UEFA DFM graduation ceremony

UEFA's educational initiatives are continuing to benefit not only its 54 member associations but also European football as a whole, with 37 graduates receiving the UEFA Diploma in Football Management (DFM) at a ceremony at the House of European Football in Nyon. The participants have been taking part in the third edition of the UEFA DFM course.

Europe's football associations have been deriving benefit from the Diploma in Football Management, as their staff members enhance their expertise in key areas in the organisation of football events – for example, event management, volunteer management, stadiums and security, marketing and media operations.

The objective has been that DFM students can take what they have learned back to their respective associations, as well as exchange experiences and ideas with representatives of other associations – with the result that European football progresses on an overall basis. The diplomas are issued through the Swiss Graduate School of Public Administration (IDHEAP) at the University of Lausanne.

"You are joining a community of graduates," Thierry Favre, UEFA's head of national association development, told the graduates. "It is a community of qualified professionals who share a common understanding of some of the key management principles applicable to football associations. This community also bears responsibility – the knowledge you have learned is of no use if it is not applied."

"We hope these degrees will help you better manage your various tasks within your national associations, and even open up new career paths for you," added IDHEAP professor Jean-Loup Chappelet. "I am sure you will play an important role in the future of football in Europe."

The UEFA DFM has served as an important step in UEFA's education programme, ahead of the UEFA Certificate in Football Management (UEFA CFM) and building up to the Executive Master in European Sport Governance (MESGO). More than 300 people have graduated from the CFM and DFM courses since they were introduced in 2010.

Now the UEFA DFM is being put on hold as UEFA expands its CFM activities across Europe, with specific courses taking place in a number of countries in cooperation with various host associations, and involving greater numbers of participants, following successful pilot editions in Croatia and England. Elements of the DFM course will also be included in the CFM activities.