The FIFA Master is a unique 10-month sport (and not solely football...) Master programme, initiated by FIFA, coordinated by CIES, and taught by three prestigious European universities: De Montfort University (Leicester, UK), SDA Bocconi School of Management (Milan, IT) and Neuchatel University (Neuchatel, CH), in association with the Università della Svizzera italiana.
The annual FIFA Master Conference was held on Thursday 15 July 2010. Attracting the interest of sport organizations and academics, the FIFA Master conference is an occasion where the students present their final projects. The Hotel Beaulac in Neuchatel was the selected venue for this event and personnel from international sport federations, sport marketing agencies, FIFA Master Alumni as well as the students’ families and friends were in attendance.
All the presentations were of a high standard, demonstrating thorough academic investigation and relevant practical application. The students fielded questions from both the FIFA Master Scientific Committee and the audience.
As indicated by CIES Director, Prof. Denis Oswald, who presided over the presentations, the recommendations put forward by the students have added to the body of knowledge within the humanities, law and management of sport. He praised the students for their presentations, and expressed hope that their recommendations would spark further discussions on their selected topics.
The full list of presentations from the FIFA Master 10th edition class is below:
- Olympic Sporting Legacy: Proposals for a successful post-Games transition (by Travis Black, Joanna Hoffmann, Alexander Inglot, Roma Khanna, Solomon Mudege)
- How can the Respect Campaign be systematically applied in UEFA campaigns? (by Katrien Baert, Miguel Couchonnal, Nir Inbar, Friedrich Martens, Ibrahim Mohtaseb)
- International Transfer of Minors: Recommendations to improve the protection of young players in the current transfer system (by Burcin Celen, Leo Lederman, Angelo Rigopoulos, Jose Rodriguez, Piotr Sadowski)
- Identifying Best Practice in Women’s Football – Case study in the European club context (by Keitaro Aoki, Sarah Crumbach, Creesen Naicker, Sarah Schmitter, Natalie Smith)
- Promotion of Grassroots Football by European professional clubs in foreign countries: a comparative analysis (by Badr Alshammari, Jean-Pierre Bazigangango, Damien Mollard, Duncan Tweed, Andre Zanotta)
- How can governments of emerging countries use sport as an educational tool in school? (by Cristian de la Maza, Angenie Kanhai, Montserrat Naranjo, Mohideen Nazer)
CIES (International Centre for Sports Studies), located in Neuchatel, is a private Swiss foundation, affiliated with the University of Neuchatel and created in 1995 by FIFA (under the impetus of its current president, Mr. Joseph S. Blatter), the University of Neuchatel, and the City and Canton of Neuchatel.
CIES specialises in three specific domains: law, sociology and economy of sport, with a view to bring together the sporting and the academic worlds. Privileging a pluri-disciplinary approach, CIES provides a wide range of research, education and consultancy services.
