The UWI/FIFA/CIES Postgraduate Diploma in Sports Management was launched on 19th February 2010 at the University of the West Indies, St Augustine campus in Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago. This year marks the eleventh edition of this well-structured programme, which educates participants on “the management, marketing and policy developments needed in delivering sport services globally and within the Caribbean sporting landscape”.
The latest edition of the Programme started on 7th September 2020 with an introduction to the modules of Human Resource Management in Sport, Sports Marketing and Management in Sport. Normally, the 22 students would have met on campus. Unfortunately, the current global pandemic prevented them from doing so. "Although our programme is 90% online, the face-to-face component is fundamental to enable students to fully benefit from the advantages of a blended programme. The face-to-face sessions give the students an opportunity to have rich discussions with fellow students, professors and international experts as well as develop profession networks. Let's hope our present situation normalises soon, so that the students would have the opportunity to meet during the last week of classes in May 2021."”, commented Sherlan Cabralis who is Director of the Diploma.
According to Geoffrey Edwards, a former student of both the Diploma and FIFA Master, and now CIES Coordinator in Trinidad and Tobago, the education programme has become a reference in the region. He added, "Students come from different countries, which reinforces its international dimension. These include Jamaica, Guyana, Belize, the Bahamas, Barbados, Ghana, Nigeria and of course Trinidad and Tobago. The course, anchored in the regional reality, facilitates the development of the skills and competencies necessary for participants to succeed at the senior management level of sports organisations in the public and commercial sectors, or as volunteers. Another key element of the Programme is the lecture series which allows students to gain face-to-face (and now virtual) insight from various industry leaders and practitioners from across the globe without having to leave the Caribbean”.
Strategic development, coupled with a dedicated and efficient staff, has resulted in the sustained growth of the Programme on the island. Such developments include the Programme’s first Sports Management International Field Trip, to Lima, Peru in 2019. The collaborative effort with the “Universidad de San Martín de Porres” (USMP) provided sport tourism and networking opportunities whilst exposing all students to international best practices in Sports Management. Another important event was the graduation of twenty-seven senior football executives - representing seventeen Caribbean Football Union (CFU) Member Associations - from the first edition of the FIFA Football Executive Programme for the Caribbean in 2019.
Also noteworthy is that four graduates from the UWI/FIFA/CIES course have gone on to successfully complete the FIFA International Master in Management, Law and Humanities of Sport.
The majority of students and alumni are active in sports and football. The Programme has played an essential role in their professional careers. Cleopatra Borel, a shot putter who has participated in three Olympic Games and was awarded the title of Sportswoman of the Year of Trinidad and Tobago in 2014, declared; “Thanks to the UWI/FIFA/CIES Postgraduate Diploma, I discovered that the world of sport is much more complex than anticipated and I had a lot to learn. The Diploma was quite exhilarating because I could quickly transfer theory to practical application.”
For his part, Camara David, General Secretary of the Caribbean Football Union (CFU), added, “The programme kick-started my career in sport, particularly football. I was unemployed at the time. Today, I am the General Secretary of the largest sub-confederation in football, the Caribbean Football Union, having been the General Secretary of a semi-professional league, as well as the Trinidad and Tobago Football Association (TTFA). Additionally, the programme has equipped me with the necessary tools needed to function to the best of my ability in my everyday duties.”
Congratulations to the UWI team for their excellent work and we send our best wishes to the students of the 2021 edition of the Diploma who will hopefully soon be able to come together to share academic, professional and human experiences.