In 2004, FIFA and CIES decided to set up a unique International University Network with reputable and forward-thinking universities, to offer a sports (and not solely football) management programme in a certain number of key countries.

The FIFA/CIES sport management programme covers key areas of sport management, namely law, management, event management, communication, finance, and marketing. It aims to familiarise students with the principles and methods of global management in today’s world, as well as adapting these to the realities of situations at a local economic, cultural and social level.

CIES (International Centre for Sports Studies), located in Neuchatel, is a private Swiss foundation, affiliated with the University of Neuchatel and created in 1995 by FIFA (under the impetus of its current president, Mr. Joseph S. Blatter), the University of Neuchatel, and the City and Canton of Neuchatel.

CIES specialises in three specific domains: law, sociology and economy of sport, with a view to bring together the sporting and the academic worlds. Privileging a pluri-disciplinary approach, CIES provides a wide range of research, education and consultancy services.