The first-ever edition of the Executive Football Programme, an initiative backed by FIFA and CONMEBOL, with the cooperation of the International Centre for Sport Studies (CIES), was launched at the CONMEBOL headquarters in Asuncion, Paraguay on 17 September.

The principal objective of this trailblazing programme is to offer enhanced, multifaceted and comprehensive training to general secretaries and key administrative staff working for the member associations in South America.

The programme consists of seven modules that focus on different aspects of football management, such as strategy, governance, law, communication, marketing, audiovisual rights and development.

It will be held over the space of a year via intensive sessions that will enable executives to benefit from the knowledge of top, internationally renowned presenters and professionals, which they will then use in their day-to-day jobs within the associations.

At the start of the first module on strategy, the collective initiative was officialised through the signing of a Cooperation Agreement between FIFA, CONMEBOL and the CIES, thereby getting the ball rolling on a senior management programme which should be of great benefit to South American football, and which should leave a highly relevant legacy of modernisation, innovation, growth and professionalisation to the ten FIFA member associations that make up the continent.

As far as CONMEBOL President Alejandro Dominguez was concerned, the programme "will provide agents of change within the various associations with valuable tools" and "will give South American football the organisation it deserves".

Jair Bertoni, FIFA’s Director of Member Associations for the Americas, added: "Football is constantly evolving, presenting such huge sporting, commercial, social and technological challenges that associations nowadays require greater management knowledge and professionalism to equip their structures with efficient capabilities so that they can tackle these head on.

"This is why FIFA, in conjunction with CONMEBOL and the CIES, has backed this programme, since we strongly believe that spreading education and knowledge to the administrators and managers of our member associations is the key to continuing the development of football with a long-term vision and efficient operations."

The organisers are hopeful that the experience will be enjoyed by all of the participants, who will likely, through the knowledge acquired during the programme, go on to improve the level of football management in their respective associations.