Team sports | Sport at University College Birmingham

If you are interested in team sports, then UCB has an option for you

We are affiliated with the British Universities and Colleges Sports (BUCS), the national governing body for Higher Education sport, who offer a wide range of inter-university leagues across 100’s of sports. UCB currently participate in Men’s Football, Men’s Basketball, Men’s and Women’s Volleyball, Women’s Netball, Jiu Jitsu, Women’s Football and Men’s Cricket in the summer term.

Our outdoor football teams are based at Avery Fields. Training, usually on Monday evenings, and matches, Wednesday afternoons, take place on their all-weather 4G pitch. Our cricket team trains and plays at Pickwick Cricket Centre (pre-season) and Aston Manor Cricket Club during the outdoor season.

Our indoor sports are based in our sports hall, based at the Maltings halls of residence, with training taking place throughout the week, and matches taking place on Wednesday afternoons and evenings. Jiu Jitsu participate in two national events per year and two grading per year.

UCB Men’s Football 1 reached the Finals of the BUCS Conference Trophy in the 2025/26 season!

Stay up to date by following @ucb_team_sports on Instagram.

Basketball (men’s) @ucb.basketball
Our men’s team competes in Tier 4 of BUCS.
Cricket (men’s) @ucb_cricket
Our men’s team compete in Tier 4 of BUCS for the outdoor league.
Football (men’s) @ucbfootballsociety
Our men’s team competes in Tier 5 of BUCS.
Jiu-Jitsu (mixed) @ucbjiujitsu
Jiu Jitsu have multiple gradings through the year, as well as competing in two national events.

Netball (women’s) @ucbnetball
Our women’s team competes in Tier 7 of BUCS.
Football (women's) @ucbwomensfootball
Our new women’s team is looking to compete in a local development league against other universities.
Volleyball (men’s and women’s) @ucbvolleyball
Both men’s and women’s volleyball compete in BUCS - Tier 3 (men) and Tier 3 (women).
Each team will have weekly training with a professional coach, with competitive matches being held most Wednesday afternoons.

Annual membership per team

The price includes:

BUCS and other league affiliations
Facility hire for training and matches
Equipment
Branded match kit
Transport
Insurance
Professional coaching
Strength and Conditioning (once per week, HPC Moss House)
Team T-shirt (new members)
Sports Therapy (via SEM Clinic) at no charge

Register your interest

To register your interest (pre-enrolment), follow the link here, leave us your details and we’ll be in touch in September giving you all the details about taster sessions, trials and much more.

To register your interest (post-enrolment), follow the link here, or visit our Guild of Students.

Create your account (if not previously done)
Search for your sport from the society list.
See the details of the society, then add your interest to basket.
Go to your basket and checkout.

Your details will be added to the society lists and you will receive more details. Feel free to do this and attend any sessions organised by your society. To participate in training and matches in season (starting first week of October), you must have paid your membership fee, accepted your invite to the sport team canvas page, and completed your team agreement.

A calendar of events with the sports teams will be released when it is finalised during August.

Other societies are available via our Guild of Students. Details can be found here.

Pole Fitness @ucbpolefitness)
Cheerleading @ucbcheerleading)

Our fitness facilities (Insta: @ucbgym) are open for all students to join. Follow the link here to find out about our state-of-the-art gym at Moss House.

Recreational Sports, Societies and Facilities

Additional recreational sports will be advertised at our Welcome Event in September. Other societies are available via our Guild of Students. Details can be found here.

Our fitness facilities are open for all students to join. Follow the link here to learn about our state-of-the-art gym at Moss House. For the latest updates, you can also follow the Gym on Instagram.

Individual Athletes

BUCS offer various opportunities for individual athletes to compete in events throughout the year. Details can be found on the BUCS website.

If you compete in any individual events, please contact me directly where we can discuss dates and the entry processes.

Contact – bucs@ucb.ac.uk

Sporting Excellence Scholarships

If you are an ‘Elite’ or ‘Talented’ performer, you may be eligible to apply for a Sporting Excellence Scholarship. The university offers up to 6 Sporting Excellence Scholarships per year.

For further details, click here.

Varsity

Varsity Sports Festival, where University College Birmingham goes head-to-head with the University of Wolverhampton and Birmingham Newman University, took place on 25 March 2026, hosted by WLV Sport, Walsall Campus.

Varsity allows not only our sports teams to showcase their talents in a fun but competitive setting, but also offers social sports such as dodgeball and pickleball. In addition, we offer many student opportunities such as first aid, sport therapy and sport management to be part of the day.

In 2026, we had over 80 students from UCB take part at Varsity (229 in total from three universities), either playing or volunteering in the following categories:

First aid (Sport Therapy)
Mascot Race (Guild of Students)
Men’s Basketball
Men’s Football
Social Sports (Dodgeball, Touch Rugby and Badminton)
Women’s Football
Women’s Netball

The overall result from the 2026 Varsity was:

Birmingham Newman University: 13 points
University College Birmingham: 13.5 points (2026 CHAMPIONS)
University of Wolverhampton: 12.5 points

Discover more

Guild of Students

Run by students, for students. As soon as you enrol at University College Birmingham, whatever level you are studying at, you automatically become a member of the Guild.

Accommodation

Our halls of accommodation, The Maltings, is located at the heart of Birmingham, close to our campuses and a wealth of shops, restaurants and bars.

Living in Birmingham

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International students

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