FIFA Master Rugby Union field visit to Twickenham

The 82,000 seat Twickenham stadium was the final field visit of the FIFA Master Humanities of Sport module for this academic year. Twickenham is the home of the Rugby Football Union (RFU) and is the largest dedicated rugby union venue in the world. It is the headquarters of the England national team and also hosts domestic finals, European Cup finals and also major concerts throughout the year.  

The afternoon visit began with a tour of this landmark stadium and the chance to visit the England dressing rooms. As the England team is currently preparing for a busy schedule of autumn international fixtures against Fiji, Australia, South Africa and New Zealand this was an exciting opportunity to explore the inner workings of an international rugby venue.

During the Leicester module of the FIFA Master, the 13th edition class have attended lectures on the history of rugby, visited Rugby School and also Leicester Tigers Rugby Club. The class also experienced a European Cup match between Leicester Tigers and the Welsh Ospreys team.

FIFA Master Module Co-ordinator James Panter said, “After the football World Cup and the Olympic Games, the rugby union World Cup has grown to become arguably the third biggest global tournament. With the World Cup in England in 2015 it is important that we include rugby as part of our module and we are lucky to have such a big club as Leicester Tigers here in the city.”

The afternoon at Twickenham also included a visit to the World Rugby Museum and presentations on the commercial aspects of the RFU.

CIES and De Montfort University would like to thank the World Rugby Museum and the RFU for making the 13th edition FIFA Master class so welcome.