FIFA MASTER ALUMNI - WHERE ARE THEY NOW? - PEMA CHODEN TSHERING

Pema Choden Tshering

Current Position: Head of Women’s Football (Bhutan Football Federation)

Year of graduation: 2021 (21st edition)

Nationality: Bhutanese

What does your current role involve?

When I first joined the Federation in 2022 after completing the FIFA Master, Women’s Football was based within the Technical Department. However, we have recently become our own independent department - but still work closely with the Technical Department, along with the other departments within the organisation. We also have a girl’s academy in the southern part of the country accommodating close to seventy girls with both technical and support staff of around fifteen people. I assist the Academy Director with administration and managing the Academy. I also act as the bridge between the Technical Department (Head office in the Capital) and the Academy.

Broadly speaking, my main responsibility is to grow the women’s game in the country with a primary focus on getting more girls playing. In a few years, and with increased participation, I hope to also help raise the standard of the game in the country and our performances internationally. I am currently more focused on the administrative side of the job and, therefore, I am always looking for projects offered by FIFA and the AFC for capacity building of our coaches, players and league development. For example, FIFA’s Women’s Development Programme has been a great resource to fully immerse myself in the landscape of women’s football in the country. I also work quite closely with our Competition and Technical department to ensure that we have a clearly defined player pathway and competition pyramid for our girls. My next task is to work more closely with our Media and Marketing Department in communication planning and looking for sponsors/investors to support women’s football in our country. As a small federation, we are financially restricted.

Apart from this role, I am also very honoured to still be playing for the Bhutan Women’s National Team myself.

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

The FIFA Master opens your eyes to the vast global sporting ecosystem. It gives you a solid foundation from which you can then build upon with the experiences and knowledge gained as you start your professional career.

I still find myself referring a lot to my course materials and lecture notes, such as strategic planning from our Milan module, to learning about the professionalisation of sport from our Leicester module and gaining a better understanding of contracts and statutes from our Switzerland module to just name a few examples.

It goes without saying that the international composition of my classmates was another major plus factor. I still reach out to a few of classmates as and when I need to for their advice or suggestions. 

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

Don’t take the opportunity of being on the FIFA Master for granted. Make the very most of it but also enjoy the places where you are located for study. Your surroundings can provide just as much knowledge and experiences as you get out of the lectures and the books you will need to read.

FIFA Master - International Master in Management, Law and Humanities of Sport, ranked  Europe's No.1 course a record 11 times by SportBusiness.

Organised by CIES in partnership with De Montfort University (UK), SDA Bocconi School of Management (Italy) and the University of Neuchâtel (Switzerland).