The Jury of the FIFA/CIES University Network Award held its annual meeting on 27 February 2020 in order to select the winning group project for 2020.
During its first deliberations, the Jury unanimously pre-selected three projects from the 15 competing entries due to their quality and the relevance of the themes addressed, namely:
«Critical Factors for the successful Implementation of the E-Sport League System in selected Countries in Africa» submitted by five students from Nelson Mandela University (Port Elizabeth, South Africa): Damilola Bello, Gareth Frederik Cortje, Casper Jangale, Daryll Roelf and Chipo Sabeta.
«Women’s football – A Study of national and international scenarios and the possible ways to develop the sport» submitted by five students from Fundação Getulio Vargas (Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo, Brazil): Camila Macedo Mariano, Isabela Aarestrup de Aquimo e Sousa, Kelly Cristina Resende Teixera, Luana Ferreira and Marina Cardoso Junqueira.
« Plan Sport: The Foundation that proposes Integral Support to Professional Football Players» submitted by five students from Universidad Santo Tomás (Santiago, Chile): Fernando Azócar, Jhonny Abreu, Gonzalo Pardo, Franco Costanzo and Roberto Kettlun.
In the second round of discussions, the Jury made a unanimous decision and awarded the 2020 FIFA/CIES Network Prize to the project presented by Nelson Mandela University. They also highlighted the quality of the project titled “Plan Sport” (second) and also the Brazilian project (third).
Congratulations to the winners and all the finalists for their work, motivation and interest in better understanding sport and its working environment. The jury members were also delighted to note a distinct improvement in the quality and finish of the projects submitted this year.
It is worth noting that FIFA / CIES University Network students give more and more importance to the development of their final group project. They consider it as a key-element of the education process. Indeed, various projects developed over the past few years have now been implemented in Latin America, Africa and Europe.