20 years of the FIFA Master
This anniversary, which was held over two days at the Home of FIFA in Zurich, was an opportunity for knowledge sharing, social activities, reconnecting with old friends and the chance to make new ones too for the 100 alumni who had travelled from around the world to take part. All COVID restrictions and travel requirements were fully respected by everybody in attendance, but for those who were still unable to travel, this was the first ever hybrid World Gathering, using a digital environment especially created for participants to access.
The programme of activities commenced on Friday 10th September with a high-level conference organised by CIES and with welcome speeches from FIFA President, Gianni Infantino (please click here to rewatch it), the President of the CIES Council of Foundation, Pierre Cornu and FMA President, Julian Smith. The Sport & Future Conference celebrated the 20th anniversary of the FIFA Master by inviting several prominent alumni to present and participate in panels and presentations which discussed some of the most relevant topics in the sports arena at the moment.
Panel 1: Women in Sport
Aine Power, FEI Deputy Legal Director, Alumna 11th Edition
Neikelle Moore, Emerson Collective Director of Budget & Management for Sports Investment, Alumna 11th Edition
Francesca Sanzone, FIGC Head of Women’s Division, Alumna 3rd Edition
Honey Thaljieh, FIFA Corporate Communications Manager, Alumna 12th Edition
Moderator: Prof. Pierre Lanfranchi, De Montfort University, Leicester
To rewatch Panel 1 please click here
Panel 2: From the Field of Play to the Office: Career Transition in Sport
Emma Twigg, Olympic Champion in Tokyo 2020 and former manager at the IOC, Alumna 15th Edition
Ji-Sung Park, Football Legend and Manchester United Ambassador, Alumnus 17th Edition
Damien Mollard, Head of office & operations Swiss National football team and former football player, Alumnus 10th Edition
Massimo Busacca, FIFA Chief of Refereeing and former international football referee
Moderator: Prof. Dino Ruta, SDA Bocconi, Milan
To rewatch Panel 2 please click here
FIFA World Cup: 14 months to go
Luca Santaniello, FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 Group Leader
Why we do what we do: an insight into FIFA’s flagship development programme
Jair Bertoni, FIFA Director of Member Associations Americas, Alumnus 5th Edition
Panel 3: Future challenges for the football transfer system
Paolo Lombardi, Sport Lawyer and Founder of Lombardi Associates, Alumnus 3rd Edition
Emilio Garcia, FIFA Chief Legal and Compliance Officer
Raffaele Poli, Head of CIES Football Observatory
Moderator: James Kitching, FIFA Director of Football Regulatory, Alumnus 12th Edition
To rewatch Panel 3 please click here
The conference was concluded by Kimberly Morris, FIFA Chief People, Technology & Operations Officer and closing remarks from Prof. Denis Oswald, CIES Director and Vincent Schatzmann, CIES General Secretary highlighting the CIES 25th Anniversary Interactive History Book.
The day then ended with the traditional friendly football match between the FMA and FIFA employees.
Saturday 11th September was then organized by the FMA Committee. Bringing so many alumni together in one place (both physically and online) presented an important opportunity for the FMA Committee not only to report on its current strategy and the work of its members, but also to listen first-hand to what its members had to say and how this can contribute to the future growth of the association. Hence the organization of the FMA Congress in the morning part of the programme, with the participation of alumni from all continents of Africa, Americas, Asia, Europe and Oceania. This panel included 15th edition graduate, Emma Twigg, who had recently returned from winning an Olympic Gold medal at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics in the Women’s Single Sculls rowing event.
This was truly a special event as part of the CIES 25th anniversary celebrations!
FIFA Master - International Master in Management, Law and Humanities of Sport, ranked No.1 Course in Europe 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020 and 2021 by the SportBusiness International global rankings.
Organised by CIES in partnership with De Montfort University (United Kingdom), SDA Bocconi School of Management (Italy) and the University of Neuchâtel (Switzerland).
