Italy launches CFM edition

Italy is the latest member association to launch its own national edition of the UEFA Certificate in Football Management (UEFA CFM) programme.

An appropriate setting, the Football Museum in Coverciano, Tuscany, greeted 35 participants – 16 from the Italian Football Federation (FIGC), nine from Italian clubs and the country's professional football league (LNP), and ten guests from the national associations of Slovenia, Moldova and Malta – demonstrating the international knowledge-sharing and pan-European feel that have become key features of this innovative scheme.

The UEFA CFM programme looks to enhance the management skills of association staff and football stakeholder representatives for the overall benefit of the European game. The information gathered and skills learned help graduates move with confidence into senior positions and profit effectively from their studies. The FIGC joins various sister European associations in establishing its own UEFA CFM national programme, and plans are already in place for a second Italian edition in 2016.

"This is a great opportunity for the FIGC," said the Italian association's deputy director Francesca Sanzone in her opening address. "This course, in fact, provides an important chance to address various footballing matters with representatives of the leagues and clubs, as well as with members of other national associations, each with their different experiences.

"Particular thanks must go to UEFA for having chosen Italy as the host of two CFM editions. The framework for this first gathering, the Football Museum in Coverciano [near] Florence, gives everything an even more fascinating air. Here you can breathe the history of Italian football.”

The UEFA CFM, a nine-month programme, comprises studies in football organisation, strategy and strategic management, operational management, marketing and sponsorship, communications, media and public relations, and event organisation.

Six interactive online modules and three face-to-face seminars are included in the UEFA CFM. Content is adapted to local conditions while maintaining the programme's overall values. The Swiss Graduate School of Public Administration (IDHEAP) at the University of Lausanne awards the certificates, and the course has been prepared and is conducted by renowned academics from universities in France, Italy, Spain, Switzerland and the United Kingdom.