FIFA Master alumni – Where are they now? – Ashley Ehlert

Picture: Technical Delegate for ice hockey at the 2018 Olympic Winter Games in PyeongChang, Korea and former IIHF Sport Director, Dave Fitzpatrick and Legal Director – International Ice Hockey Federation, Ashley Ehlert

Ashley Ehlert

Year of graduation: 2009 (9th Edition)

Current Position: Legal Director – International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF)

Nationality: American

What does your current role involve?

As Legal Director for the International Ice Hockey Federation I handle all legal and integrity aspects related to operating a global sports federation. During my time at the IIHF I have worked on, and continue to work within, a variety of projects including the forming of a European ice hockey league, drafting and negotiating global sponsorships, broadcasting and commercial rights agreements, reformulating the IIHF governance and disciplinary structures, implementing a global trademark protection and licensing programme, managing all IIHF cases before the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) and, most recently, assisting the IIHF in realizing new media and big data opportunities within ice hockey. In addition to handling all IIHF legal and integrity aspects, I am the Secretary to the IIHF Legal Committee and the Secretary for the IIHF Disciplinary Board.

Which aspects of the FIFA Master course have helped you most in your career?

As I am a North American Lawyer who, at the time of taking the FIFA Master Programme, had only worked within North American sports structures, the law section was obviously the most invaluable aspect of the FIFA Master course for me. I can say, undoubtedly, that without the law module delving deeply into not only the practical, but also the theoretical aspects of the European sports law system, I would not be able to do my job today.

What advice would you give to future students on the course?

The best advice I can give future students is not to take for granted any module or aspect of the FIFA Master programme. For example, I can remember sitting in Leicester listening to a lecture on some historical aspect of sport, thinking to myself, “I will never use this information.” However, after graduating from the programme and working in sports, I now understand that it was not the historical story itself that was so valuable but the lessons we can learn from sports history. I now take those historical lessons learned and use them in my daily job. Therefore, students should trust in the programme and trust in the highly experienced lecturers and academic advisors who have created the FIFA Master and, most importantly, students should be aware that they never know when a section of the programme which they might previously have believed to be irrelevant at the time, will actually later be essential to the success of their future career in sport.

FIFA Master - International Master in Management, Law and Humanities of Sport, ranked No.1 Course in Europe 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2017 and 2018 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).

Discover more examples of inspiring FIFA Master alumni career paths by clicking here.