The seventh session of the seventh edition of MESGO, dedicated to the future of sport, took place in Tokyo from 15 to 19 January 2024 and was directed by Holger Preuss, Professor at Johannes Gutenberg University, Mainz.

The Tokyo session was an ideal opportunity for MESGO participants to consider the future challenges they might face as leaders in the sport industry in the years ahead and to analyse their specific organisations in the light of Japanese culture and sport.

During the five-day session, the MESGO group was welcomed in the heart of prestigious venues such as the Kodokan Judo Institute, the Japan Football Association, Japan Sport Olympic Square, Waseda University and Rakuten.

The MESGO group at the Japan Football Association.

Throughout the week, participants had the opportunity to discuss and exchange views with experts on topics as diverse as the future of sport governance and the challenges facing sport organisations; climate change and its implications for sport; the impact of the new geopolitical order and how it affects sport; why and how future game formats will change; how to use sport for development and peace and inevitably, technology.

We would like to extend our sincere thanks to all the speakers who contributed to this session and to Haruki Uemura (President, Kodokan Judo Institute), Tsuneyasu Miyamoto (General Secretary, Japan Football Association), Mitsugi Oagata (Secretary General, Japan Olympic Committee), Hirotaka Matsuoka (Dean, Waseda University) and Kentaro Hyakuno (Executive Vice President, Rakuten) for their warm welcome and consideration.

At the Kodokan Judo Institute: Discussion about Sport in Japan with Dr Yoshio Takahashi (Professor, Tsakuba University) and Toshiyuki Okeya, Deputy Devision Manager, Sport Integrity Unit, Japan Sport Council.

At the Japan Football Association: Presentation about football in Japan and the WE League by Kay Matsuoka (Executive Committee Member and General Manager, Marketing Division, Japan Women’s Empowerment Professional Football League), Haruna Takata (Chairperson, Japan Women’s Empowerment Professional Football League), Miyuki Kobayashi (Executive Committee Member and General Manager, Football Division, Japan Women’s Empowerment Professional Football League).

At the Japan Football Association: Debate about the future of major events governance with Dr Raffaele Chiulli (President, Association of IOC Recognised International Sport Federations and President, Union Internationale Motonautique), Holger Preuss (Member IOC sustainability commission, Professor, Johannes Gutenberg University, Mainz) and Philippe BlanchardF(ormer Director, International Olympic Committee and Director, Expo 2020 Dubai).

Outside of the classroom, participants were able to immerse themselves in Japanese culture through new culinary discoveries, taking part in judo practice and watching a sumo tournament.

The MESGO group at the Ryōgoku Kokugikan.

The next MESGO session will take place in New York from 23-26 April 2024 and will be dedicated to the North American model of sport.

Two MESGO VII participants have been appointed to new senior positions.

On behalf of all the MESGO community we would like to wish them the best of success in their new role!

Robert Caldwell, a participant from the MESGO current edition, has started a new position as VP of Legal & General Counsel of Real Salt Lake (Major League Soccer) and Utah Royals FC (National Women’s Soccer League).

After law school, Robert worked for a private law firm in Las Vegas, where his practice focused on sports law, international law, and business transactions and litigation. He represented athletes and teams across multiple sports, including assisting ownership groups in purchasing existing teams or starting expansion franchises.

In 2020, he moved to Miami to help Khabib Nurmagomedov found Eagle FC, a start-up mixed martial arts (MMA) league. Their successful first event drew 500,000 viewers from more than 180 countries around the world.

Following this, he has decided to follow his heart back to football and is now the VP of Legal & General Counsel for Real Salt Lake of Major League Soccer (MLS) and the expansion Utah Royals FC of the National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL).

On behalf of all the MESGO community we would like to wish him the best of success in his new role!

From Monday 26 to Friday 30 June 2023, the MESGO VII participants were in Barcelona for the fifth session of the programme, which was dedicated to sports events and participation.

Organised by Francesc Solanellas, professor in sports management at Institut Nacional d’Educació Física de Catalunya (National Physical Education Institute of Catalonia), this session was aimed at examining how sports events are organised by taking a look at the various stakeholders, stages and procedures involved in different sports and events of varying scales. The topic of participation was also tackled, given the impact that events have on sports and the common strategic objective of national and international federations to promote their respective sports.

Francesc Solanellas, session director and professor of sport management at INEFC.

During this week, the MESGO participants were warmly welcomed by the Institut Nacional d’Educació Física de Catalunya (INEFC); the RCD Espanyol Stadium, the Barcelona-Catalunya circuit and Barcelona World Race.

The MESGO group at RCD Espanyol Stadium.

The MESGO group at the circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya.

We would like to sincerely thank all the speakers who contributed to this session including key representatives of MESGO sports partners (FIBA, IIHF and UEFA) who did us the honour of attending the seminar. A special thanks goes to Robert Rieblinger, 3X3 Development Manager (FIBA) and Florian Pasquet, National Federations and Sport Senior Manager (FIBA) for their contribution to the case study on the future development of 3×3 Basketball, which was debated by the participants.

Leslie Ryan, Event Director, America’s Cup

Jeremy Cottino, Membership Project Leader, European Club Association

Neil Beecroft, Chief Disruption Officer, The Shift Agency

Layne Vandenberg, Executive Office Project Manager, UEFA

Miguel Crespo, Head Participation and Education, International Tennis Federation
Rachel Pavlou, Women’s Development Manager – Diversity & Inclusion, The English FA
Kalle Valiäho, Development Director, International Ice Hockey Federation

André Fläckel, Head of Gaming and Esports, Infront Sports
Gustavo Arellano, Head of Commercial Development, FIBA

As usual, team-building events were organised during the week, in this case, participants competed against each other in a kart racing competition and experienced the Barcelona skyline in a unique way cruising aboard a catamaran.

The next MESGO session, which will focus on strategic marketing and communication, will take place in London (UK) from 30 October to 3 November 2023.

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.