THE FINAL SPRINT
Just a couple more weeks and lectures for the twenty-six students of the FIFA Master 23rd edition will be over. Yes, after that, we still have one more month in Switzerland to work on our Final Projects, but we will no longer be able to attend interesting classroom-based sessions and engage in discussions with our speakers any longer. And that hits straight into the left side of the chest, because it means it is the beginning of the end for our current academic journey.
Our once-in-a-lifetime adventure has entered the final sprint. We have arrived at this point much quicker than expected, much quicker than desired and much quicker than we wanted.
Shortly, the members of this edition will move to their next destination in the sporting world. Big, small, public, private, local and international organizations await us, and each one of those will be lucky to get hold of the vast knowledge and experience that we have accumulated so far and which we will be carrying for the rest of our careers. Sorry, let me clarify - our lives!
Nevertheless, I should make it clear this last month was tough! The weight of everything multiplied. The next class of the 24th edition should take note! At this point, the sun may be finally out to brighten and warm the already beautiful Swiss town of Neuchâtel, but the feeling sometimes is to be under the weather. Indeed, passing the Sports Law module at the Université de Neuchâtel, stepping on the gas for our Final Project research writing, and managing job applications can be hard. You can add to that the increasing nostalgia of wanting to see friends, family and even pets at home after such a long time. Put all that in the mixing pot and it can be a dizzy combination.
However, the best way to get through these tough moments is with the support of your brothers and sisters in arms (hence, classmates), since everybody is in the same boat.
We have been together for almost ten months now and in that period, inexplicable and unbreakable bonds have been created. We now know what hurts and what heals. Going for a walk or a run lakeside, playing football at dawn, having a cold drink laying on the grass to celebrate that one of us secured a job… All balms for the soul.
Also, the field visits we have been fortunate to attend during this month have certainly helped too! Exploring the massive and elegant facilities of both the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and Union of European Football Associations (UEFA), along with gaining a taste of their operation and functionality, definitely ignited a spark and was a big breath of fresh air.
This month we continue to have some of those exciting moments to look out for. One of them is the meeting (and football match) with the FIFA Master Alumni Association (FMA), which is shaping up to be a cool community gathering. We have met really nice, smart and talented people along the way, people that had already gone through this prestigious programme. Therefore, we are happy to host them in our current hometown and to share our different experiences through the timeline.
And about the timeline, there are less than 50 days until graduation left. So, there are only two more articles like this one left in the tank. Don’t miss them, because this is the final sprint of the unique 23rd edition FIFA Master class.
David Goldberg (Costa Rica), FIFA Master 23rd edition student.
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, 2021 and 2022 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).
