UEFA honours education graduates

Just over 70 graduates have received the UEFA Certificate in Football Management (CFM) and UEFA Diploma in Football Management (DFM) in a ceremony at the House of European Football in Nyon, after completing nine-month courses.

UEFA has strong links with the academic community notably through a series of educational initiatives that are providing various concrete benefits to UEFA, its 53 member national associations and European football as a whole. The UEFA education programme has three stages – the CFM, followed by the DFM and building up to the Executive Master in European Sport Governance (MESGO). Presidents and general secretaries of national associations can recommend up to two members of staff a year as candidates for both the CFM and the DFM.

The second edition of the UEFA Certificate in Football Management began last September. Its programme is linked to UEFA's Knowledge & Information Sharing Scenario (KISS) and aims to help the UEFA member associations reinforce their knowledge and management of football.

The foundation course comprises six online modules (e-learning) and three face-to-face seminars. The CFM spans a nine-month period from September to May. Certificates are awarded through the Swiss Graduate School of Public Administration (IDHEAP) at the University of Lausanne. Every online module focuses on one central aspect: the organisation of European and world football, strategic and performance management, operational management, event management, marketing and sponsorship, internal and external communication.

Meanwhile, the DFM began its inaugural edition last September. National associations' middle managers will benefit from the DFM by getting the chance to enhance their knowledge in key areas in the organisation of football events – for example, volunteer management, stadiums and security, marketing operations and media operations.

Participants not only apply what they learn back at home in their respective associations, but also exchange experience with representatives of other associations – so serving the development of football in Europe as a whole. As with the CFM, the diplomas are issued through IDHEAP at Lausanne University.

The advanced course comprises four online modules plus three face-to-face seminars. Each module addresses an important facet of national football association management and is prepared and run by internationally renowned academic experts. All modules have been developed in close cooperation with UEFA and practitioners in the field to ensure they meet the needs of national association staff.

"We at UEFA believe very much in these courses, in knowledge-sharing and exchange, we think that we can always improve and learn," said UEFA general secretary Gianni Infantino. "A key element which has been created now is the network between UEFA and yourselves, and we have to make this network live. We are proud of what you have achieved."

"You have all worked very hard over the last nine months," added Jean-Loup Chappelet, IDHEAP professor, "You deserve this degree, which we hope will help you in the management of your national associations, and open new career paths. Most of you will play an important role in European football in the future and beyond."