FIFA President Gianni Infantino and FIFA Chief of Global Football Development Arsene Wenger took part in the online graduation ceremony for the 20th edition of the FIFA Master on 17 July.
This unique event rewarded the hard work and dedication of the entire class over the last academic year, especially with the health challenges and ongoing disruption currently facing the world at the moment. However, the class has showed great spirit and togetherness in ensuring the successful completion of their studies and this was a moment during which the students could enjoy and also reflect on their academic journey since commencing the course in September of last year.
The FIFA President, in a video message, spoke about his vision for the future of football and sport management in general. He also provided some words of advice and guidance to assist the class as they now go on to build their careers in international sport.
Next, the graduating students were joined by the 20th edition class Patron, Arsene Wenger. The legendary former Arsenal manager delivered a speech and also answered questions. Noting the importance of courses such as the FIFA Master to help the professional growth of the football industry around the world, he also provided memorable words of advice on the importance of continuing personal development and team spirit.
Following Mr. Wenger’s speech, the postgraduates were called individually by Mr. Vincent Schatzmann, CIES General Secretary, to virtually receive their degree certificates.
Then, Mr. Martin Kaswurm, as President and official representative of the FIFA Master Alumni association, spoke about the importance of the alumni community in the world of sport and welcomed the class as the newest members to the FMA association.
The "Alberto Madella Award", which rewards the group of students who have made the best Final Project presentation, was announced by CIES Director Prof. Denis Oswald. For 2020, this award went to two groups for their work on the following topics:
They Are Not Referees But They Are Blowing The Whistle: How Are Whistleblowers Impacting The Integrity of Sporting Governance? - Sara Bilali (Morocco), Yash Chugh (India), Igor Markovic (Italy/Bosnia/Croatia/Serbia), Taizo Uchida (Japan)
Balancing Books and Balls: An Athlete-centric Approach to Women’s Football - Bonnie Mugabe (Rwanda), Tyson Scott (Australia), Erika Urbina Echeverría (Costa Rica), Bruno Van Hellemont (Belgium)
Finally, Ms. Alexe Viaud (France) and Mr. Kevin Goco (Philippines) represented the graduates of the 20th edition by addressing the class and looked back on the unforgettable memories created by their academic experience over the past year.
Before closing the ceremony, the president of the CIES Foundation Council thanked the Scientific Committee, administrative and Co-ordination teams at the three partner universities in Leicester, Milan and Neuchatel for their hard work in delivering the course this year.
CIES, De Montfort University, SDA Bocconi School of Management and the University of Neuchatel warmly congratulate the new graduates of the 20th edition of the FIFA Master on receiving their degree certificates and wish them every success for the future.