Fun, joy - and business - at the 6th FMA World Gathering
“This last edition of the FMA World Gathering was fantastic”, says Nick Lau, alum from the 4th edition and Project & Knowledge Management Group Leader at FIFA.
On 11 and 12 June, the FIFA Master Alumni Association (FMA) held its 6th Biennial World Gathering – this time in Paris, France - and the feedback confirms that the 3-part event was a huge success.
Saturday, 11 June, started with the FMA Congress, with the morning sessions opened only to alumni and to our partner, CIES. Then, attendees discussed matters that concern the association, gave the floor to alumni to present ideas and discussed the vision and direction of the forthcoming strategic plan (more detailed info will be sent to the alumni in the coming days).
The afternoon session was open to members of the current edition of the FIFA Master as well as special guests and was filled with great content and high level of debate and knowledge exchange.
The afternoon started with a keynote speech by Alexander Schischlik, Chief of Sport and Youth Section at UNESCO, addressing critical industry topics such as global access to sport and the interdependence between sport and governance.
That was followed by a Panel Discussion about Recruitment and Career Development, organised by the FMA in partnership with GlobalSportsJobs (GSJ).
Will Lloyd, GSJ’s CEO, moderated the panel with Céline Peltier, HR Director at Paris St. Germain, Mathieu Souchet, HR Director at Lagardère, and Matt Hill, Senior VP for Sports and Entertainment Consulting at GMR Marketing. Other guests, who also contributed with the discussion were Helen Hughes, HR Director at the NBA, Phil Gegan, General Manager, and Juliana Travassos, Strategic Partnerships Coordinator at Soccerex, Cedric Le Nest, Headhunter and MD at Sport Business Talent, and Kelsey Philppot, Senior Director also at GMR Marketing. The afternoon drew to a close with an hour of networking between alumni and guests.
Helen Hughes, from the NBA, said she “really enjoyed spending time with everyone and was very impressed by the calibre of the Alumni and by how welcoming everyone was”, while Matt Hill, from GMR Marketing commented: “The FIFA Master alumni is really impressive. We met a lot of terrific people and look forward to following up with many of them, both with regards to potential opportunities at GMR, as well as ways we may be able to support their organizations”.
At the evening the FMA Committee hosted the 1st FMA Awards, which was followed by a night out at Le Duplex, right next to one of Paris’s landmarks, the Arc de Triomphe.
Aine Power, alum from the 11th edition, and Legal Counsel at the FEI enjoyed the idea introduced this year: “The highlight for me was the inaugural FMA Awards – it was a nice opportunity to celebrate the impressive achievements of our colleagues and to have some fun while doing so”. She continued with her impressions about the event as a whole: “It was wonderful to meet many old friends and some new ones and to be reminded about what makes the FMA family special”.
To read more about the Awards click here.
On Sunday, alumni and guests attended a match of this year’s UEFA EURO – Turkey v Croatia – The passion and amazing energy in the packed (and extremely loud) stadium served as a clear reminder of why we chose sports as our field of work.
In the end, the lingering question in most of people’s head was: when is the next one?
Stay tuned – there will be news on that soon!
Some more quotes:
Alexander Schischlik, Chief of Youth and Sport Section at UNESCO: "I would like to thank the FMA for the warm welcome you offered me and for the opportunity to meet so many engaged and inspiring young executives in sports. I was quite impressed by the depth and pertinence of the many good individual discussions I had about sport’s social role and am pleased to learn about all the good initiatives the Alumni want to take".
David Fowler, FMA’05, Head of Brand and Marketing Communication at FIFA: "The highlight for me was connecting with new FMA and catching up with old friends. The gathering had the perfect blend of FMA updates, professional learning and socialising and was extremely well organised. I left feeling inspired by many of the stories I heard from fellow alumni about how they are trying to shape the future of the FMA and the sports industry in general".
Pascal Sommerhalder, FMA’03, Associate Director at Infront Sports & Media: “The event has been great for sharing best practice experiences and knowledge whilst spending a good night out and being able to do valuable networking and to connect with alumni from all around the world. It was also helpful to get relevant insights and to hear about the latest trends in the global job markets from some the world’s most acclaimed HR professionals and recruitment experts.”
Nick Lau, FMA’04, Project & Knowledge Management Group Leader at FIFA: “This latest edition of the FMA World Gathering was fantastic. It was an acknowledgement to all of us, serving as committee members and active alumni, who have worked hard to bring the FMA to where it is today. But it was also a reminder that we are at an important moment in our history and that continued efforts and teamwork will be required to take us to the next level.”
Lastly, we would like to thank all of those who contributed to make this possible (from within and outside the association), in special our partners, CIES, and our supporter/sponsors: adidas, OCEANS Marketing, GlobalSportsJobs and Soccerex.
The FMA Committee
The Congress
The FMA Awards
At the football match
VIDEO: Relive the 6th FMA World Gathering