The UEFA Course Helping Players Revolutionise the Football Industry
What do The FIFA Foundation CEO, the Sporting Lisbon Sporting Director and the CONCACAF Director of Development have in common with five of our founders?
The answer is they all enrolled on the UEFA Executive Masters for International Players (UEFA MIP) programme.
You can add to that list the Sporting Directors of Lyon, Bayern Munich Women, Bayer Leverkusen, Aston Villa Women and, formerly, FC Barcelona. Not to mention the Director of Football Development at UEFA, Executive of Football at Sao Paulo, Executive Vice-President of El Pozo Murcia (futsal), Head of Players Department at Borussia Dortmund and the former President of the Latvian Football Association.
These are all former players and came from just the first two editions of the programme showing the immediate and significant impact the programme is having across the football landscape. The UEFA MIP is exclusively for those that have represented their countries and tailor made to support their transition into becoming highly effective executive managers and administrators.
Player Value
Success on the pitch comes from players being able to perform their best. Former players have unique insight and understanding on what is required to achieve this.
This expertise and experience has often not been utilised in the game except in a few cases such as at clubs like Ajax and Bayern Munich who have benefited from employing former legends in management positions. The increasingly fine margins that determine success in the football industry has led to increased acknowledgement that the value former players offer can no longer be overlooked. There is a growing awareness that taking advantage of this resource can provide an organisation with an important competitive advantage.
Bespoke Education
Former players require education specifically tailored to their circumstances to fully transfer the valuable knowledge and skills learned during a playing career into management, as well as fill in the gaps in the managerial aspects that this career doesn’t teach.
The UEFA MIP perfectly fulfils this requirement. The programme brings leading experts not only from football but from other sports and business to provide world-class insights on management and leadership.
The 18-month programme includes 7 one-week intensive sessions held in cities across Europe and North America. It offers a comprehensive sport management curriculum that includes areas such as the role and skills of the manager, strategic marketing and operations management.
With the programme attracting former international players from around the world, it also provides an unparalleled opportunity to build a global network of valuable contacts. It was with the relationships built during the MIP’s educational and social activities that the idea of Player 4 Player was born.
Applications for the 4th Edition, starting in November 2021, are now open until 30th June 2021 on www.uefamip.com.
With six of the Player 4 Player team having experience of the course, we would be delighted to help anyone who wants to know if this course could be the right option for them.