FIFA Master Alumni - Where are they now? - Yair Rangel
Yair Rangel
Current position: Media Operations Manager – AFC Asian Cup Saudi Arabia 2027
Year of graduation: 2024 (24th Edition)
Nationality: Mexican
What does your current role involve?
I currently work as a Media Operations Manager for international sporting events, with a particular focus on managing media operations at venues. Over the past few years I have had the opportunity to work across a wide range of major international competitions, including the Olympic Games, FIFA World Cups, FIBA EuroBasket, FISU Games and the Mediterranean Games, among others. My career has taken me to different countries and continents, working alongside international federations, organising committees, broadcasters, photographers, journalists and other stakeholders.
Media Operations is essentially about making sure that the media can do their job properly during a sporting event. This can involve everything from planning and delivering media facilities and workspaces, managing press tribunes and mixed zones, coordinating photographers and broadcasters, designing media flows around the venue, and working closely with other Functional Areas to ensure the overall operation works smoothly. A big part of the job is also being able to react quickly when something unexpected happens, because, in live sport, something unexpected will always happen!
Which aspects of the FIFA Master course have helped you most in your career?
Without a doubt, one of the most valuable parts of the FIFA Master was the international environment. Living with people from all over the world and moving from one city to another every four months was much more than an academic experience. It was almost a preview of what my professional life would become. The international sports industry works in exactly the same way. One day you can be working in one country, surrounded by one culture and speaking one language, and a few months later you are somewhere completely different, working with a completely different group of people. The FIFA Master taught me how to adapt, communicate and build relationships with people from very different backgrounds. In many ways, it gave me a small taste of the life I would have after graduation.
What advice would you give to future students?
This will not be the same for everybody, but when I started the FIFA Master in 2023, my personal goal was very specific. I wanted the FIFA Master to help me become a Media Manager at the FIFA World Cup in Guadalajara, my home city. The World Cup was still three years away, but I entered the programme already knowing exactly what I wanted to work towards. Every time a guest speaker came into our classroom and asked us what we wanted to do, my answer was always the same.
Three years later, I can say that I achieved that goal. That experience taught me how important it is to stay focused and make sure that the things you do are taking you closer to where you want to be.
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FIFA Master - International Master in Management, Law and Humanities of Sport, ranked Europe's No.1 course a record 14 times by SportBusiness and No.2 in the world.
Organised by CIES in cooperation with De Montfort University (UK), SDA Bocconi School of Management (Italy) and the University of Neuchâtel (Switzerland).
