2011

Doping is a hot topic and CIES hosts another conference, where insiders give their professional input on new forms of doping, laboratory testing, investigations, regulation, sanctions and governing bodies.

Learn more about CIES’ Sports Observatory and Football Observatory.

The International Basketball Federation (FIBA) knocks on the CIES Football Observatory’s door to invite it carry out an unprecedented study on the migration of professional basketball players. This leads to the creation of the CIES Sports Observatory which covers all sports beyond football.

And the FIFA/CIES Programme in Sports Management widens its outreach even further to Madrid, Caracas and Rio de Janeiro, adding Universidad Rey Juan Carlos (Spain), Universidad Metropolitana (Venezuela) and Fundação Getúlio Vargas (Brazil) to its list of partner universities.

First edition of the International University Network Program in Sport Management in Madrid, organised in collaboration with the University of King Juan Carlos and the Spanish Football Federation.

2012

The FIFA Master is rising through the ranks! It ranks second in the world among sports management training programmes and first in Europe, by the prestigious sports industry magazine, SportBusiness International.

SportBusiness International’s ranking is recognised around the world as the most comprehensive guide to post-graduate sports management courses.

The CIES Football Observatory ushers in the Big-5 Weekly Post. It goes from publishing its statistics on the five major European championships on an annual basis to a weekly basis.

CIES Football Observatory carries out several research mandates, notably for the SFL.

CIES organises an important round table in Neuchâtel on betting and match-fixing, to which many representatives of the sports sector are invited.

The CIES participates in the centenary of FC Neuchâtel Xamax and contributes to it by organising several round tables at the Museum of Art and History of Neuchâtel.

2013

The execution of thirteen mandates is the rhythm of this year. They cover tasks as diverse as the analysis of data and questionnaires, research on the functioning of sports organisations as well as on their regulations and statutes. Among the organisations are the IOC, FIFA, FIBA, IIHF, UEFA, ECA and SFL.

Sports governance also gets some much deserved attention. CIES brings together numerous international sports federations under the umbrella of the International Association of Summer Olympic Sports (ASOIF) in a major conference in Lausanne. These will take place annually to establish the best sports governance practices.

David Trezeguet, former Juventus FC player and 1998 FIFA World Cup winner, as well as alumnus of the FIFA/CIES Programme in sports management organised in partnership with Universidad Católica Argentina (UCA), participated in the Buenos Aires conference.

The FIFA/CIES Programme in Sports Management of the International University Network now includes 13 universities and celebrates its tenth anniversary with a conference in Buenos Aires that brought together more than 300 people and numerous personalities.

2014

Number one! In 2014, the FIFA Master earns the top spot in SportBusiness’ global ranking of sports management programmes– a testament to the hard work of the various teams that make this programme a reality. The originality of the curriculum explored across three different countries remains a real added value of the programme and offers a unique learning experience to the participants.

CIES Director Prof. Denis Oswald (on the far right) with some of the graduates from the 14th edition of the FIFA Master and this edition’s Patron former French winning World-Cup champion Christian Karembeu.

The FIFA Master team proudly holds the programme’s ranking award from SportBusiness.

But CIES has been busy on other fronts as well. In 2014, it comes out with two important new titles, one on supporterism and the other on football governance in order to identify and analyse global governance practices in football.

The 1st volume on football governance is published in 2014 and shows governance structures between associations and leagues. The 2nd volume will follow in 2016 and the 3rd in 2017.

The 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil kicks off a series of major sporting events hosted by the country: the Football World Cup (2014) and the Summer Olympic Games (2016). CIES hosts an international round table in Lausanne, where various prominent speakers share their expertise on the challenges hosting these events pose for this great sporting nation.

2015

CIES celebrates a new milestone – it’s 20th anniversary and the 15th anniversary of the FIFA Master! A big thank you is extended to all those who have contributed to CIES’ success at a special reception near its home base in Neuchâtel.

CIES organises a round table to discuss the new framework the International Olympic Committee has adopted for the Olympic Movement: Olympic Agenda 2020.

Some of the new measures under the Olympic Agenda 2020 are Olympic Games bids, the Competition Programme and the reinforcement of good governance and ethics.

The CIES Football Observatory again shows its interest in greater access to information. It channels its large database on player demographics and migration to a unique interactive atlas accessible online.

The FIFA Master's programme is once again ranked as the best Master's programme in sports management in Europe by SportBusiness International magazine and is also voted best Master’s programme in sports management in the world in the Professors’ Choice category.