Wednesday 29 May 2019, 12:00

2019 global ranking success for FIFA Master course

The Centre International d’Etude du Sport (CIES) and FIFA are proud to announce that the new 2019 SportBusiness International global rankings have again ranked the FIFA Master International MA in Management, Law and Humanities of Sport as Europe’s No1 course for a record seventh time - and also as the No3 ranked course in the world.

The FIFA Master, which is organised by CIES in partnership with De Montfort University (United Kingdom), SDA Bocconi School of Management (Italy) and the University of Neuchatel (Switzerland) has once again set new academic standards in sport business education as the first and only Postgraduate Sport Management course to receive the top ranking award a record seven times.

The latest success follows previous No1 in Europe rankings for the course in 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2017 and 2018. The FIFA Master, which brings together students from around the world on a unique academic journey each year, finished top of over 500 courses assessed worldwide by the independent global survey.

Responding to the 2019 ranking announcement, CIES Director and IOC Executive Committee Member, Professor Denis Oswald said: "To be ranked as Europe’s No1 course for an unprecedented seventh time is a welcome independent endorsement of the quality of the FIFA Master programme. I would also like to take this opportunity to thank FIFA, without whom it would not have been possible to deliver such a complex Postgraduate course over the past 19 years."

"This is very good news of which we should all feel proud. Putting education at the forefront of what we do is one of our organisation’s key pledges, and the unquestionable success of the FIFA Master reflects this commitment," said FIFA President Gianni Infantino, himself a former CIES General Secretary.

FIFA Secretary General Fatma Samoura said: "I am delighted to receive the continuous ratification that the FIFA Master is doing an elite job in preparing students from around the world to join the sports business market. We know it from experience: from working together with over 40 graduates in the FIFA administration."

CIES General Secretary, Mr Vincent Schatzmann, added: “This is an outstanding achievement. With so many new courses entering the sector, for the FIFA Master to consolidate its position as the No1 course in Europe and the No3 ranked course in the world behind North American based programmes is good news for everybody involved with the Master. Our dedicated academic and co-ordination teams in Leicester, Milan and Neuchatel work hard to ensure our course content is updated each year and this result confirms that the FIFA Master is firmly established as one of the most respected sport management courses in the world today."

The FIFA Master takes carefully selected students on a unique academic journey with modules undertaken in the United Kingdom, Italy and Switzerland. The intensive course structure provides candidates with the opportunity to study in detail key sport themes such as traditions and ethics, the birth of modern sport, professional sport in context, the internationalisation of sport, equality and inclusion, women’s sport, human rights, governance, leadership, strategic planning, marketing, finance, digital analytics, event management, corporate social responsibility, the legal status of the sports person, liabilities and dispute resolution. Academic sessions are then supported by leading industry guest speakers and a comprehensive field visit programme to some of the biggest names in world sport.

About the SportBusiness International Rankings The rankings, now in their eighth year, attract entries from postgraduate sports management courses from around the world. Only postgraduate-level courses that are 100% related to the business and administration of sport, and have been running for at least three consecutive years, are considered.

For more about the ranking, head here.