Sport Management Can Change Image of Entire Country

On December 9, the opening of the joint FIFA/CIES sport management programme took place. Participants of the event had the chance to discuss issues with organizing world sport forums with the CEO of the Organising Committee for the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil, Ricardo Trade.

Who got into the HSE-FIFA joint programme

The first participants of the programme include 36 people with degrees (some with more than one) from leading Russian universities. This group is made up of professional lawyers, managers, economists, financiers, political experts, journalists, and even linguists. In addition, eight people are top managers.

Why Russian sport needs new managers

According to the Russian Football Union General Secretary Anatoly Vorobyov, who attended the ceremony, the size of the football market alone in Russia is estimated at $2.5 billion, but this money is not always used effectively, largely because of a lack of qualified management staff. This problem concerns not only football, but other types of sport as well, which is why graduates of the programme will be able to use the skills they receive in basketball, fitness, and figure skating, for example. It was no coincidence that legendary figure skating coach Elena Tchaikovskaia was also at the presentation.  

HSE is going to form a professional sport management community with more than just CIES/FIFA – the university will also work with Russia’s Federation of Sports Managers. A contract has already been signed between the Federation and HSE that envisions seminars, round tables, conferences, and workshops.

How sport helped change views towards Brazil

Dr Ricardo Trade, who headed the Organising Committee for the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil, gave an open lecture to programme participants. A private company created by FIFA, the Organising Committee worked in close contact with the Brazilian government, as well as with the states and cities that held championship matches. More than 1,300 people participated in the Organising Committee. 

According to Mr Trade, the world championship was a ‘catalyst for investments in Brazil.’ New transportation and tourism infrastructure was created, airports were modernized (before, they were ‘reminiscent of bus stations’), stadiums were rebuilt, and more than 50,000 people were given a new job.

‘This was a chance to open up the country to the world and attract millions of new tourists,’ Ricardo Trade commented.

As concerns football itself, this meant a complete reconstruction, and in two instances, stadiums were erected from the ground up.

Will this work with Russia?

In respect to a country’s image, Russia and Brazil have many similar characteristics – large spaces, a unique culture, bad service… In this decade, both countries are hosting world football championships (Brazil in 2014, Russia in 2018), and the Olympic Games (Russia in the winter of 2014, Brazil in the summer of 2016). Thanks solely to the 2014 World Cup, Brazilians were able to boost the country’s tourism potential and build a great deal of new social facilities. Will Russia be able to do the same?

The purely football-related objective is to increase attendance at matches (currently, an average 13,000 people come to matches held by Russia’s Football Premier League). But it is necessary to seek alternative ways of using stadiums, which also requires marketing and unconventional management decisions.

Overall, sport management in Russia will be something to work at both before and after the world championships.