Opening Ceremony 2nd Edition PILLAI/FIFA/CIES Executive Programme in Sports Management
The opening ceremony of the second edition of the prestigious PILLAI/FIFA/CIES Executive Programme in Sports Management in collaboration with FIFA (the World’s Governing Football body) and CIES (the International Centre for Sports Studies – Switzerland) was held on 20th November 2020. The ceremony was attended by the 23 enthusiastic participants who registered for the Programme along with the Chief Guest Mr. Vincent Monnier, Sr. Manager International Relations – CIES and Former Head of National Associations – FIFA, Guest of Honour, Dr. Shaji Prabhakaran, President – Delhi Football Association and India Coordinator – CIES, Director of the Programme Mr. Franav Pillai, FIFA Masters Mr. Tushar Garg, Mr Saimaini Srinivasan, Ms. Namrata Chatterjee, Mr. Harjass Singh and faculty members. The ceremony had all the excitement and enthusiasm despite being held in the virtual mode due to the pandemic.
Speaking on the occasion, Chief Guest Mr. Vincent Monnier said “This pandemic situation has affected all of us privately and professionally. In this challenging situation, Pillai Institute of Management Studies and Research has shown flexibility, productivity and energy in overcoming the challenges posed by the pandemic. We are here today to begin the journey together that I am convinced will be fruitful. The key objective of our programme is to provide knowledge that will allow you to invest in local, regional and national sport across the world.”
The Guest of Honour Dr. Shaji Prabhakaran, encouraged the participants to interact with the alumni of the first edition and said “This is a unique programme where you get the best of everything from a local level to a global level. Our team is there to give you full support and encouragement in each and every step of your journey. This platform will give you a lot many opportunities to change the world of sport. Prepare yourself and take the best out of this prestigious programme.”
Over 200 applications were received from across Asia for this exclusive programme and after a rigorous admission process a cohort of 23 enthusiastic professionals from diverse backgrounds and countries were recruited for this year, three of them being from Italy, Nepal and Saudi Arabia.
Delighted at the response this second edition has garnered despite the pandemic, Franav Pillai, Director of the Executive Programme, said: “It is indeed an honour to be a part of the FIFA/CIES University Network. Having successfully completed the first edition of the programme, we look forward to further intensifying our efforts to bring positive changes to the sports industry in general. I commend all the participants on taking this important step of learning in their journey of life and am positive that their learning will enrich the sporting landscape of India and abroad on completion of their course.”
The event ended with FIFA Masters Tushar Garg, Harjass Singh, Namrata Chatterjee and Srinivasan Saimaini sharing their FIFA Masters journey with the participants.
