The ninth and last MESGO session, focusing on the Future of Sport Governance, took place from 13 to 17 February 2012 in Nyon (Switzerland), at the House of European Football (UEFA Headquarters).

After two days dedicated to the defence of their thesis by the MESGO participants, the programme was closed by prospective analysis on the Future of sport, covering issues as new technologies, external factors (globalisation, climate change, ageing of the populations, urbanisation…) influencing the system in the long run, cooperation between public and private bodies, importance of soft law instruments and key factors to be considered regarding the future of the sports movement.

For their last MESGO session, the participants were also able to attend an ice-hockey game between the Genève Servette HC and SC Bern.

A total of 19 graduates have received their MESGO Diploma at a ceremony at the House of European Football in Nyon (UEFA Headquarters) – and have been urged to use the knowledge they have gained to nurture the well-being of football and other sports in the coming years.

The candidates have successfully completed the 18-month course – the inaugural one in a programme which centres on sports governance in the current-day sporting world.

The successful graduates were encouraged by several speakers at the ceremony to make profitable use of their new expertise. “Today is a historic day,” UEFA General Secretary Gianni Infantino told them. “Today marks the beginning of what will be known as the Sports Governance Spring – you are the leaders of this new evolutionary movement in sports governance, and you will shape, with your experience, the future of European and international sport.”

FIBA General Secretary Nar Zanolin highlighted the hard work that lies ahead for future sporting leaders. “You have gone through a long journey,” he told the graduates. “Hopefully you have learned a lot, and hopefully you will take this back to whatever sport you are involved in, in whatever capacity, and help the development of sport through proper governance.”

The IIHF General Secretary Horst Lichtner, who was a participant in the first course, passed on the same message: “Thank you to the universities for this brilliant idea and thank you to the federations for their support. It’s time to shape the future and we are the pioneers. I’m confident that we will be able to contribute to the further development of the sports we love.”

“It is a very special moment for you as graduates, and also a very special moment for the universities,” said Sciences Po executive director Inge Kerkloh-Devif. “As you will have a diploma of Sciences Po, you will join a network with 53,000 other alumni – some of whom you may know. Welcome to these alumni. I hope it was an interesting experience and perhaps you will have new ideas to implement. You can be proud, you will be at the beginning of this new adventure. Sciences Po is also proud to be part of this academic family helping to make this programme happen.”

“When we started to think about this training, the goal was very ambitious,” CDES executive director Didier Primault added. “The project was something like our Champions League, but we have been able to build a dream team [of universities and federations]. And the project became a reality thanks to you as participants.”

“MESGO is an international project, there are a lot of relationships, and people have to be cooperative and disciplined to make it work,” said Sean Hamil from the Birkbeck Sport Business Centre. “I can say that it’s been a tremendous group to work with – academic and sporting partners.”

The MESGO team wishes good luck to the first MESGO graduates and looks forward to welcoming the second edition participants!

The eighth MESGO session, focusing on the North American model of sport, took place from 28 November to 2 December in New York City (USA).

This particularly rich session was the opportunity for an in-depthstudy of the North American professional leagues, and in particular their regulatory tools, such as the salary cap and the draft, the mechanisms of collective bargaining (and lock-outs) and competition law issues.

Among the other topics covered during the week were college athletics and the university sports system (NCAA), the organisation of an NBA franchise, the specificities of US Olympic marketing and the American sports arbitration mechanisms.

Hosted in outstanding conditions at the headquarters of the top American sports organisations (National Hockey League (NHL), National Basketball Association (NBA), Major League Soccer (MLS) and National Football League (NFL)), plus Madison Square Garden and Columbia University, the MESGO participants were able to debate these issues with prestigious speakers such as David Stern, Gary Bettman and Don Garber, commissioners of the NBA, the NHL and the MLS respectively.

The final MESGO session will take place in Nyon (Switzerland) from 13 to 17 February 2012 and will be dedicated to the future of sport governance and the participants’ defence of their theses.

The seventh MESGO session, focusing on ethics in sport, took place from 3 to 7 October in Mainz and Frankfurt (Germany).

Among the topics covered during the week were corruption in sport (sports betting and match fixing, corruption risks and compliance), discrimination (disabled sport, racism and violence), corporate social responsibility and corporate communications, and doping.

Daily gatherings took place at Mainz University, the new Coface Arena,the premises of the German Football Association (DFB) and German sports confederation (DOSB), and ahigh-performance rowing centre.

When it came to relaxing, local biers and wines were in the spotlight…

The next session will take place in New York City at the end of November and will be dedicated to the North American sports model.

The sixth MESGO session, focusing on sports events, took place from 13 to 17 June in Barcelona.

Among the topics covered during the week, the presentations focused on bidding processes for sports events, public policies on hosting sports events, impact of sports events and legacy issues, knowledge transfer, risk management and crisis communication.

