FIFA Master Maintains its position as Europe’s No.1 Postgraduate Sport Management Course in new 2024 rankings
The newly announced 2024 SportBusiness Postgraduate course rankings have once again named the FIFA Master International Master in Management, Law and Humanities of Sport as Europe’s leading postgraduate sport management course for a record twelfth time.
The criteria used for the latest independent survey of academic courses around the world included alumni career paths, student satisfaction, diversity of course intakes, analysis of networking opportunities and wider university partnerships.
This outstanding news demonstrates the quality of our graduates and the education they receive during their studies. It is the twelfth time the FIFA Master has achieved this top European position.
CIES General Secretary Vincent Schatzmann said, “We are delighted with our continued success at the top of these rankings. It clearly demonstrates that our work on the FIFA Master and at our partner universities continues to provided our students with the necessary foundations to build a successful career in international sport business”.
The FIFA Master provides students with a unique learning experience which begins at De Montfort University’s International Centre for Sports History and Culture in the UK, before moving to SDA Bocconi School of Management in Italy and then finally the University of Neuchâtel Faculty of Law in Switzerland. Overall organisation is provided by the International Centre for Sports Studies (CIES) and support is provided by football’s world governing body FIFA.
Speaking about her time on the course, 2021 graduate and now Volunteer Coordinator at FIFA Amra Kubat (Bosnia and Herzegovina & Croatia) said, “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”.
2003 graduate and now Olympic Games Operations Director at the International Olympic Committee (IOC) Pierre Ducrey (Switzerland) said, “Completing the FIFA Master proved to be a key step in my career. It allowed me to meet fantastic individuals who became close friends, meet with key people in the industry and confirmed that this was the career I wanted to pursue. It also allowed me to access internship opportunities which gave me a first chance to acquire the experience which is so often needed to get started in the sports industry”.
Another 2021 graduate who reflected about his time on the course and the benefits of the multi-disciplinary study themes the FIFA Master provides was Hossamedin Bedier (Egypt). Now working as a Relationship Manager in Football Development for the Saudi Pro League he said, “I distinctly remember applying insights from SDA Bocconi's strategic development and marketing modules to enhance club branding and operational strategies. Likewise, my grasp of sports law from the University of Neuchâtel module has been pivotal in managing player contracts and navigating regulatory frameworks. Studying sports history at De Montfort University has also shaped my approach to building club identities and fostering social impact initiatives”.
Fatou Binetou Ba (Senegal) who also graduated in 2021 and now works as Regional Development Programme Coordinator at FIFA added, “I met a FIFA Master alumna who spoke highly of the programme and the opportunities it provided to graduates. Despite my doubts, I decided to take the leap because of my love for sport. It was certainly the right decision. I have always been passionate about sport, and the programme allowed me to turn that passion into a career”.
Congratulations to everybody who has supported the FIFA Master, from our academic and industry guest speakers, field visit organisations, FIFA and our alumni who are now working around the globe in diverse positions dedicated to sport. CIES is extremely proud of everything that we have achieved together, and this latest success is something we should all celebrate!
Please see the full ranking here: https://postgraduaterankings.com/
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).
