It was with great sadness and emotion that we learned of the tragic death of Gurvan, MESGO V participant, at the age of 51.
His passion and dedication to sport in general, and basketball in particular, was reflected in his commitment both on and off the court.
A basketball player since the age of 9, Gurvan was also a youth basketball referee and U15 team coach for many years.
Off the court, he put his experience in sports management at the service of leading sports organisations.
He worked for the French Rugby Federation for 13 years, where his multiple, diverse skills (finance, human resources, management) enabled him to reach executive level as head of the sports department. Always ready for new challenges, he then took up the position of Administrative and Financial Director at Stade Français Paris, one of the major rugby clubs in the Top 14.
His desire to learn and share his knowledge and experience with others naturally led him to apply to MESGO, which he joined in September 2018, where, among his many contributions, he wrote a thesis on the social impact of sport, with a particular focus on the inclusion of people with physical disabilities.
After MESGO, Gurvan joined the French Volleyball League, where he held the position of General Manager since June 2020.
For the MESGO family, Gurvan will be remembered as a caring and passionate person with a strong sense of ethics.
The entire MESGO team extends its sincere condolences to his family, friends and colleagues. Our thoughts are with them at this very difficult time.
The application process is now open for the eight edition of the Executive Master in Global Sport Governance (MESGO), which will start in September 2024.
MESGO is a unique programme designed for professionals in the sport sector wishing to improve their skills by mastering the complex dimensions and diversity of international practices related to professional sport with the aim of positively impacting the development of sport governance.
How does it work? The programme is tailored to the schedule of working professionals. It is made up of nine week-long sessions which are completed over a period of 24 months in various locations worldwide*. The participants must also write a professional thesis to be presented as part of an oral examination before proceeding to the graduation ceremony.
What are the minimum requirements to apply? To be eligible for enrolment to the programme, applicants must meet the following criteria: • Have a minimum of five years’ experience at managerial level • Be educated to degree level • Be fluent in English
If you wish to enrol on the MESGO, the application process is described at: http://www.mesgo.org/apply-now/ and will run until 31 March 2024, midnight (Paris, GMT+1).
*The final dates and locations for MESGO VIII will be communicated this summer.
A participant from the current MESGO edition has been appointed to a new executive position.
Since January, Stefan Gunnarsson has stepped into the role of Club Licensing and Development Director at the United Arab Emirates Pro League. Stefan was previously Head of Marketing and Commercial at the Icelandic Football Association (KSI), and has over 20 years’ of marketing experience. He joined the Icelandic Football Association in 2018 after ten years as the head of VERT Marketing Agency, marketing consulting company that he co-founded in 2009.
We would like to wish him the best of success in his new role at the Pro League, where Stefan will work to enhance the work of the Pro League clubs on various issues.
From 6 to 10 March 2023, the MESGO VII participants were in Germany (Mainz and Frankfurt) for Session 4 of the programme. Directed by both Mathias Schubert and Volker Bernardi, senior researcher and sports law lecturer, respectively, at Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz.
Mathias Schubert, Senior Researcher, JGU Mainz
Volker Bernardi, Sports Law Lecturer, JGU Mainz
The session covered several topics related to ethics and integrity in sport, such as; safeguarding and abuse, ethical responsibility of leaders, sports and human rights, freedom of speech and athlete activism, diversity and discrimination including the governance of World Para Sports.
Participants had the opportunity to reflect collectively in some depth on the different topics through work exercises but also by interacting with a large panel of experts in their field. A warm thank you to all the speakers for their high-level contributions to the session!
At the Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz: Presentation about “Ethics and Integrity in Sport: Introduction & Workshop” by Mike Mcnamee, Professor, KU Leuven & Swansea University
At the Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz: Presentation about “Monitoring Good Governance and Ethical Principles in Practice: The Example of the Gymnastics Ethics Foundation (GEF)” by Alexander McLin, Director, Gymnastics Ethics Foundation
At the German Olympic Sports Confederation: Presentation about “The Sports Good Governance Game – Inspire Sport Managers to Become Ethical Leaders” by Abigail Levrau, Professor, Executive Committee Member of GUBERNA & Mathieu Marlier, Professor, Lunex University, Luxemburg
The MESGO group at the German Olympic Sports Confederation
At the German Football Association: Presentation about “Sports and Human Rights” by David Grevemberg, Chief Innovation and Partnerships Officer, The Centre for Sport and Human Rights
The MESGO group at the German Football Association
At the MEWA Arena (MAINZ 05 STADIUM): Presentation about “Diversity in Sports: A Sport Governing Body Perspective” by Ivo Ferriani, IOC member; Member of IOC Gender Equality Diversity and Inclusion Commission; President, International Bobsleigh & Skeleton Federation
The MESGO group at the MEWA Arena
At the EURO 2024 Headquarters: Welcome speech by Markus Stenger, Managing Director, Euro 2024 GmbH & Mex Schär, Managing Director, Euro 2024 GmbH
At the EURO 2024 Headquarters: Open Debate about “the Athlete as Gladiator in Modern Sport: Towards Occupationalisation?” with Matthias Hofbauer, Former Professional Floorball Player, Member of the International World Games Association (IWGA) athletes’ commission; Dr Jürgen Mittag, Professor, German Sport University, Cologne & Rachel Smith, OLY, Athlete Service Manager of Team GB, British Olympic Association (BOA)
In terms of entertainment, the participants had the opportunity to play football at the new DFB-Campus and indoor climbing as well as enjoying excellent traditional German cuisine.
