Welcome to the 17th edition of the International MA in Management, Law and Humanities of Sport – the "FIFA Master"

Thirty-one carefully selected international postgraduate students were welcomed by Pro Vice-Chancellor of De Montfort University Barbara Matthews MBE, CIES Council of Foundation President Pierre Cornu, CIES Director Prof. Denis Oswald, General Secretary Vincent Schatzmann, Scientific Directors from the three partner universities and course alumni representative during a special ceremony held at De Montfort University’s Trinity House.

For the past sixteen years the "FIFA Master" has been a training ground for future managers in international sport business and is now firmly established as one of the leading sports management degree courses in the world.

The new 2016 - 2017 class will be based in England at De Montfort University’s renowned International Centre for Sports History and Culture as they complete the Humanities of Sport module. In the New Year the class will then move to Italy to begin their studies in Sports Management at the SDA Bocconi School of Management in Milan before moving to Switzerland for the final Sports Law module at the University of Neuchâtel Law Faculty.

In addition to gathering a wide range of sports industry experts and renowned academics, the intensive programme will include field visits to some of the biggest names in the world of sport.

The "FIFA Master", which is co-ordinated by the Centre International d’Etude du Sport (CIES) and endorsed by the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA), has been ranked  the top postgraduate sports management course in Europe by the global SportsBusiness International course rankings in 2012, 2013, 2014 and 2015.  It was also named the top course in the world in 2014.

With over 90% of course graduates now working in sport and for organisations that include the International Olympic Committee (IOC), the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA), the Fédération Internationale de Basketball (FIBA), the Fédération Equestre Internationale (FEI), the Federazione Italiana Giuoco Calcio (FIGC), FC Juventus, FC Barcelona and the Sauber Formula 1 Team, the impact of the "FIFA Master" reaches across all continents and all sports.

The CIES, De Montfort University, SDA Bocconi School of Management and the University of Neuchâtel congratulate all thirty-one  members of the new class on gaining a place on the programme and wish them every success as they continue their studies.

Welcome to our new students:

Ammar ABBAS, Ali AHMADI KHATIR, Lili BORISOVA, Anna Lena BUCHWALTER, Mike-David BURKHARD, Manuel CID GONCALVES, Nigel DAVIES, Ivan DUBININ, Sebastian FRINGS, Ya GAO, Javier GONZALEZ, Sebastian HASSETT, Ashley HUGHES, Serafino INGARDIA, Dudley LANGELIER, Kiomari LOPEZ TORRES, Pia MACKENZIE, Francis MOLASOKO, Bhaveshan MOORGHEN, Ami OTAKI, Sara PANZIO CENCERRADO, Ji Sung PARK, Sebastian PERMAIN, Ruggero RAYMON, Doojin SA, Srinivasan SAIMANI, Thubaelihlie SIBANDA, Darya SMIRNOVA, Zaira STARNAI, Shoko TSUJI, Michael WANNER