MESGO VI graduate Jernej Smisl has been appointed Managing Director of PRISTOP, the leading communications and consulting agency in Slovenia’s capital, Ljubljana.
Jernej, who has been with PRISTOP since October 2022 and previously held the position of Director of Corporate Consulting, has been promoted to the role of Managing Director. With a broad range of skills including public relations, market research, marketing communications, marketing strategy, brand management and more, he has made and continues to make a significant contribution to the corporate industry, in advising and guiding companies in their strategic planning and marketing initiatives.
In addition to his role at Pristop, he has held esteemed positions that have further enriched his professional profile, including serving as the former President of HC Celje Pivovarna Laško, a renowned handball team and former EHF Velux Champions League winner.
On behalf of the entire MESGO community, we wish him the very best of success in his new role!
Sarah Solémalé, MESGO VI graduate, has accepted a new position as Account Manager in the Membership Department of the European Club Association (ECA).
As of February 2024, Sarah Solémalé will join the ECA from FIFA, where she was Legal Counsel in the Players’ Status Department before joining the Member Associations Governance Services Department as Manager before being promoted to Senior Manager.
With over 10 years of experience in handling transfer and employment litigations, supporting member associations on governance issues, advising on external judicial and arbitral systems, and drafting internal regulations and guidelines, Sarah has now decided to combine her love of football and her exceptional knowledge of sports law and governance-related matters to focus on the development of European football clubs.
On behalf of the entire MESGO community, we would like to wish her the best of success in her 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.
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.
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.