Moreover, some of the major sports events in Barcelona were studied in details, like the Barcelona Open tennis tournament, the 1992 Summer Olympic Games, the Euroleague Final Four, the Formula One and MotoGP events, the Barcelona World Race and the FINA World Swimming Championships 2003 and 2013.

Daily gatherings took place at INEFC premises (Montjuïc), Camp Nou (FC Barcelona), Circuit of Catalonia and Barcelona Harbour.

In terms of entertainment, the participants had the opportunity to have a stretching and juggle lesson, to test their driving skills in a karting race and to visit the Barcelona Harbour on board of a boat.

The next session will take place in Mainz/Frankfurt (Germany) in October. The session will be dedicated to ethical challenges in sport.

The fifth MESGO session, focusing on the commercial challenges of European sport, took place from 25 to 29 April in Paris.

Among the topics covered during the week, the first presentations focused on the importance of developing strong brands for sports organisations and their competitions. The session took place at the headquarters of the sports newspaper L’Equipe (see picture). The Tuesday was dedicated to issues related to media rights. The participants were also able to attend preparations for broadcasting a UEFA Champions League match (FC Schalke 04 v Manchester United FC) at the Canal+ television studio. The other main topics of the week were sponsorship, ticketing and licensing, rights protection, new media, betting and issues related to the image of sportsmen. Daily gatherings also took place at the Parc des Princes stadium, at Croix Catelan facilities and at Sciences Po.

In terms of entertainment, the participants had the opportunity to use the facilities of the Pailleron sports centre; after a presentation by the UCPA (Union des Centres Sportifs de Plein Air), they played a friendly ice hockey game and took part in some intense kart racing on the ice.

The next session will take place in Barcelona in June. The session will be dedicated to issues related to the organisation of sports events.

The fourth session of the MESGO, focusing on the legal framework of European sport, took place from the 7th to the 11th of March 2011 in Belgium.

The subject matter during this week-long module included the relation between Sport and the European Union focusing on the management of legal disputes.

Daily gatherings occurred at the Union Royale Belge des Sociétés de Football, the European Commission, the EOC EU Office, the Eurovolley Center and the European Parliament. During the traditional MESGO diner, the participants appreciated a keynote speech on the financial fair-play done by Jean-Luc DEHAENE, former Prime Minister of Belgium and current President of the Club Financial Control Panel, implemented by UEFA.

The next session will take place in Paris in April 2011, focusing on commercial challenges.

The third session of the MESGO, focusing on governance and regulation, took place from the 10th to the 14th of January in London, organised by Birkbeck Sport Business Centre, Birkbeck College, University of London.

The subject matter during this week-long module included corporate governance, regulation of sport competitions (with illustrations on football, rugby union and cricket), club licensing and financial fairplay and the regulation of the sport labour market. Moreover, a special focus on the regulatory failure as a factor in the banking crisis was made as a perspective of another sector with lessons for the organisation of governance in the sport system.

Daily gatherings occurred at Wembley, Twickenham and Emirates Stadiums and in the premises of Birkbeck College, University of London. Amongst the speakers were representatives from the English Premier League and the Football Assocation (FA) who explained the basic principles applied by these organisations in their co-regulation of English football; French Rugby Union league vice-president Patrick WOLFF, who explained the regulation of French rugby union, and Arsenal FC General Manager Arsène Wenger, who presented a club perspective on regulatory tools.

In terms of entertainment, the MESGO participants attended the Carling Cup semi final football game between West Ham and Birmingham (2-1).

The next session will take place in Brussels early March on the legal framework of the European sport governance.

The second session of the MESGO, focusing on sports organisations and its functioning, took place from the 15th to the 19th of November in Switzerland, in the headquarters of various prestigious international organisations.

The subject matter during this week-long module included governance and accountability of sports organisations, strategic planning in such bodies and stakeholder representation in sports organisations. Daily gatherings occurred at the International Basketball Federation (FIBA), the Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA), the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and the Stade de Genève, all located in Geneva. Furthermore, the participants attended the International Olympic Committee (IOC) in Lausanne and the Union des Associations Européennes de Footbal (UEFA) in Nyon, with various illustrations on these structures.

Among the speakers were UEFA general secretary Gianni Infantino, who explained the political and administrative organisation of UEFA, FIBA general secretary Patrick Bauman and FEI CEO Alex McLin who joined a round-table discussion on governance and accountability of sports organisations. In addition, the IOC Chief of the President’s Executive Office Christophe De Kepper debated on the political and administrative organisation of the IOC and FIA president Jean Todt along FIA secretary general Pierre de Coninck, on the organisation of motor racing sport.

The twenty MESGO participants also had the opportunity to entertain themselves with a football game played (and won!) against UEFA staff. Furthermore, they attended the Switzerland friendly football game against Ukraine.

The next session will take place in London early January on the governance and regulations issues.

The first session of the MESGO is hosted by Sciences Po in Paris together with several other prestigious sports facilities. On this occasion, a formal diner with representatives of all the partners involved was organised to mark the start of the Executive Master in European Sport Governance academic cycle.