News Releases

UWI and FIFA sign MOU

For Release Upon Receipt - September 11, 2008

St. Augustine


The University of the West Indies (UWI) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with FIFA, world governing body of football. UWI Vice Chancellor, Professor E. Nigel Harris and FIFA President, Mr. Joseph Blatter, signed the MOU at a press conference on Friday 5th September, 2008 at the Office of the Campus Principal, UWI St Augustine. The new MOU establishes an agreement between UWI and FIFA to undertake cooperative programmes in the areas of research, training, education and facilities development in sport management, education and administration.

“We are hopeful about his development and the partnership with FIFA,” said UWI Pro Vice Chancellor and Campus Principal, Professor Clement Sankat, who hosted the historic MOU signing. Professor Sankat was addressed a gathering which included representatives of the Ministry of Science, Technology and Tertiary Education and the Ministry of Sport; Mr. Austin ‘Jack’ Warner, FIFA Vice President; Mr. Oliver Camps, President of the Trinidad and Tobago Football Federation (TTFF); Lord David Triesman, Chairman of the English Football Association; and Dr Iva Gloudon, University Director of Sport and Physical Education.

“This Executive Masters programme with modules in The Humanities of Sport, Sport Management and Sport Law will find very fertile ground among professionals in the Caribbean engaged in the management and administration of sport. It will develop the human capacity to take our sports administration to new heights, as our sportsmen and women of the Caribbean have already been doing in recent times.”

It is expected that the FIFA International Master in Management, Law and Humanities of Sport will be offered jointly by The University of the West Indies and FIFA. The joint programme is to be housed by an Institute of Sport Studies, which will be established under the umbrella of the UWI Sport and Physical Education Centre (SPEC).

“What this Institute will do is bring all of the University’s academic, recreational and competitive physical education programmes under one umbrella. The focus of the Institute will be to develop a robust academic outlook on sport and physical education and to create a meaningful body of rigorous research about Caribbean people by Caribbean people. There is very little research out there on us, and even less research out there by us. This academic research can be used to inform all of our sport programmes, whether recreational or competitive; whether community-based or regional,” said Dr. Iva Gloudon, Director of Sport and Physical Education.

Known as ‘the FIFA Master’, the International Master in Management, Law and Humanities of Sport is a unique postgraduate sports executive programme, initiated and endorsed by FIFA, and coordinated by the International Centre for Sports Studies (CIES). With more than 200 graduates in 70 different nations, the FIFA Master is now recognised as one of the top graduate programmes in sport, developing all-round managers who are able to cope with the increasingly complex world of sport.

It is taught by three prestigious European universities: De Monfort University (Leicester, UK), SDA Bocconi School of Management (Milan, Italy) and Neuchâtel University (Neuchâtel, Switzerland). Every year, the programme attracts skilled professionals, selected from a worldwide pool of applicants, to take part in the course, which covers everything from business and legal matters to social and ethical issues. The course, which provides practical experience within a solid academic and management framework, aims to produce graduates with the global understanding needed to navigate the real-life challenges of working in the industry. Suitable candidates should have completed a full course of university study. Other assets would include an excellent command of English, an interest in sport, some previous professional experience and an international outlook.

 

About UWI

The University of the West Indies is a contemporary, international tertiary education institution offering innovative programmes, modern facilities and collaborative links with over sixty institutions worldwide. The UWI is the largest internationally accredited university in the region, serving over 40,000 local, regional and international students. UWI is committed to be first in the development of new knowledge unique to the Caribbean and small-island states, and to be the first port of call for Caribbean governments seeking advice and technical expertise for policy development, strategic planning and programme implementation. Persons interested in making donations to the UWI can do so by contributing to the University Campus Endowment Funds, scholarship funds, academic chairs, and new facilities.

 

 

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