Every year, the students of the FIFA Master enjoy an entrepreneurial start up week, referred to as “Week 50”, as part of the class’ course at De Montfort University in Leicester, UK. This year was no different and the Little Bridge Academy was fortunate enough to be invited to participate in a panel which amongst others included:
Jean-Marc Adjovi-Boco of the Diambars Academy, Senegal
Russell Findlay, Basketball Foundation UK/ London Youth Games, London, UK
Rodolfo Canavesi, Sao Paulo FC Youth Academy, Brazil)
- The theme for this year’s session, which took place on Tuesday, December 15th 2015, focused on “Sport Development, Youth Training and Education”, and the goal of the day was to give the entire class an overview of the key issues and challenges that come with managing development projects in the world of sports, specifically with the goal being to deliver training, education and life skills.
While Basketball is a rapidly growing sport with great potential, both the Diambars and Sao Paulo Academies train young football players towards becoming professional athletes and guide them on their journey towards a career in professional football. On the opposite side of this spectrum, the Little Bridge Academy operates with the goal in mind to bring people together through sports, regardless of individual quality on the pitch. All in all, this selection of projects truly did provide a very global vision of what sports development includes and how it is used for development purposes, for training and education for youth in both grassroots and professional environments.
Each of the projects was introduced during a short presentation lasting roughly 45 minutes to an hour, where the class was given a bit more information about the history behind it, the current situation and a number of issues it faces today, followed by a discussion and a short Q&A.
After a brief lunch together with the students, a round table session was arranged, moderated by Mr Kevin Marston, who organized the program for the day.
The day was a great experience and it was an honor to be able to present our program to the students and be able to exchange with other professionals who are working in a similar environment, granted with different means and objectives.
Of course we very much hope to be invited again in the coming year and wish the 16th Edition only our very best during their current stay in Milan, before moving onto Switzerland in early April.