New AFC Scholarship scheme supports five Asian candidates on the 20th edition of the FIFA Master

The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) and CIES have joined forces to create a new scholarship scheme to generously offer five young professionals the chance to study on the International MA in Management, Law and Humanities of Sport, better known as the FIFA Master which is spread across three prestigious universities in Europe.

This scholarship scheme was successfully implemented for the first time this year and five lucky beneficiaries will start their FIFA Master 20th edition journey on 17th September at De Montfort University in Leicester, England, for a 3-month module on the Humanities of Sport at the university’s renowned International Centre for Sports History and Culture (Kevin Goco, Philippines; Rishab Kapur, India; Mahmoud Qaraqra, Palestine; Tyson Scott, Australia; Han Bits Yi, South Korea).

In January, the class will then move to Italy to study Sports Management at Milan’s SDA Bocconi School of Management. Following completion of this module, the class will finally transfer to Switzerland where they are taught Sports Law at the University of Neuchâtel for the final module of the year.

Financed through the AFC’s Solidarity Fund, these scholarships are part of the AFC’s commitment to upskill staff from Asian countries, and were announced by the AFC President Shaikh Salman bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa at the 28th AFC Congress in Kuala Lumpur last October.

Shaikh Salman said: "The AFC is determined to raise standards in the game across Asia and that includes those who work so tirelessly off the field as well as those who compete on the pitch. Not only does Asia require outstanding players in the future but we also have a duty to deliver top class administrators."

It is important to note that the successful candidates are chosen by the course Scientific Committee from applications by Asian staff working within football in Asia. However, to be eligible for the scholarship, successful candidates must have an endorsement letter from their national federation. Also, candidates must apply using the standard FIFA Master online application form. AFC’s support is not only financial. Indeed, after having completed their studies on the FIFA Master, the five recipients will then be offered a six-month internship at the AFC Headquarters in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, so that they can gain practical experience in Asia’s governing Confederation.

CIES is delighted to have joined forces with AFC and as explained by CIES Director, Professor Denis Oswald, this new scholarship scheme “will ensure that more candidates will be able to participate in our programme which […] is excellent news as, sometimes, very good candidates cannot take the course because they are not in a position to fund their participation.”

This fruitful cooperation is set to continue as AFC has recently announced that five new scholarships will again be offered to Asian football staff keen to take part in the 21st edition of the Master.

 

Please note that the application process for the 21st edition (2020-2021) will open on October 1st, 2019 and will close January 10th, 2020.

 

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).