Since 2022, BIS has brought leading voices together from across the industry for the annual Black In Sport Summit, alongside brand supporters including ON, Sky Sports, and Wingstop UK. BIS Summits have featured seven-time Formula 1 World Champion Lewis Hamilton, former footballer and investor Eni Aluko, Darren Lewis, President, Sports Journalists’ Association, Leon Mann, Founder, Football Black List, and Johnny Kay, Chief Commercial Officer, VERSUS. To date, BIS has engaged over 5,000 people through its live events and digital platforms, building a community at the intersection of sport, business, and culture.
About Octagon
Octagon is the preeminent global integrated marketing, talent management, and creative agency in sports, entertainment, and culture. The agency creates distinctive marketing campaigns for some of the largest brands and companies throughout the world, and represents more than 900 of the most prominent and influential athletes, talent, and properties.
For more than 40 years, Octagon has consistently pushed the boundaries of the industry with ground-breaking marketing and creative campaigns, experiential and hospitality services, industry-leading data, insight, and strategy capabilities, as well as an unmatched talent management portfolio of the most high-profile and successful athletes and personalities.
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