26/04/2012

The representatives of 15 universities gathered for two and a half days of intense discussions during the 3rd Seminar of the FIFA/CIES International University Network held in Buenos Aires from 12 to 14 April.

Three representatives from South Africa were amongst the delegates, namely, Prof Rosa du Randt and Vernon Oosthuizen from the Department of Human Movement Science at NMMU and Prof Denver Hendricks who is based at the University of Pretoria and is the CIES Coordinator in South Africa. These persons are responsible for the management and implementation of the FIFA/CIES/NMMU Certificate Programme in Sport Management at the NMMU.

The objectives of the seminar were to review the current activities of the Network and to define the key focal points of its work going into the future.

Under the auspices of Universidad Católica Argentina (UCA), the first partner in the CIES University Network, the seminar allowed some fifty participants to discuss themes primarily intended to strengthen the relationships between CIES and the partner universities, but also amongst the universities themselves. The event also addressed themes such as the Network and the world of sport and the advantages and disadvantages of sponsorship in the academic world.

Dr José Clariá, Professor at UCA and Director of their FIFA/CIES Programme, emphasized the importance that the programme has gradually gained in the world of sports management in Argentina whilst  CIES President , Bertrand Reeb highlighted the pioneering spirit of UCA in the Network and the need to maintain an innovative approach for the projects of Network members. Cyril Loisel, FIFA Head of Development Programmes, expressed the desire to strengthen synergies between FIFA and the CIES.

During the seminar, participants also attended guest speaker presentations on themes as diverse as the structure of world sport, the history of Buenos Aires and its football, and the tragic life of Victor Sánchez, an athlete who died under the Argentine military dictatorship.

The participants ended their discussions by expressing the need to reinforce bilateral and multilateral relationships between universities through, for example, joint curricula and research projects as well as shared knowledge.

From left to right: Prof D. Hendricks, Prof R. Du Randt and Mr V. Ooosthuizen