The Home of FIFA in Zurich was the venue for a two-day celebration with CIES, as 100 FIFA Master Alumni (FMA) from around the world gathered for a hybrid event, with others joining online.



For those present, all COVID restrictions and travel requirements were fully respected.

The Sport & Future Conference celebrated the 20th anniversary of the FIFA Master by also inviting several prominent alumni to present and participate in panels discussing some of the contemporary topics in the sports arena. 


The programme of activities commenced on Friday 10 September with welcome speeches from FIFA President Gianni Infantino, the President of CIES Pierre Cornu and FMA President Julian Smith. 

These were followed by five panel discussions on the following topics: Women in Sport; From the Field of Play to the Office: Career Transition in Sport; The FIFA World Cup: 14 months to go; Why we do what we do: an insight into FIFA’s flagship development programme and Future challenges for the football transfer system.

The conference concluded with speeches from FIFA Chief People, Technology & Operations Officer Kimberly Morris, CIES Director Professor Denis Oswald, and Mr Vincent Schatzmann, CIES General Secretary, with the traditional friendly football match between the FIFA Master alumni and FIFA employees rounding off the day’s activities.

On Saturday 11 September, the FMA Committee reported on its current strategy and the work of its members, with the participation of alumni from Africa, the Americas, Asia, Europe and Oceania. One notable speaker was 15th edition FIFA Master graduate Emma Twigg, who had recently returned from winning an Olympic Gold medal at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics in the Women’s Single Sculls rowing event.