FIFA MASTER ALUMNI - WHERE ARE THEY NOW? - GOMEZGANI ZAKAZAKA

Gomezgani Zakazaka

Current Position: Competitions and Communications Director- Football Association of Malawi

Year of graduation: 2018 (18th edition)

Nationality: Malawian

What does your current role involve?

When I applied for the FIFA Master in 2017, I was working as Competitions and Media Manager for the Football Association of Malawi. I was given study leave to attend the Master and upon return in August 2018 I was promoted to the position of Competitions and Communications Director.

From the Competitions perspective my role is about planning and delivery of Football Competitions in Malawi.  I am directly responsible for the implementation of three National Cup Competitions which involves management of around 156 matches a season. Among various activities, my role includes implementing the Competition’s regulations, decisions of the Executive Committee, match preparation and operations, management of the football calendar and all competition related events. On top of that, I play a leading role in supervising, advising and monitoring the delivery of competitions run on behalf of the FA, and by member Associations like the Elite League, Women’s Football, Beach Soccer and Youth Football. I am also responsible for leading the Local Team in delivery of home international matches.

In my role as Head of Communications, I focus on implementing the FA’s Communications Policy and Strategy. Also, since April 2020 I have been appointed as the FA’s COVID-19 Task Force Lead. For this, I am responsible for coordinating all COVID-19 Football initiatives such as the management of the COVID-19 Relief Fund and the Football Re-start Programme.

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

The time I spent in Europe on the course opened my eyes to how big world sport is as an industry. You can’t ask for anything better to help you grasp the ever-evolving international sports scene than being on the FIFA Master. The structure of the Programme, with a combination of theory lectures from top professors, practical sessions with international sports industry leaders and hands on experience with visits to top sports institutions gave me an insight of what it takes to work in international sport. I went into the course as a very football only orientated administrator but came back as a modern multi-sport and more international manager.

The diversity of the class, with 25 nationalities from every part of the world, gave me a sense of what it means to work, understand, collaborate and succeed in a multicultural environment. That is what international sport is all about. But most importantly was the opportunity to be part of the incredible FIFA Master family. I consider myself lucky to be part of the alumni network which, in my opinion, gives the FIFA Master its biggest edge over other courses. This network gives you a very rare platform to make a lot of friends with people working at the very top of the sports industry across the world and who are always available to interact and offer support at just the click of a button.

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

First and foremost is to remember that, besides the fun you will have, the visits to famous sporting venues and trips across three European countries, it is not a tourism adventure but an academic one.  It is a journey to get a Master’s Degree that has been rated the best sports postgraduate programme in Europe for the past nine successive years. That tells you they have standards which one must attain to pass. So, study hard. But also have fun and make every interaction or activity count for the development and growth of your chosen sports career. And of course, the most common bit of advice they will get from every course alumni is don’t try too hard to impress and network with the guest speakers.

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).