FIFA Master 26th edition class receive their degree certificates from IOC Sports Director, Pierre Ducrey
After a year of intense study in three different European countries, and with memories to last a lifetime, Friday 24th July 2026, set in the impressive surroundings of the Grand Council Chamber at the Château de Neuchâtel, is a date the students from the FIFA Master 26th edition will never forget as they were awarded their degree certificates in front of friends and family who had travelled from around the world to be part of the award ceremony celebrations.
In the mid-summer Swiss sunshine, representatives from the International Centre for Sports Studies (CIES), FIFA and the three course partner universities of De Montfort University (Leicester), SDA Bocconi (Milan) and University of Neuchâtel, along with the President of the CIES Council of Foundation, Mr Pierre Cornu, welcomed everyone for what would be an emotional and reflective end to the course.
Ms Florence Nater, State Councillor, Chief of the Economy and Social Cohesion Department. Official representative of the Government of the Canton of Neuchâtel, Prof. Katie Normington, Vice Chancellor of De Montfort University, Leicester, Prof. Antonio Palmieri, Professor at SDA Bocconi School of Management, Milan and Prof. Deniz Gyger Gaspoz, Rector of the University of Neuchâtel. Official representative of the University of Neuchâtel, all delivered memorable speeches to the postgraduate students.
They were followed by Mr Solomon Mudege, Head of Development Programmes and the official representative of FIFA at the ceremony and then FIFA Master Alumni Association (FMA) President, Mr Pedro Trengrouse who now welcomed the class to the FMA as its newest members.
Following a brief musical interlude, Prof. Thomas Probst, President of the Scientific Committee of the FIFA Master moved to introduce the 26th edition class Patron, International Olympic Committee (IOC) Sports Director, Mr Pierre Ducrey.
The CIES and FIFA Master Scientific Committee is particularly proud that Mr Ducrey accepted the role as he is himself a graduate from the 3rd edition of the FIFA Master. He becomes only the second ever course graduate to return as a class Patron, following Olympic Gold medal rower, Emma Twigg.
After graduating from the FIFA Master, he joined the IOC in December 2003 having previously worked at the United Nations. He quickly established himself as an outstanding games administrator, holding various positions within the Sports Department, ranging from Project Manager, Operations Manager and Head of Sports Operations and IF Relations. In 2010 he became Head of Olympic Games Coordination and in 2014 Olympic Games Associate Director. His expertise and outstanding leadership qualities were recognised again when in 2020 he was promoted to Games Operations Director. A further promotion soon followed in July 2025 when he was named IOC Sports Director – one of the most senior positions within the Olympic Movement. His distinguished twenty-year career at the IOC has seen him work at the very top level of Olympic Games delivery, including six Summer Games (Athens, Beijing, London, Rio de Janeiro, Tokyo and Paris) and Six Winter Games (Turin, Vancouver, Sochi, Pyeongchang and Beijing and Milano-Cortina).
A regular guest lecturer as part of the University of Neuchâtel Sports Law module, Mr Ducrey has stayed actively involved with the FIFA Master and our graduates.
The ceremony proceedings next moved onto one of the key moments of the academic year, with the awarding of the FIFA Master degree certificates. Mr Vincent Schatzmann, CIES General Secretary, called the 26th edition class members to individually to receive their diplomas from Prof. Thomas Probst and Mr Ducrey at the front of the Grand Council Chamber.
This was then followed by another important moment in the graduation ceremony proceedings, with the presentation of the "Alberto Madella Award", which rewards the group of students who delivered the best Final Project presentation from the conference events held the previous day. For 2026, the FIFA Master Scientific Committee agreed the award should be presented to Group 6 for their project, ‘Launched from the Top, Judged from Below: A Cross-Continental Study of Fan Perceptions of the FIFA Club World Cup’. Congratulations to Guillermo Alvez (Uruguay), Abdel Malik Koudizé (Niger), Alessandro Padula (Italy), Tomoyuki Tamura (Japan).
A further presentation was then made to Luca Fuhrmann (Germany) who received the Swiss Sport Managers Award from Mr Ducrey for graduating with the best overall academic performance across all three of the modules held in Leicester, Milan and Neuchâtel.
Before the ceremony came to a close, the floor was given to Ms Rita El Idrissi Semlali (Moroccan / American) and Mr Zachary Gilmore (Canadian) who addressed all those gathered with an emotional reflection on an academic journey which had started nearly a year before in Leicester with the opening Humanities of Sport module. It provided a moment to reflect on the lifelong friendships and bonds which had now been firmly established and the memories, knowledge and skills gained as they begin the next chapter of their lives in the global sports industry.
With the speeches now over, Mr Pierre Cornu officially closed the 2026 ceremony and invited the new graduates to continue the celebrations with their families, friends and course members by enjoying a cocktail reception in the Château de Neuchâtel courtyard.
CIES, De Montfort University, SDA Bocconi School of Management and the University of Neuchâtel warmly congratulate our newly graduated FIFA Master class and wish you all every success for the future.
FIFA Master - International Master in Management, Law and Humanities of Sport, ranked Europe's No.1 course a record 13 times by SportBusiness.
Organised by CIES in cooperation with De Montfort University (UK), SDA Bocconi School of Management (Italy) and the University of Neuchâtel (Switzerland).
"CIES, 30+ years of impacting how sport is managed worldwide" & "FIFA Master, 25+ years of Excellence in Sport Business Education"
