The participants were back in Paris for the fifth session of the MESGO, dedicated to Marketing challenges, from 22 to 26 April.

The first part of this session was devoted to the concept of brand and the importance of brands for competitive edge and profitability. Strong sports and non-sports brands were carefully studied, notably with leading speakers from the NBA and Virgin. The session then tackled media rights issues, with representatives from free-to-air and pay-TV as well as rights holders. Sponsorship rights, licensing and merchandising, customer relationship management, ticketing and hospitality, sports image rights and social media were among the other topics debated during the week, with a wide range of high-level speakers representing leading companies such as Warner Bros., Ferrari, CAA Sports and Facebook. MESGO participants also had the opportunity to discuss sponsorship and image rights issues with an Olympic medallist.

This marketing-oriented session was hosted by the Federation Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA), Canal Plus, Eurosport, La Croix Catelan and Paris Saint Germain FC at the Parc des Princes.

The participants had the opportunity to watch the two UEFA Champions League semi-finals all together in a festive atmosphere, and to participate in a pleasant and relaxing event to which each of them brought culinary specialities from their home countries.

The fourth session of the second edition of the Executive Master in European Sport Governance (MESGO), dedicated to the legal framework of European sport, took place from 4 to 8 March in Brussels.

The session was organised in four sections, moving from in-house issues (e.g. matters of internal organisation) to others that, despite appearing more distant, are no less important (e.g. issues relating to EU law). In particular, the session concentrated on the management of legal disputes (internal and external), with a special focus on the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) and EU law (EU lobbying, jurisprudence from the Court of Justice of the European Union and the impact of EU law on sporting regulations).

Speakers included representatives of sports organisations (clubs, European federations), lawyers, attorneys specialised in sports law, representatives of EU institutions (the European Commission and the European Parliament), well-known sports law professors and CAS representatives.

The debates took place at the Royal Belgian Football Federation, Constant Vanden Stock Stadium (home of RSC Anderlecht), the European Commission and the European Parliament.

The third session of the second edition of the Executive Master in European Sport Governance (MESGO), focusing on the governance and regulation of sporting competitions, took place from 14 to 18 January in London.

During the week, the debates focused on the financial regulation of sport, notably analysing the UEFA financial fair play initiative, the licensing system of the German football Bundesliga and other regulations existing in Premiership Rugby in England. Other presentations focused on the regulation of sports labour markets from both a legal and economic point of view. The role of agents and the current debate surrounding third-party ownership were also among the topics covered. Finally, the role of supporters as stakeholders in the governance of sports clubs, especially in football, was debated.

Daily gatherings took place at Wembley Stadium, Lords Cricket Ground, Arsenal Emirates Stadium and in the premises of the MESGO’s local academic partner, Birkbeck College.

The 20 MESGO participants also took the opportunity to attend the English FA Cup football match between Arsenal and Swansea.

The next session will take place in Brussels in March and will be dedicated to the legal framework of European sport.

The second session of the Executive Master in European Sport Governance (MESGO), focusing on sports organisations and their governance, took place from 12 to 16 November in Switzerland, at the headquarters of various prestigious international organisations.

During the week, the debates focused on the governance of national and international sports organisations, with case studies dedicated to the European Golf Tour (PGA Europe), the International Olympic Committee (IOC), the Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA), the International Fencing Federation (FIE), the International Equestrian Federation (FEI), UEFA and the International Cycling Union (UCI). Other presentations focused on corporate governance issues, the specificity of Swiss law with regards to associations, stakeholder representation and the role of professional leagues. Finally, a comparison with the sector of humanitarian NGOs was made, through an in-depth study of the governance of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC). Daily gatherings took place in Lausanne (at the maison du sport international and the FEI), Nyon (at UEFA) and Geneva (at the ICRC).

The 20 MESGO participants also took up the entertaining opportunity of a football match against UEFA staff and of a cooking workshop.

The next session will take place in London in January 2013 and will be dedicated to the governance and regulation of sporting competitions.

The MESGO is a unique programme for decision makers coming from the European sport movement (federations, media, sponsors, public actors). Launched by five universities internationally recognised in the field of sport governance, the MESGO welcomed in September its second cohort in Paris.

The twenty participants, managers and executives coming from all over Europe (Russia, Spain, Italy, Macedonia, Lithuania, Denmark, etc.) and from Qatar, will benefit from nine one-week sessions and cover the main stakes that the sport industry faces nowadays: ethics, marketing, European legal framework, sports events, etc. A session in New York City will also allow the participants to make comparisons with the North American model where governance emerged in a very different context and history. The first session, organised in prestigious venues (Sciences Po, Roland Garros, the French Football Federation and the French national olympic committee – CNOSF) fulfilled three objectives:

– to give an overview of the international sports environment at institutional, legal and economic levels;

– to show that the established worldwide and pyramidal organisation of sport, and some of its characteristics, make it a rather special economic “product”;

– to take a more focused look at the European sports model and consider, specifically, the governance of sport.

Speakers included the UEFA General Secretary, Gianni Infantino, the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) President, René Fasel, the FIFA Secretary General, Jerome Valcke and Maurizio Gherardini, Vice President of basketball operations of the Toronto Raptors (NBA).

To celebrate this launching, a gala dinner was organised in the grand 18th century setting of la Maison de l’Amérique Latine. This event gathered participants of the past and the current cohort, along with prestigious guests such as presidents of European sport federations, former ministers and representatives of sports organisations.

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!