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.
The 30 MESGO participants, of 22 different nationalities, met in Lausanne last week. “Introduction to Global Sport Governance” was the main focus of this first session.
The first session of the MESGO 7th edition took place from 22 to 26 August 2022 and was co-directed by Nathalie Alaphilippe, lawyer at CDES and MESGO programme director and Jean-Philippe Bonardi, professor at HEC Lausanne. During this week, dedicated to the “Introduction to global sport governance”, the debates focused, among others, on the governance of national and international sports, on corporate governance issues and governance strategy.
MESGO VII participants were hosted by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA), the International Olympic Committee (IOC), the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) and finally the International Basketball Federation (FIBA) where they had the opportunity to discuss a case study on FIBA vs Euroleague.
The MESGO VII group at the International Olympic Committee.
During this intense week, the participants had the chance to discuss and debate with senior leaders of the MESGO sports partners:
Giorgio Marchetti (deputy general secretary, UEFA)
Andreas Zagklis (secretary general, FIBA)
Martin Hausleitner (general secretary, EHF)
It was also an opportunity for the participants to listen and discuss with other high-level speakers from within and outside the sports sector and MESGO former participants:
Eric Ropert (managing director, French Ice Hockey Federation)
Kevin Ashby (Senior Digital Content Manager, UEFA)
Alex Phillips (consultant); Michal Buchel (CEO, International SAMBO Federation)
Ciska Du Plessis Austin (Strategic and Business Advisor, Cycling South Africa)
Many thanks to them for their availability and sharing their experience with the MESGO participants!
MESGO sessions are also an opportunity for participants to share special moments outside the classroom. For this first session, several team-building activities took place, including cooking class, wine tasting and an introduction to track cycling.
Next stop will be in Paris, 10 to 14 October 2022 for a second session dedicated to “Competition Design and Financial Sustainability”.
The sixth session of MESGO VI edition dedicated to Strategic Marketing and Communication took place in London from 28 February to 4 March 2022.
Directed by Roman Putsch, Head of Marketing Activities at UEFA, the objective of this session was to present various means of value creation linked to sports marketing, from the perspective of sports federations, brands and broadcasters.
Roman Putsch, session Director and Head of Marketing Activities at UEFA
During this week, MESGO participants had the opportunity to attend the presentations in the following locations across London:
Lord’s Cricket Ground
Chelsea FC
Tottenham Hotspur Stadium
Brentford Community Stadium
The Shard
At Chelsea FC: Digital Marketing – how you can grow fandom and evolve the business model presented by Richard AyersAt Tottenham Hotspur Stadium: Panel discussion about the perspective of global brands on the future of sponsorship with the participation of Colin Strawson, Kieran Nokes, Ralph Straus, Oliver Hicks and Annie Panter, At the Shard: Workshop about Communication in action directed by John Bailey
MESGO sessions are also an opportunity for participants to share special moments. Several team-building activities took place during the week, including a dinner, football game and a ping pong activity.
The next MESGO session will take place in New York from 26 to 29 April 2022 and will be dedicated to the American model of Sport. Then, the participants will travel to the West Coast for a session dedicated to Leadership and Innovation.
MESGO VI participants visited Barcelona last week for the fifth session of the programme.Francesc Solanellas, professor in sports management at Institut Nacional d’Educació Física de Catalunya (National Physical Education Institute of Catalonia) organised the session, which took place from 24 to 28 January and was dedicated to sports events and participation.
At circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya: Francesc Solanellas, professor at INEFC and MESGO session 5 director
Various topics and issues were tackled during the week, in particular :
Bidding strategies;
Governance models and main stakeholders;
Implementation of the event, with a focus on risk and crisis management;
Post-event issues (legacy, knowledge transfer and economic impact);
Strategies implemented by national and international federations to increase participation.
We would like to thank all the speakers that contribute to this session: Lars Haue-Pedersen, Managing Director (Sports Practice, Burson Cohn and Wolfe); Jordi Bertomeu Orteu, CEO (Euroleague Basketball); Roser Queraltó, Chief Business Development Officer (Euroleague Basketball); Eduard J.Scott, International C-Level Sports Business Leader (Freelance); Xavier González, former CEO (International Paralympic Committee); Jeremy Cottino, Director of Strategy and Projects Execution (AS Monaco); Josep Lluis Santamaria, Director (Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya); Marc Saurina, Commercial Partnerships Senior Director (Dorna Sports); Philippe Furrer, Founder and Chief Engagement Officer, (insPoweredBy) and Co-Founder and Chief Impact Officer (The SHIFT); Patricia González, Group Leader Talent Development Programme (FIFA); Miguel Crespo, Head Participation and Education (International Tennis Federation); Gerard Figueras, former General Sports Secretary (Generalitat of Catalunya); Dr Holger Preuss, Professor (Johannes Gutenberg University of Mainz); Gilbert Felli, Former Chief Executive Officer (IOC); André Fläckel, Head of Gaming and Esports (Infront Sports).
It was also an opportunity for the participants to listen and discuss with key representatives of MESGO sports partners: Robert Rieblinger, 3X3 Development Manager and Florian Pasquet, National Federations and Sport Senior Manager (FIBA) ; Lukasz Wojtowicz, Head of CEO office, Barbara Storaci, Project Manager, Andrea Brighenti, Head of Football Planning and Services and Peter Dennis, Licensing Manager (UEFA).
The MESGO team is very grateful to all of them for their availability and willingness to share their experiences.
