FIFA Master 15th edition: April summary

After a much deserved break which saw fellow class mates returning home for a few home comforts, exploring new cultures, escaping to secluded retreats, or chasing the elusive Spring sun, we bid farewell to the culinary delights of Milan and ventured to our new home away from home, Neuchâtel. Admittedly, it was a bit of a culture shock coming from the buzzing city life of Milan to the quiet and seemingly uninhabited Swiss city. However, we soon discovered the charm of our new home and that when the sun is shining there is no better place to be than lakeside.

And just like that we were back into the swing of lectures. Besides the necessary admin associated with moving to a new country, our first week included an introduction to law by Professor Probst where we had lengthy debates about the legal interpretation of seemingly non-contentious words like “car”. We also heard from Professor Mavroidis in relation to the difficulties associated with aligning EU law and sports specific statutes. In addition, we learnt about the general structure of sport, Swiss association law, and the structure of the IOC from Professor Oswald.

During this first week we were warmly welcomed over a drink (or two) by professors, alumni and the charismatic owner of neighbouring bar and restaurant, Au Galop. No doubt we will be back given the close proximity to the university and the infectious nature of the staff!

Fortunately, the Easter break fell at the end of our first week, which enabled us to ease back into the third, and final (!), module. The long weekend allowed for plenty of exploring, sightseeing, trekking, group fitness sessions, settling in, and unpacking.

In the following week we explored the theme of “sporting governing bodies” further and heard from Vincent Monnier in relation to the organisation of international federations such as FIFA and FIBA, and Matthias Berg, a former multiple Paralympic gold medallist, regarding the unique nature of the Paralympics. Next we tackled UEFA Club Licensing and Financial Fair Play with Andrea Traverso from UEFA. To conclude our second week we were treated to guest lectures from alumni now working at the European Club Association and the European Professional Football Leagues.

So that was our first sub-module done and dusted. We kicked off the second sub-module by hearing from Daniel Mägerle regarding the legal status of a sportsperson. One of the highlights of this class was the mock arbitration performed by the lawyers in class. After that we immersed ourselves in the FIFA Regulations of Player Agents and Transfer of Players with Omar Ongaro, Head of Player’s Status and Governance at FIFA. We quickly learnt that perhaps we are all embarking on the wrong career path after examining the incomes of some player agents! A highlight of the week was listening to the award winning CIES International University Network presentation by a group from Venezuela passionate about ensuring young baseball players with a dream to go professional are also afforded the right to an education.

Before our first field trip we learnt about the different requirements different sports have in relation to sporting nationality and qualification rules from Omar Ongaro and then about the overriding notion of personality rights in Swiss law by Claude Ramoni.

The following day it was a 5am start to take the bus to the home of FIFA in Zurich. The early start was no match for dampening the excitement levels when we arrived at the headquarters. After an entertaining welcome by CIES President Bertrand Reeb the morning presentations began. The departments that presented included Corporate Communications, Sustainability and HR. After the morning discussions FIFA employees and alumni joined us for a delicious lunch consisting of Swiss specialties. Following lunch we heard from each of the departments in which internship positions are being offered to our class, Competitions, Marketing and Member Associations & Development. Each of these presentations left no doubt in our minds that every member of our class will be applying for the positions offered.

The highlight of the day for us was probably not the football matches that followed… both the Pink Panthers and Panthers going down to stronger FIFA teams on the day. Nevertheless, player of the day trophies were still awarded to very worthy recipients – Emma Twigg and Pedro Cavalcanti. Dinner and drinks were very welcome after playing in the rain.

Our third week commenced with an overview of the American system of sport with alumni Ashley Ehlert from the International Ice Hockey Federation. Highlights of this class were the negotiations regarding a collective employment agreement and whether or not the NCAA system should pay college athletes. Needless to say with one American and a number of ‘pseudo Americans’ in the class there was some heated debate.

Before we knew it, our second field trip was upon us – this time to the IOC in Lausanne. The morning kicked off with presentations in the areas of HR, the Olympic Movement and the Sports Department. With the IOC receiving over 10,000 job applications per year we were left with a big challenge to distinguish ourselves should we wish to apply to work at the IOC. After lunch we heard from the departments of the Olympic Games, TV and Marketing and Legal Affairs. To conclude the Director General, Mr Christophe De Kepper, shared his views regarding the challenges he can see sport facing in the future – ensuring it remains attractive and competitive within the rapidly evolving entertainment industry.

The remainder of the week was dedicated to exploring intellectual property rights with George Humphrey and Je?rome Pernet, as well as practicing our negotiation skills in relation to sponsorship, merchandising and licensing agreements with Professor Probst and Jason Smith.

Next week will conclude the second sub-module and the month of April, which means we are rapidly nearing July and the end of the course. It’s hard to believe as in some ways it feels like just yesterday that we were all arriving in Leicester. This being so, there is still plenty to do and to look forward to in the coming months and we have no doubt that besides coming to grips with the legal aspects of sport, working on our final group projects, and searching for jobs, any free time we have will be spent lakeside.

Rebecca Hooper and Francisco Diaz