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.

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.