The 32 MESGO participants, comprising 20 different nationalities, met in Switzerland last week. This first session was presented as an “Introduction to Global Sport Governance”.
The first session of this 8th edition of MESGO took place from the 30th of September to the 4th of October and was co-facilitated by Nathalie Alaphilippe, lawyer at CDES and MESGO programme director, and Jean-Philippe Bonardi, professor at HEC Lausanne. The topic of “Sport Governance” was discussed over the course of the week at the institutional, legal and economic levels and integrated into the social, technological and environmental contexts. Current challenges facing the sporting movement were also addressed and possible solutions were considered.
At FIBA: Nathalie Alaphilippe and Jean-Philippe Bonardi, session directors.
The MESGO VIII participants were hosted in various locations along the shores of Lake Geneva, which were the perfect venues to gain insights and first-hand experience of sports organisations and their governance models: The Union of European Football Associations (UEFA), the International Olympic Committee (IOC), the United Nations Office in Geneva and finally the International Basketball Federation (FIBA).
The MESGO group at the United Nations – Geneva Office.
During this intense week, the participants had the occasion to discuss and debate with the leaders of MESGO’s sports partners:
- Giorgio Marchetti (Deputy General Secretary, UEFA)
- Andreas Zagklis (Secretary General, FIBA)
- Martin Hausleitner (Secretary General, EHF)
- Matti Nurminen (Secretary General, IIHF)
- Sophie Kwasny (Executive Director, EPAS Council of Europe)
As well as having the opportunity to listen to and discuss with other high-level speakers and MESGO alumni:
- Kenny Jean-Marie (Chief Members Associations Officer, FIFA – MESGO III graduate)
- Piara Powar (Executive Director, Fare Network – MESGO III graduate)
- Julien Zylberstein (Managing Director of European Affairs and Governance, UEFA – MESGO II graduate)
At the IOC: Presentation of the IOC strategy by Jacqueline Barrett, Director of Future Olympic Games Hosts, IOC.
At the IOC: Presentation about Sport transformation and new actors by Julien Hess, Director at UCI MTB World Championships Valais 2025) and Jean-Laurent Bourquin, CEO at AdviSPORT.
At the United Nations: Presentation and workshop about Geopolitics and sport by Kenny Jean-Marie, Chief Member Association Officer at FIFA and Carole Gomez, Associate Researcher at IRIS and graduate assistant in Sociology of Sport at the University of Lausanne.
At the United Nations: Presentation about the environmental challenges for the organisation of sports Events by Julia Schmale, assistant professor at the Extreme Environments Research Laboratory (EPFL).
At the United Nations: Presentation about the social challenges for the organisation of sports Events by David Cordobés, Senior Programme Manager (Youth and Sports) at International Trade Centre.
At the University of Lausanne: Round-table discussion about Board diversity in sports federations with Piara Powar, Executive Director at Fare Network, Françoise Emery, CEO at the Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme and Laura McAllister, Vice President and Executive Committee member at UEFA.
At the University of Lausanne: Round-table discussion about implementing governance indicators with Jean-Lop Chappelet, Emeritus Professor of public management at IDHEAP, Marco Ienna, COO at World Baseball Softball Confederation and James Carr, Deputy Executive Director at ASOIF.
At FIBA: Case study discussion on FIBA vs Euroleague with Jaime-Albizu Lamboy-Riley, Head of Legal Affairs at FIBA and Julien Zylberstein, Managing Director of European Affairs and Governance at UEFA.
Many thanks to all speakers for their availability and for sharing their experiences with the MESGO participants!
MESGO sessions are also an excellent opportunity for participants to share special moments outside the classroom. This first session included several team-building activities, including a cooking class and wine tasting.
Next stop: Paris – 25-29 November 2024 – for the second session, dedicated to “Competition Design and Financial Sustainability”.