Manly Warringah Sea Eagles and TAFE Queensland Expand Sports Business Academy Nationally via Online Platform

The Manly Warringah Sea Eagles have announced a national expansion of their sports education footprint through the launch of a fully online leadership program.

In partnership with TAFE Queensland, the NRL club will take its established Sea Eagles Sports Business Academy model beyond its traditional physical borders to capture a nationwide student demographic. The move pivots from the club’s initial localised face-to-face dual diploma delivery at the Penn Centre of Excellence in Brookvale.

Commencing in the first week of August 2026, the newly scaled curriculum allows participants across Australia to undertake the nationally recognised Diploma of Leadership and Management (BSB50420). The digital delivery model features interactive evening sessions structured two nights per week, purposefully engineered to offer maximum flexibility for working professionals, coaches, and athletes.

To maintain premium asset value, distance learners will integrate directly with the club’s corporate structure through exclusive digital touchpoints, industry projects, and executive guest speaker experiences.

Emphasising that the expansion directly aligns with the club’s broader commercial and community pathway objectives, Sea Eagles Sports Business Academy head of Education & Foundation , Tim Gee, said: “The response to our Sports Business Academy has been incredibly strong and we’re excited to now provide an option for people who may not be able to attend face-to-face delivery at Brookvale.”

“This online leadership program allows students from anywhere in Australia to connect with the Sea Eagles brand and gain practical leadership and management capability through the lens of professional sport,” Gee said. 

TAFE Queensland manager of Academy of Sport, Don Harley, reinforced that the partnership’s next phase matches modern shifting consumer demands within the highly competitive tertiary sports education market.

“What we’ve seen over the past few years is that students are looking for flexibility, but they still want connection to industry and strong brand alignment.”

“The Sea Eagles have built a really authentic education environment and this next phase of the partnership allows us to extend that opportunity to a much broader audience,” Harley said. 

From an academic perspective, TAFE Queensland educators will deliver the coursework through a lens highly contextualised to high-performance sporting environments. Enrolled students will thoroughly analyse core operational competencies, exploring leadership, emotional intelligence, corporate communication, risk mitigation, and strategic team management via real-world rugby league case studies. Furthermore, eligible Queensland-based participants can access fully subsidised training avenues backed by the State Government’s Fee-Free TAFE scheme.

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