A Brock University Sport Management graduate is working logistics for one of the world’s largest sporting events.

Tyler Harrison (BSM ’14, MA ’18) is on the ground level helping the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 come together in time for the international tournament, which kicks off Nov. 20.

A total of 32 teams will compete in 65 matches across eight venues in Qatar, which is the first World Cup ever to be held in an Arab country. It will also be the second World Cup for the Canadian men’s national soccer team.

“The experiences at Brock were pivotal in shaping my current career path,” said Harrison, who started working for the World Cup in June 2021. “Brock University and the Sport Management program were a catalyst that ignited me to search out roles beyond Canada.”

Brock Sport Management graduate Tyler Harrison is working at the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar as a Host Country Logistics Site Manager.

Harrison is responsible for delivering to sites surrounding one of the eight venues, Education City Stadium in the city of Al Rayyan, as a Host Country Logistics Site Manager.

He manages key stakeholder relations with more than 15 different functional areas to make sure they have what they need to operate during the tournament, which runs from Nov. 20 to Dec. 18.

Harrison and the logistics team look after furniture, fixtures and equipment for areas such as transport, last mile, cleaning and waste, and Fan ID.

“I love that the greater logistics family is made up of 70-plus people from more than 40 different countries,” he said.

A former student-athlete with the Brock varsity baseball team, Harrison discovered a local baseball and softball league upon arriving in Qatar. Just two weeks later, he was running a development camp for more than 60 children who have never played the sport before.

“It’s rewarding to introduce the fundamentals of baseball to kids who have never experienced the sport before,” said Harrison, who spent six years as a baseball academy clinic instructor with the Toronto Blue Jays. “Though the Qatari summers can reach over 45 degrees, the country’s winter months are comparable to Canada’s summers, which is optimal to play.”

Tyler Harrison (far left) is helping to teach the game of baseball to children in Qatar through a development camp.

Before landing with the World Cup, he served as a Graduate Student and Teaching Assistant at the University and worked in Brock Sports as a Camps and Clubs Co-ordinator.

Harrison’s interest in events was sparked after working several Brock Badgers sporting events as a student, including the Steel Blade Classic, Paint the Meridian Red and playoff games in Bob Davis Gymnasium. His Brock experience was complemented with travel to the United States and work on conference and national championships with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA).

He then worked on the early organization of the Niagara 2022 Canada Summer Games before departing in 2020.

“I’ve had some great mentors during my time at Brock University as well as with the Canada Summer Games,” Harrison said. “These individuals taught me the right way to manage and lead others while always striving to get better every day. Without these people, I wouldn’t be working at one of the world’s largest international sporting events.”

Harrison strives to work the World Cup in 2026 when the tournament is hosted by Canada, Mexico and the United States.