City Football Group and the “FIFA Master” 17th edition Class

The 17th edition class of the “FIFA Master” - International MA in Management, Law and Humanities of Sport had the chance to undertake a truly memorable visit to Manchester City FC at the start of November. The specially arranged visit allowed the current “FIFA Master” class to learn more about the hugely impressive City Football Group (CFG) project which now consists of the Manchester City FC, New York City FC, Melbourne City FC and Yokohama F. Marinos clubs.

The state of the art City Football Academy (CFA) was the first destination for the class. On arrival they were met by “FIFA Master” 13th edition Alumni, Alexander Staehelin, who is the Infrastructure Commercial Manager at the club. The class were also fortunate that during the day of the visit they were able to meet with Manchester City Football Club Chief Operating Officer, Omar Berrada, and “FIFA Master” 3rd edition Alumni, David Tang, who has recently been appointed as the Managing Director of CFG China.

During a busy day of presentations by senior club representatives, the class were able to learn more about the various operations of Manchester City FC. This included presentations on areas of the club such as Legal Affairs, Corporate Social Responsibility, Manchester City Women’s Football Team, Research and Insight, Finance, and Matchday Operations.

Following a tour of the state of the art City Football Academy facilities, the class transferred to the Etihad Stadium for the chance to view the main stadium technical area, hospitality suites and both home and away player dressing rooms.

This special visit concluded with the opportunity for the class to support Manchester City FC Women in a 1-0 victory over Brondby IF in the Women’s Champions League match played that evening.

The academic team at the International Centre for Sports History and Culture, Leicester, and the CIES in Switzerland who provide overall course co-ordination, send their sincere thanks to everybody at Manchester City FC for making the 17th edition class so welcome and for such an important contribution to the course. We are proud of our strong relationship with the club and the ongoing links with the “FIFA Master”.