Experience the FIFA Master Milan feeling: two months with our students

The FIFA Master experience in Milano reached the halfway stage by focusing on two interesting and outstanding sub-modules: Sports Marketing and Strategic Sports Management. These sub-modules gave us the opportunity to explore the most important elements within a sports organization and to develop the skills needed to make such organizations more successful.

Different marketing areas have been explained, covering everything from general web content, design concepts, sponsoring, branding and brand equity to the organizational lifecycle of an organization. All of these are key factors in understanding the working environment of potential future employers.

In addition, we have been introduced to the importance of Strategy as the main tool we have for reaching success even when superior talent or resources are not available. This sub-module focused on the fundamental steps we have to consider in order to make the best possible decisions. Situation analysis, strategic planning and strategy implementation must all be considered to ensure the future success of an organization.

As in the previous sub-modules, core academic lectures have been supplemented with great guest speakers who have provided excellent practical examples of the theories studied in class. So far we have met senior executives such as Franco Morelli from RCS Sport, who explained to us the marketing strategies implemented to promote the Giro d'Italia. Nicola Verdun shared his experiences as head of global partnerships of Juventus FC and Alfredo Mastropasqua from the Italian Motorcycle Federation stressed the importance of a clear and coherent marketing strategy for organizations that rely mainly on registered members.

We have also had the pleasure to welcome Andrea Bassani, chief television and new media rights officer of Euroleague Basketball, as a visitor to the course. He totally enthralled us with his explanation of the birth of Euroleague Basketball, its regulations and the league's ability to capture the interest of the public and increase its value, especially in terms of media coverage. His presentation added great value to our understanding as he was able to clearly explain the practical implementation of all the concepts we had previously studied in class.

Giuseppe Rizzello shared with us his extensive experience and knowledge of venue organization and management gained while working at important sporting events such as the FIFA World Cup and UEFA Champions League. Giacomo Ovidi, who is the commercial director for the Milan EXPO 2015 later, gave us an insight into the different industries he has worked for during a long professional career. This was an important session as we were able to see both the connections and differences between very diverse industry sectors. This will be an important skill in terms of becoming managers with a 360 degree perspective.

Our learning was further enhanced with guest speakers that are former FIFA Master students and who are now successful managers in their own fields. For example, Marcelo Cordeiro spoke to us about his role at the high profile sports company IMG, while David Fowler, who now works for the marketing department at FIFA, explained to us the marketing philosophy of the federation. We also had the chance to talk to Michael Gandler, founder and president of his successful company, Major League Revenue, and to Court Jeske who spent all day with us lecturing on the MLS (Major League Soccer) model.

We have also had the opportunity to visit leading companies such as Ferrari - as one of the most recognizable brands in the world today – and Dallara and Red Bull. The Ferrari company visit included a visit to the museum, where history and passion help to move the company towards the future. Here a lecture was given by the head of the new business department, Michele Pignatti.

The Dallara visit was held inside their factory and we had the chance to see the high-tech tools used to “seek excellence”, as stated by the company motto. We were also lucky to be able to talk to senior executives such as head of human resources, Filippo Di Gregorio and CEO and general manager Andrea Pontremoli who offered precious career advice to the class. We were also invited to observe their engineers as they tested new parts created by their race simulator.

A few days later Red Bull Italia showed us magnificent images and videos through which they promote their activities and their most important product - the actual drinks can.

It should be noted that the objective of this wonderful programme is not only to develop our academic skills and learning but also to broaden our cultural awareness and general knowledge. We are grateful, therefore, to SDA Bocconi for arranging a special visit for the class to the Brera Art Gallery, containing one of the most important art collections in Italy.

Finally, we are thankful to the FIFA Master Alumni Association (FMA) for introducing to us a new recruitment programme - the FMA Career Development Partnership Programme. This new initiative is designed to help us find the perfect match for our skills and competences as we plan our future careers within the sports industry.

Helena and Gianluca