UEFA CFM EURO focus

UEFA EURO 2016 in France was, appropriately, a major topic at the UEFA Certificate in Football Management (UEFA CFM) French national session which took place in Paris.

The French edition is the latest national edition of this educational programme, which aims at reinforcing the management skills of staff within UEFA's national associations and which is being implemented across Europe. The UEFA CFM is a nine-month programme with studies into topics including football organisation, strategy and strategic management, operational management, marketing and sponsorship, communications, media and public relations, and event organisation.

The UEFA CFM has now gone international. The programme is being offered within various national associations, and content is being adapted to local contexts while still maintaining its overall values. The Swiss Graduate School of Public Administration (IDHEAP) awards the certificates, and the programme has been prepared and is conducted by respected academics from universities in France, Italy, Spain, Switzerland and the United Kingdom.

Among the highlights in Paris was a round table involving the president of UEFA EURO 2016 SAS, Jacques Lambert, the French Football Federation (FFF) CEO Florence Hardouin and UEFA head of event services Lukas Achermann. The discussion focused on UEFA EURO 2016, an overview of the event and the importance of project management in such a tournament. Florence Hardoin also spoke about the Horizon Bleu initiative, which the FFF will implement to reinforce the legacy of UEFA EURO 2016.

UEFA is also open to learning fresh expertise within the preparation process for UEFA EURO 2016, and several UEFA staff members took part in the UEFA CFM session in Paris, increasing the links between UEFA and the FFF in the run-up to European football's blue-riband national-team event. They were joined by FFF staff members from a number of departments, representatives of the French professional football league (LFP) and clubs, and participants from the Hellenic Football Federation (EPO), the Royal Netherlands Football Association (KNVB) and the Football Association of Wales (FAW) – emphasising the international feel of the programme and its goal to enhance management skills throughout Europe.

"The edition organised in France has a very special importance for UEFA," said UEFA's head of human resources Julien Baehni in opening the course. "EURO 2016 will be an amazing event, and both [UEFA and the FFF] will fully contribute to its success. This is why we thought that the UEFA CFM organised in France would be the perfect opportunity to strengthen the connection between UEFA and the French Football Federation during the months leading up to the EURO." Baehni was joined in opening the course by Christian Teinturier, president of the Institut de Formation du Football, the body organising the UEFA CFM in France in conjunction with the FFF.