FIFA Master Class Update: Bienvenue à Neuchatel

After a well-deserved week off, the 14th Edition once again joined forces in Neuchatel, the home of CIES, to begin the final chapter of the course – the sports law module.

Whilst the transition from the “Fashion Capital of the World” (Milan) to the tranquillity of Neuchatel was a definite change of pace, our class has made the most of the unseasonably warm weather and picturesque setting to ensure that we remained as social as ever. This was evident in the first outing of the module, the aperitif at local watering hole Au Galop, where we had the chance to bond with the staff from CIES and explore some of the “nightlife” Neuchatel has to offer.

On the content side of things, we have already received a number of valuable insights into the legal issues facing sport governing bodies, clubs and athletes from some of the biggest experts in sports law, including organisations such as FIFA, the IOC, UEFA and the top Swiss law firms specialising in sports law. During these interactive presentations, we discussed and debated many of the key current topics, such as the UEFA Financial Fair Play and Club Licensing System, FIFA regulations around player agents and the transfer of players, and the law relating to employment contracts between professional athletes and clubs. One of the lectures we will certainly remember fondly was the very inspirational presentation about the Paralympic movement from M. Berg of the International Paralympic Committee.

Outside of the classroom, the class was treated to visits to some of the most important international federations in sports, including FIFA, the IOC, UEFA and FIBA. Each of these organisations were most generous in granting us access to staff from all parts of their operations.

Most recently, our class also participated in the inaugural Work In Sport Exhibition (WISE) conference in Lausanne. This presented us with the opportunity to do some networking with people in the sports industry whilst also promoting our course. However, events quickly overtook this second task, when the FIFA Master received the award for the best sports management course in the world whilst we were at the conference. This proved to be an excellent way to promote the success of the course!

In terms of sporting results, the following day at FIFA, we came up against their football team in the traditional annual friendly between the best of FIFA and our class (in our case, we use the term “best” rather loosely), for the first time in both a men’s and women’s game. Our men’s team were “consistent” in their results, but thankfully the women’s team avenged our defeat with a first-up win, scoring a crucial penalty in the dying stages of the game to snatch victory from the jaws of a draw. This inspirational performance seemed to have a knock-on effect with our mixed-gender football team, then managing to snatch a draw from the jaws of defeat against team UEFA.

Buoyed by our recent on-field footballing performances, our class is now ready to “tackle” the second half in Neuchatel. Another update to follow soon!