FIFA Master 25th edition Milanese journey already reaching its final stanza

Time stands still for no one, and the FIFA Master is no exception. Each of us now enters our first break of the New Year managing the obligatory “what, already? wow, that flew by!” conversation with friends and families back home, as we ourselves try to reconcile our Milanese journey already reaching its final stanza.

The rapid stream of wonder we’ve experienced in the last months have been something only Milan could provide. Beyond the obligatory aperitivos on the Navigli, we have been blessed with the chance to traverse the Italian countryside, taking in the sights (and tastes!) of Bologna, Como, Rome, Turin, Tuscany, Portofino, and Venice.

Closer to home, the auto-enthusiasts among us watched old Ferraris fly around Monza and toured the Alfa Romeo factory to see concept cars never released. The more culturally inclined took in a night at the opera at La Scala, and the sport crazy watched Vero Volley Olympians dominate their quarter final at the Allianz Cloud. We also witnessed the Milan football clubs meet very different fates against visiting Feyenoord in successive rounds of the Champions League at San Siro.

On the sporting front we tried our hands at volleyball and participated in the SDA Bocconi futsal tournament. The great day of competition was enjoyed by all with our best performing team finishing third after a loss in the semi-final to our Bocconi academic coordinator Pietro’s team.

Our SDA Bocconi education concluded with speaker visits from FIFA, FIGC, UEFA, FIBA, Giro D’Italia, and the City of Milan, as well as rubbing shoulders with former NBA star Damjan Rudez who joined our class for our Sport Innovation sub module. We were also privileged to attend the FIFA Master 25th Anniversary Conference: 'The Italian Legacy of Milano-Cortina 2026' with event organisers and alumni alike.

With Italy heading into the rear-view mirror, we enter the final stretch of our journey through the FIFA Master with the crisp mountain air and pristine lakes of Neuchâtel on the horizon as we prepare for the start of the final Sports law module of the course.

By Jake Zappia 

FIFA Master - International Master in Management, Law and Humanities of Sport, ranked Europe's No.1 course a record 12 times by SportBusiness.

FIFA Master - 25 years of Excellence in Sport Business Education - organised by CIES in partnership with De Montfort University (UK), SDA Bocconi School of Management (Italy) and the University of Neuchâtel (Switzerland).