The end of 2021 and our first module in Leicester!

Three months has flown by in the blink of an eye. We have now successfully completed our opening FIFA Master Humanities of Sport module at De Montfort University in Leicester and are all set to move to SDA Bocconi in beautiful Italy for our next module in Sport Management. Though the city of Milano and everything it holds for us in the coming year sounds exciting, we are already feeling nostalgic about Leicester, the little city that has been our home for the last three months of the course. 

During our first module in Leicester we have had a very intense yet enriching and rewarding journey based in the International Centre for Sports History and Culture (ICSHC), with the class travelling from across the world, studying together and enjoying every bit of this well curated programme. As the winter months approached and with the evolving global covid situation, united we stood as a class by adapting between face-to-face and online lectures when needed. We had our very own little FM22 Christmas celebration too, along with the traditional Secret Santa gifts exchange, a year-end James Panter Sports Quiz Night and a Pizza Party Christmas dinner to finish the year and keep our spirits as a class high.

The Communications sub-module with industry expert, Tim Payton, was a different experience for us and included elements of crisis management, planning, campaigning and media relations. Our work in this part of the course allowed us to relate to real life scenarios and case studies from across the world. We also had the special opportunity to collaborate with Media students based at De Montfort University and had access to TV studio training facilities on campus so we could put our newly acquired media skills into practice. We also had the chance to interact with a range of high-profile communication experts both from the UK and abroad. Thank you to everybody who took the time to join us as guest speakers and for contributing to our learning experience.

As part of a very busy end to the term it was also time to put some of our research methods knowledge to test following our classes with Dr Kevin Tallec Marston the previous month as we had to present our proposed Final Project abstracts to the Scientific Committee of the CIES FIFA Master Programme for final approval.

Away from our studies and classroom life, some members of the class took the opportunity to travel to Manchester over two weekends to watch both Manchester United FC at Old Trafford and to see Manchester City FC at The Etihad Stadium. For most of us, it was a lifetime tick off our bucket list to watch Cristiano Ronaldo play. Some of us also went to watch Nottingham Forest FC play Peterborough United in the Championship and also made a trip to Wembley for the Women’s FA Cup Final between Chelsea and Arsenal Women.

These past twelve weeks have demonstrated just how special each one of us in the class is and also how fortunate and privileged we are to be part of this unique course. We had a tough time saying goodbye to Leicester and Castle Court but then everyone was ready to enjoy their Christmas break after such a busy year. Some have travelled home to meet their loved ones, while others have planned road trips with their new friends to explore and experience Christmas festivities in UK.

Leicester will now always have a little place in our hearts for gifting us some of the best moments of our life, welcoming us for the start of the course and preparing us for our student journey. We are forever grateful to our amazing Professors from De Montfort University and the ICSHC in Martin Polley and Pierre Lanfranchi. Also, a special mention to our class favourite and Module Coordinator, James Panter, for his continued support throughout this term, for always answering our queries and for making sure we had a lovely journey inside and outside of the classroom.

This module has brought to life all the reasons why each of us love to be part of the sport ecosystem and aspire to continue working for the good of this sector. Being introduced to the worlds of history and legacy of sport has given us a better understanding of what sport is today and has definitely opened our eyes and understanding. Something we will now take with us in our future careers.

Three months of study, nine field visits, six assessments, many football matches, an enriching learning experience and a bucket full of memories will now be with us forever as we move to the next destination of this journey we have all embarked on.

We now move to Italy, to the beautiful city of Milano and to one of the best business schools in Europe and the world - SDA Bocconi, School of Management. A new country, new city, new university and new module to explore, but the same amazing group of people looking forward to yet another twelve weeks of absolutely fantastic student life and experiences.

Signing Off,

Aisha Nazia & Alberto Trovomala

22nd Edition FIFA Master Candidates 

FIFA Master - International Master in Management, Law and Humanities of Sport, ranked No.1 Course in Europe 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020 and 2021 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).