Interview of Prof. Denis Oswald, CIES Director

Can you first tell us about yourself and your career path?

I was born in Neuchâtel, 66 years ago. I am married to Dominique who is a former member of the Swiss national tennis team and, like me, she is a lawyer. I have a son who is 27 years old and currently finishing his master in law and a brother who is two years older than me.

My early education was in Neuchâtel and this is also where I completed my university degree in Law. Following this, I moved to Zurich and then Cambridge universities to prepare for my doctorate which I was awarded from Neuchâtel University in 1977. Also during this period I completed my bar pupillage and after successful exams was admitted to the bar. From then on, I worked at a leading law firm in Neuchâtel as a partner and a few years later, took over the firm myself. I have always conducted my different activities in parallel, studying, practicing law and competing as an elite level rower until retiring from the sport in 1976. Being an athlete and a lawyer, I quickly became interested in sports law. I completed research in this area, published articles and gave lectures which resulted in the University of Neuchâtel inviting me to teach sports law to students. This course developed with the help of CIES and FIFA into a full chair of sports law and for which I became responsible.

With the creation of CIES in 1995 I was asked to become a member of the foundation board. In 2000 I was invited to become Director of CIES (part time) with my main focus on the International Master in Management, Law and Humanities of Sport (the ‘FIFA Master’) - both teaching and chair of the scientific committee. This is still one of my current activities.

In parallel, I regularly give lectures in sports law as part of the programme at Lausanne University as well as a Master at Sorbonne University, Paris, and a further Master at Zurich University.

Last year, I was required to give up my teaching role at Neuchâtel University due to age limit restrictions.

What links do you have with the sport world?

From a young age I have always been interested in sport and I was lucky to have the opportunity to attend ice hockey games and other sporting events with my father. At the age of 10, I started playing ice hockey with my local club.  Also, my family lived next to the Neuchâtel Rowing Club and I would regularly notice the rowing boats passing in front of our windows. I felt like trying the sport. I immediately enjoyed it and discovered a fantastic team spirit. I quickly started to participate in rowing competitions and eventually gave up ice hockey. However, this was only temporary as I later returned to ice hockey with the university team from 1969 until 1978. This was an activity which I very much enjoyed and became part of my winter training for rowing.

I was rather successful at rowing as I became three times junior national champion and thirteen times elite national champion (five of these titles being single sculls).  From 1967 to 1976, I was a member of the Swiss national squad and I participated at the Olympic Games in Mexico 1968 (Bronze medal), in Munich 1972 (8th ranked, olympic diploma) and Montreal in 1976 (8th ranked, olympic diploma).  As you can see, sport had a very important place in my life. Towards the end of my career, the then President of the International Rowing Federation (FISA) invited me to join the federation, at first to become Secretary General and later to be his successor as President. Therefore, without any transitional phase, I became involved in sports administration. I held the position of Secretary General for twelve years and I have now been President for nearly 25 years. However, I will give up this function in July 2014. I have also been Deputy Secretary General of the Swiss National Olympic Committee for many years.

In 1991, I was elected a member of the IOC. Within this organisation, I have been involved with many commissions and most notably with the Executive Board from 2000 until 2012, the Juridical Commission and Chair of the Coordination Commissions for the Athens 2004 and London 2012 Games. In 2001, I was elected President of the Association of the Summer Olympic Games International Federations (ASOIF). I held this position until 2012, when, after three terms, I was no longer eligible. Even though I have carried out these various functions on a voluntary basis, it is obvious that they have taken a good part of my life and that my link with the world of sport is strong and intense. In addition, I have always continued (and I still do) practice at least one hour of sport every day, mainly cycling.

Who is your favourite sportsman and why?

I have never really had a role model or an athlete that I have particularly worshipped. However, I have always admired various sports people because of their character, their personality or due to particular circumstances which have forced them to overcome severe injuries or significant defeats. I appreciate those who have had special hurdles to overcome and those who put into practice the true values of sport, such as respect of others and in particular of their opponents, humility in victories as well as those who use their public profile to support noble causes.

What are the main areas of expertise of the CIES?

CIES main activities focus on research, education and consulting. We are working in a multidisciplinary context as we deal with law, sociology, history, geography and economics. Our most visible activities are the International Master in Management, Law and Humanities of Sport (the ‘FIFA Master’), the International University Network, CIES Observatory, the publishing of books as well as seminars and conferences.

How does CIES concretely impact the sports industry?

Many of the students who have graduated from the FIFA Master now hold important positions in the world of sport. This gives them the opportunity to promote a certain philosophy, a certain vision of sport that has been taught to them. In addition, CIES conferences and publications (for example the seminar we organised recently with ASOIF on the governance of International Federations) can help to promote best practice in sport administration.

What are the long-term aims of the CIES?

The FIFA Master has been ranked for the last two years as the leading course in its field in Europe and the second best in the world. Our goal is obviously to keep that position and to further improve our portfolio of other programmes. In the field of research we have developed new activities in order to take into account what is happening in sport. For example, we are now very active in the fight against match fixing and manipulation of competitions. We really want to be considered as a leading institute and as a reference for the world of sport.