FIFA MASTER ALUMNI - WHERE ARE THEY NOW? - AMRA KUBAT
Amra Kubat
Current Position: Volunteer Coordinator at FIFA
Year of graduation: 2021 (21st Edition)
Nationality: Bosnia and Herzegovina & Croatia
What does your current role involve?
I joined FIFA’s Volunteer Management department in August 2022, a little over a year after graduating from the FIFA Master. The department itself was relatively new when I arrived, having been founded in late 2019 when it was decided to create a global FIFA volunteer community and programme. Volunteers are the heartbeat of all FIFA tournaments and events – contributing countless hours and infinite smiles to help create an incredible atmosphere at our tournaments and deliver the events. The FIFA Volunteer Programme aims to provide an amazing experience for our volunteers where they get to acquire new skills, have fun and be part of the biggest football tournaments in the world.
In my role, I look after developing various communications and engagement initiatives to raise awareness about volunteering at FIFA and tell inspiring stories about our volunteers. I also support local organizing committees and local FIFA entities to implement the FIFA Volunteer Framework and deliver volunteer programmes tailored to the tournament host country that leave a legacy. My career in sport started at the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2015 in Canada, where I was a volunteer. It is now an incredible privilege to be able to create unforgettable experiences for our volunteers through my work.
Which aspects of the FIFA Master course have helped you most in your career?
Having studied management during my undergraduate degree, it was a shame how underrepresented the area of sport management was in the course offerings and academia in general. I felt that I had a gap in my knowledge about the sports industry, realizing early on that it operated very differently compared to traditional corporate businesses you learn about in textbook case studies. The FIFA Master helped fill in that gap by looking at the sports industry from a 360-degree lens as we studied the history, management and legal side of the business.
On top of the academic knowledge, the FIFA Master is a unique opportunity to experience different cultures and places. The cross-cultural communication skills that you will develop throughout the course have been invaluable in my role today, which requires working with diverse stakeholders who come from all corners of the globe. Your classmates will come from all over the world, which reflects the true spirit of sport and makes the experience both enriching and challenging as you learn to become more adaptable and patient in your working style. Having to essentially live out of a suitcase and move across three cities in three different countries also prepares you well for packing efficiently on a business trip!
What advice would you give to future students on the course?
Open your mind and open your heart to the opportunities and possibilities that the FIFA Master experience brings. You will learn a lot, you will grow a lot – both personally and professionally – and you will meet some incredible people along the way who make the sports world go round. Think of the course as an investment in yourself. Make the best of it and you will see the return.
FIFA Master - International Master in Management, Law and Humanities of Sport, ranked Europe's No.1 course a record 12 times by SportBusiness.
Organised by CIES in partnership with De Montfort University (UK), SDA Bocconi School of Management (Italy) and the University of Neuchâtel (Switzerland).