The next MESGO session will take place in Barcelona (Spain) from 26 to 30 June 2023 and will be dedicated to Events and Participation.
The international governing body of football (FIFA) has appointed Jan Peter Dogge — MESGO III graduate — as FIFA’s Team Lead Integrity.
Jan Peter Dogge begins his FIFA career as the New Lead of the Integrity Team after spending 13 years at the Royal Dutch Football Association (KNVB), where he successively held the role of Licencing Manager and Integrity Manager.
He has an exceptional knowledge in the field of Integrity and significant professional experience within the football sector.
A great promotion for Jan Peter, who will continue to apply his outstanding knowledge of match-fixing and other sporting corruption abuses to uphold the integrity of football competitions.
On behalf of all the MESGO community we would like to wish him the best of success in his new role.
The third session of MESGO VII edition took place in Brussels from 16 to 20 January 2023. The session was dedicated to the legal framework in sport and co-directed by Nathalie Alaphilippe and Jean-Christophe Breillat, both lawyers at CDES.
Nathalie Alaphilippe, Lawyer and MESGO director, CDES
Jean-Christophe Breillat, Head of Legal Affairs, CDES
Throughout the week, MESGO participants had the opportunity to attend the presentations in the following locations across Brussels
The session started on Monday afternoon with two introductory presentations on the concept of lex sportiva by Franck Latty (Professor of International Law, University of Paris 13) and the basics of Swiss by Antonio Rigozzi (Attorney-at-law, Lévy Kaufmann-Kohler). Then, we moved to a round-table discussion with Antonio Rigozzi (Attorney-at-law, Lévy Kaufmann-Kohler), Catherine Pitre (Head of Case Management, Sport Resolutions) and Rui Botica Santos (Founding Partner of CRA Law Firm, CAS arbitrator).
Loto Park: Round-table discussion about “Arbitration in Sport: pros and cons. Is CAS the only remedy?” with Rui Botica Santos (Founding Partner of CRA Law Firm, CAS arbitrator), Catherine Pitre (Head of Case Management, Sport Resolutions) and Antonio Rigozzi (Attorney-at-law, Lévy Kaufmann-Kohler).
On Tuesday, following a welcome speech given by Sylvie Marissal (Human Resources Director, Royal Belgian Football Association), we discussed in-house legal management within sporting organisations, by introducing the question of disciplinary proceedings and legal strategy. The issue of the fight against doping was also discussed.
Royal Belgian Football Association: Presentation about “the management of a legal department: from legal strategy to risk management” by Efraim Barak (Founder of Efraim Barak, Sport Law and Consultancy)
Royal Belgian Football Association: Presentation about “The disciplinary powers of sports organisations: the importance of sound proceedings” by Loïc Alves (Legal Counsel, FIFPRO and MESGO IV graduate)
Royal Belgian Football Association: Presentation of WADA by Benjamin Cohen (General Director, International Testing Agency (ITA))
Royal Belgian Football Association: Round-table discussion about “The anti-doping example – the importance of global harmonisation and perspective for other areas (match fixing/ abuse in sport…)” with Jean-Christophe Breillat (Lawyer, CDES), Benjamin Cohen (General Director, Independent testing authority (ITA)), Sophie Kwasny (Head of the Sport division, EPAS executive secretary, Council of Europe) and Christian Kalb (Director, CK Consulting)
The following day was dedicated to EU law and its application to sport. After a presentation on the fundamentals of EU Law and sport by Michele Colucci (Member of the Ethics Unit, European Commission), the MESGO participants had the opportunity to visit the European Parliament and to discuss the sustainability of the European model of sport.
Business & Science Poland: Presentation about “EU law and sport: in the name of autonomy and specificity of sport” by Michele Colucci (Member of the Ethics Unit, European Commission)
European Parliament: Round-table discussion about “the sustainability of the European model of sport” with Jean-François Brocard (Associate Professor and Economist, CDES), Alexandre Husting (Youth, Culture and Sport Attaché of the Permanent Representation of Luxemburg to the EU), Laura Vilches (Head of European Public Affairs, La Liga), Katarzyna Biniaszczyk (Coordinator of the Sports Group, European Parliament – MESGO V graduate), Matteo Zacchetti (Policy Officer, Sport Unit, DG EAC, European Commission) and Benoît Keane (Solicitor, Keane Legal, Brussels)
Day 4 was organised at Autoworld Brussels where the MESGO participants presented a case study about the FIM’s judicial system and had the opportunity to discuss their reflections with our two experts, Françoise Emery (CEO, Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme, FIM) and Alejandra Salmerón García (Senior Legal Counsel, Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile, FIA). Following this, Yves Le Lostecque (Head of Erasmus Mundus and Sport Unit, EACEA) provided an overview of the European funding sources available for the sports sector, before the workshop on “Creative Thinking” organised by Trevor Holmes (Lead Trainer, Bevel). In the evening, a team-building event was organised – a dinner and beer tasting in a traditional Belgian Bar “Moeder Lambic”.
