Costa Rica: Students from the FIFA/CIES International Programme present their projects and receive their diplomas
Students from the 17th edition of the FIFA/CIES International Programme in Sports Management organised by the University of Costa Rica (UCR) recently presented their group projects to an ad hoc jury. At the end of this final ‘test’, they received their diplomas, thus bringing to a close, studies which they had begun last February.
This year, the thirty-one students came from Costa Rica, Guatemala, Honduras, Puerto Rico and El Salvador. For seven months, they took part in two face-to-face sessions in San José and followed online courses on the main aspects of contemporary sports management.
The design of their projects allowed them to put into practice certain lessons learned to respond to a local issue or need by proposing innovative, realistic and concrete recommendations and solutions.
The projects addressed the following topics: the implementation of a sports programme to prevent juvenile delinquency, a plan to reduce violence among supporters in football stadiums, the organisation of karate camps to encourage and develop promising talent, the design of a comprehensive training programme for Central American footballers, the development of a physical activity and ergonomics programme for a specific city, the creation of a marketing plan for a football club and the creation of an anti-doping digital platform for young athletes (U15 and U17).
The graduation ceremony, which was marked by solemnity and good humour, was attended by Carlos Araya Leandro, Rector UCR; José Moncada Jiménez, Vice-Rector for Research UCR; Gustavo Araya Carvajal, Secretary General of the Costa Rican Football Federation; Judith Jiménez Díaz, Director of the UCR School of Physical Education and Sport; Francisco Rubio, CIES Scientific Coordinator; Isaura Castillo Hernández, General Coordinator of the UCR/FIFA/CIES International Network Programme; Margarita Echeverría Bermúdez, CIES Coordinator in Costa Rica; programme professors Alfredo Quiros, Blanca Gutiérrez and Sergio Rivera; and members of the organising team Paola Barboza Elizondo, Mario Coto and Yamileth Chacón.
Congratulations to the new graduates! We are confident that they will quickly put their new knowledge and experience to good use for the development of their organisation, but also for the sports industry in general. We would also like to express our gratitude to all those involved in organising and teaching the programme in Costa Rica. Their work, carried out for more than seventeen years, has made the FIFA/CIES International University Network Programme a benchmark in the country and the region.
