La Conclusione

Our final article as class representatives, it is a bittersweet moment for us. Whilst there have been some obstacles this last month, we have really enjoyed being able to represent our class and are sad that we have finished the role. We have both learnt new skills that we will be able to take away from the FIFA Master and use in our professional life, and this experience has strengthened our friendship. Now let’s get on with what March had in store for us...

Unfortunately due to the health situation, the class could not attend the final field visit scheduled. However, what was lacking in one area was made up by the two last sub-modules of the course; event management and management in action. Whilst the course was undertaken online, Professors Raccagni and Rizzello adjusted their teaching methods and were able to teach us the key elements that make up successful sports events, and the necessary knowledge to design, plan, manage and measure our own innovative event, which we were subsequently examined on. The other sub-module, sport management in action, was split throughout the time we spent at SDA Bocconi, with our final lecture being done online. Thanks to Professor Ruta and Professor Palmieri we studied and analysed the dynamics of the sport ecosystem and how different stakeholders link to each other, evaluating their relationships and working on action plans based on those. This was also the final assignment that we had to work on in our final project groups basing our work on one of the field visits we did - VeroVolley, Ferrari, San Siro and Juventus.

We would like to thank all the guest speakers from the industry that adapted their presentations to suit the online lectures and express our gratitude for finding the time to speak to us in these difficult times. We really appreciate it. Throughout March we had the pleasure of virtually meeting many great people. We started with Christian Stamm, Senior Sustainability Advocacy Manager at FIFA, who presented the great initiatives that the governing body of football is undertaking in terms of sustainability practices. He was followed by Andrea Pessina, researcher at the CIES Football Observatory, who explained what his position is and how the observatory operates. We also had the pleasure of meeting two representatives from the Talent Acquisition team at Adidas, who offered their insights into what working at the company’s headquarters in Germany entails and offered their assistance in helping us apply to positions there. The class also met Giusy Virelli, Sport Manager and Local Organising Committees’ Coordinator at RCS Sport Cycling Department, who presented the famous Giro d’Italia with the history of the event and the great amount of work that has to be put every year to maintain the Giro’s status as one of the biggest cycling events in the world. A big thank you to Andrea Butti, Head of Competitions at Lega Serie A, who managed to fit us in his tight schedule. Mr. Butti has been working not only to solve the football calendar issue in Italy, but is also sitting on a UEFA panel on how to solve the current situation in European football. We also had the great pleasure of meeting Andrea Bassani, Media Manager at Euroleague Ventures, who showed us how European basketball operates in terms of media undertakings and shone a further light on the differences with the most famous league in the world, the NBA. He was followed by Sara Marchionni, Senior Manager in Sales and Sponsorship at the ATP Tour, who showed the class what it means to work in the tennis industry - which was especially appreciated by the tennis players in our group. We also met Andrea Ceraico, General Manager at Red Bull Italia. Mr. Ceraico explained how Red Bull became a multinational company with a wide range of activities spanning from their core business of energy drinks to their more recent involvements in media, event organisation, etc. Finally, in the last week of the management module at SDA Bocconi, we had the pleasure of meeting Court Jeske, USL Executive Vice President and Marina Pochinok, Executive Career Coach and People Management in Sport and Business Expert. Mr. Jeske showed us the great work that the organisation is doing to grow football in the United States, while Ms. Pochinok gave the class great advice for our future careers in the world of sport business.

We had just passed the halfway mark of the module before we were told that due to the growing concerns of COVID-19, we were to be undertaking online classes. Whilst the class were adjusting to this new format, it was recommended by CIES to leave Milan and head to Switzerland. Here it was where the class showed their true colours, everyone banded together to ensure no-one was left behind, and each classmate did their very best to support each other in making their decisions, even offering up their own homes to students living outside Europe. It is very rare and impressive that 32 people, of 28 different cultures and values, can all show this compassion and care in this time of great worry and strife. It was only a matter of days when everyone became scattered, some fled Milan early morning to Switzerland, others went back to their family homes, some tried to find safety in other European cities and some brave classmates stayed put in Milan. For the first time in months, we were all separated, leaving an unsettling feeling.

Part of the class decided to head to Switzerland and stay there until the beginning of the final module of the course at the University of Neuchâtel. Both CIES and the University helped in moving from Milan to the Swiss town and in assisting the students financially during the quarantine period we were in. Throughout the week spent at “Neuchalet”, the nickname given to the chalet located in Neuchâtel, we were all awaiting a decision by the Swiss authorities on the situation in the country. As the government decided to follow the example of other European countries and go into lockdown, we were told that the law module would start with online classes for the first two weeks, at least. This is when CIES advised all students to go home and stay with their loved ones until the situation settles down. Most of the students decided to follow instructions and travelled home. We are now spread all around the world, from the very first time zone to the very last one - not an ideal situation but we are all happy to be home considering the evolution and the spread of the pandemic.

Despite being in lockdown and time zone differences, one would find it difficult to keep this tight knit group apart. Through some great initiative and an exploration of new apps, we’ve been able to keep in touch online and find ways to keep the conversations flowing. A few fun activities that we’ve done include sending baby photos wearing sporting attire, creating songs of our quarantine experiences, playing sport-related puzzles and games….the fun never ends. Through video calls we’ve been able to keep up to date with each other, understand the situation in each other’s countries, offer a laugh, advice or any support required. Through all our initiatives, it is obvious that this is a hard group to break.

On Friday 27th of March, we had our final session for the management module at SDA Bocconi. Before starting online classes for the law module in Neuchâtel, as of now until mid-April, we can enjoy a week off - most of us will finally see our families after a period in quarantine. It is a strange feeling being so far from everyone, and we are all looking forward to the day we are all together again, hopefully sooner rather than later.

As we end our representative duties for the Milano module, we both would like to say grazie mille to our class, our guest speakers, our professors, the Scientific Committee and coordinator Luca for giving us all the necessary tools and support to (hopefully) be successful in this role. We highly applaud all classmates for being able to handle this difficult situation with professionalism and a true concern and love for each other. It was a pleasure to represent this unique and talented bunch of people. We wish to continue our duties in Neuchatel, but we know the role will be given to even more capable students.

Stephanie Holmes (Australia) and Igor Markovic (Italy)

FIFA Master - International Master in Management, Law and Humanities of Sport, ranked No.1 Course in Europe 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2017, 2018 and 2019 by the SportBusiness International global rankings.

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