At INEFC: presentation about “Bidding for UEFA events” by Andrea Brighenti
At INEFC: presentation about “Bidding for UEFA events” by Barbara Storaci
At Real Club de Polo Barcelona: presentation about the EuroLeague model by Jordi Bertomeu Orteu
At Real Club de Polo de Barcelona: presentation about Turkish Airlines Final Four by Roser Queralto
At Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya: presentation of the Circuit by Josep Lluis Santamaria
At Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya: presentation about MotoGP events by Marc Saurina
At Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya: presentation about “Risk management for sports events” by Jérémy Cottino
Online: Robert Rieblinger, expert for FIBA 3X3 case study
At Barcelona World Race: Round-table discussion about Sports participation with Philippe Furrer, Patricia Gonzalez and Miguel Crespo
At Barcelona World Race: Presentation about “Evolution of the impact and legacy of major sports events” by Dr Prof Holger Preuss
At Emilio Sanchez Academy: presentation about “The current esports landscape” by André Flackel
At Emilio Sanchez Academy: presentation about “UEFA EURO 2020 eTournament” by Peter Dennis
As usual, a team-building event was organised during the week, in this case, participants competed against each other in a kart racing competition.
The next MESGO session will take place in London from 28 February to 4 March 2022 and will be dedicated to Marketing and Communicaton.
On 1 and 2 October 2021, MESGO V participants attended a two-day session on the Future of Sport. This session, initially scheduled to be in Beijing, corresponds to the second part of the 9th (and final) session of the fifth edition of the MESGO programme.
On 1 and 2 October 2021, MESGO V participants attended a two-day session on the Future of Sport. This session, initially scheduled to be in Beijing, corresponds to the second part of the 9th (and final) session of the fifth edition of the MESGO programme.
Co-directed by Holger Preuss, professor at the Johannes Gutenberg University in Mainz and Jean-Jacques Gouguet, professor at the University of Limoges, the objective was to introduce participants to scenario planning, climate change, new technology and its impact on sport governance.
The session concluded on 2 October, with 22 participants from the fifth edition of the Executive Master in Global Sport Governance (MESGO) receiving their degree certificates at the graduation ceremony in Mainz, chaired by Sean Hamil, director of the Birkbeck Sport Business Centre at the University of London.
Sean Hamil, Thomas Junod and Didier Primault.
Also speaking at the ceremony were Thomas Junod, Head of UEFA Academy and Didier Primault, General Director of CDES. They wished to thank, amongst others, all associated partners for their contribution to the MESGO programme as well as congratulate the participants for having successfully completed the 18-month course. A special tribute must be given to everybody involved within the organisation and structure of the MESGO, but we are especially proud of the participants who managed to remain motivated despite experiencing the difficult scenario of a global pandemic throughout the course of their studies. MESGO participants prove to be resourceful, tenacious and resilient; the qualities needed to be a successful and committed actor in the sporting environment.
Congratulations to the new MESGO V graduates: 2021,Didier Andrist, Irena Bakrevska Miloshevska, Robert Barczi, Katarzyna Biniaszczyk, Yashwanth Biyyala, Michal Buchel, Dimitris Davakis, Ciska Du Plessis Austin, Nerijus Dunauskas, Stuart Dykes, Alvaro Garcia-Alaman de la Calle, Nuno Moura, Gurvan Kervadec, Giel Kirkels, Pierre Locht, Anton Maliutin, Jonathan Martinez, Joanna Poulton, Yury Sadouski, Jovan Surbatovic, Lisa Wiederer, Ales Zavrl.
After having previously attended their sessions and webinars online, the MESGO VI participants were finally able to meet face-to-face in Mainz, Germany for Session 4 of the programme.
The five-day session, jointly directed by Dr Holger Preuss, Volker Bernardi and Dr Mathias Schubert from the Johannes Gutenberg University (JGU) in Mainz, covered several topics related to ethics in sport, such as corruption, sport for disabled athletes, diversity in sport and environmental sustainability.
A different academic institution hosted and presented each session over the five days: Johannes Gutenberg University, Mainz (MESGO partner); Kupferbergterrasse (event location); Mewa Arena (Mainz 05 Stadium); Bootshaus Mainz (event location).
On Friday, the participants returned to the Johannes Gutenberg University to defend their first paper which makes up part of the MESGO thesis; an important and mandatory step towards the completion of their Executive Master’s degree in Global Sport Governance.
The MESGO team at Mewa Arena (MAINZ 05 Stadium).
We would like to take this opportunity to thank all the speakers that contributed to this session!
In the evenings, the participants had the opportunity to discover German culture and gastronomy, a particular highlight of the week being a guided tour of the Kupferberg wine cellars followed by dinner at the Kupferberg restaurant.
Visit of the kupferberg museum.
The next MESGO session will take place in Paris from 22 to 26 November 2021 and will be dedicated to Competition design and financial sustainability.
Noel Mooney, MESGO III graduate, has been appointed as Chief Executive Officer of the Football Association of Wales.
At the end of August, Noel Mooney will join the Football Association of Wales from UEFA, where he has been Head of Strategic Development since 2011.
Following his career as a goalkeeper in the League of Ireland (Limerick, Cork City and Shamrock Rovers), in 2006 he joined the Football Association of Ireland and continued to make a contribution to Irish football by looking after the development of domestic football when managing the marketing department. Later on, he also had the opportunity to lead the FIA, ad interim, for six months in 2019.
Over the past decade at UEFA he has created a number of leading development programmes to grow the European game. He can now use his vast experience and wide skillset in the development of Welsh football.
On behalf of all the MESGO community we would like to wish him the best of success in his new role.