Françoise Emery (CEO, Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme, FIM)
Alejandra Salmerón García (Senior Legal Counsel, Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile, FIA)
On the final day, the issue of EU lobbying was tackled during a round-table discussion with Glenn Cezanne (Founding and Managing Director, Time and Place Consulting Brussels), James Ogilvie (EU and Governmental Affairs Manager, UEFA), Teodora Pletosu (EU Public Projects Specialist, UEFA) and Lukas Declercq (EU Affairs Director, Europe Active).
Glenn Cezanne (Founding and Managing Director, Time and Place Consulting Brussels)and Lukas Declercq (EU Affairs Director, Europe Active)
James Ogilvie (EU and Governmental Affairs Manager, UEFA)
The next MESGO session will take place in Mainz (Germany) from 6 to 10 March 2023 and will be dedicated to Ethics and Integrity.
It is with great sadness that we learned of the passing of Saoud Al-Mohannadi, former MESGO participant (MESGOII).
After serving as the General Secretary of the 16-time Qatar Stars League and two-time AFC Champions League winners Al Sadd SC., Saoud was appointed general secretary of the Qatar Football Association (QFA) in 2001.
In 2015, he became vice president of the AFC, a position he held until his death.
Described as “a true servant of the game” by AFC President Shaikh Salman bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa, Saoud contributed immensely to the development and growth of QFA competitions and, in particular, played a key role in the transformation of the AFC Asian Cup.
For the MESGO family, Saoud will also be remembered as a caring and passionate person, eager to learn and always willing to share his knowledge and experience. The entire MESGO team convey their sincere condolences to his family, friends and colleagues. Our thoughts are with them during this very difficult time.
Alexandros Gerontikos, MESGO IV graduate, is starting a new position as Head of sales Europe & CIS at SPORTRADAR, the leading global sports technology company.
Member of SPORTRADAR for over 10 years, having held the positions of Sales Director Southern Europe and, for the past three years, Regional Sales Director Western Europe, Alexandros has made and continues to make a significant contribution to the development of an industry that puts the protection of sport integrity first.
His new position as Head of Sales responsible for Europe and CIS since 1 January 2023 comes as no surprise to those who know Alexandros, someone with a very strong work ethics, an extensive managerial experience and knowledge in the sports industry, mainly through betting operators around the world, and a passion for his work.
On behalf of all the MESGO community we would like to wish him the best of success in his new role !
Over two days, on 13 and 14 October 2022, 17 participants of the sixth edition of the Executive Master in Global Sport Governance (MESGO) defended their theses and received their certificates at the graduation ceremony in Paris.
The graduation ceremony was chaired by Sean Hamil, Director of the Birkbeck Sport Business Centre at the University of London. Also speaking at the ceremony were Nathalie Alaphilippe, lawyer at CDES and MESGO Programme Director, Jean-Jacques Gouguet, professor at the University of Limoges and Scientific Director of the MESGO programme, and Thomas Junod, Head of UEFA Academy. They wished to thank, amongst others, all partners for their contribution to the MESGO programme and congratulate the participants for having successfully completed the 20-month course.
Keynote speaker at the ceremony was the Executive Secretary of the Council for the Enlarged Partial Agreement on Sport (EPAS), Sophie Kwasny. Sophie gave a speech to the graduates, highlighting in particular the values of solidarity and humanism which, today, more than ever, must be put forward and defended by the sports community.
Congratulations to the new graduates of MESGO VI: Runar Pahr Andresen, Angelo Chetcuti, Joanna Deagle, Sabina Fasciolo, Kim Hallberg, Boineelo Hardy, Lars Helmersson, Peter Jehle, Oleksandr Kucheriavyi, Jorge Mowinckel, Kobe Schepers, Jernej Smisl, Sarah Solémalé, Karim Souchu, Boris Stankov, Emma Sykes and Radu Visan.
From 10 to 14 October 2022, the MESGO VII participants were in Paris for the second session of the programme, which was dedicated to the design and regulation of competitions.
Organised by Sean Hamil, director of the Birkbeck Sport Business Centre, this second session was aimed at examining the external regulatory functions of sports governing bodies, particularly how they apply to the design and regulation of competitions.
Thank you to the Stade Français, Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA), Ligue Nationale de Rugby (LNR), Roland Garros and FIFA’s Paris branch for their warm welcome.
We would like also to thank all the speakers that came to Paris. Having representatives from FIFA, UEFA, ASOIF, FIA, LNR, French Tennis Federation, clubs (Lokomotiva Zagreb, KNVB, PSG) as well as Qanalytics, KPMG and Stats Perform was a key component of the week and allowed a powerful interaction with the MESGO participants.
During the week, participants had the opportunity to attend the UCI Track Cycling World Championships and to have an introduction to 5-a-side rugby.
The third MESGO session will be held in Brussels from 16 to 20 January 2023 and will be dedicated to the legal frameworks governing European sport.
