The Peninsula
Doha: Supreme Committee for Delivery & Legacy (SC) employee Mead Al Emadi has become the first Qatari to graduate from the prestigious FIFA Master programme, as she continues to contribute to the team preparing the country for the 2022 FIFA World Cup Qatar.
Al Emadi, Head of Education & Sport Engagement, graduated last month after 11 months of hard work. The FIFA Master is one of the sporting industry’s flagship postgraduate programmes and she was one of 32 people who won a place on the course — from more than 600 applicants.
Al Emadi, who has worked at the SC since 2012, described the course as “an amazing opportunity to transfer knowledge”.
“It was an incredible experience and helped broaden my horizons. It opened my eyes to innovation and communicating with a new generation which is very smart. It also gave me an opportunity to change people’s perceptions about Qatar. At the start of the course, there were 31 people attacking Qatar — they had so many questions about the World Cup.
“At the beginning, I tried too hard to defend myself but the more people listened, the more they understood what Qatar is trying to achieve. By the end of the course, there were 31 supporting Qatar and, in many cases, interested in visiting and working in the region.”
The FIFA Master includes three modules — humanities; management; and law and features guest speakers and site visits. Since September 2015, Al Emadi studied at De Montfort University in England, SDA Bocconi School of Management in Italy and University of Neuchatel in Switzerland.
“We learned about the sports industry — it wasn’t just about football. I learnt about many sports, particularly when students talked about their national sports. There was goat racing, kabaddi, rugby, cricket and others.
“We also focused on the Olympic movement and looked at how sport started and how rules and regulations developed. We looked at different perceptions in different countries, along with boycotts, racism, cultural and social issues. It was very interesting.”
Sports governance issues caught Al Emadi’s attention. “We learnt about the formation and structure of sporting organisations, along with how disputes are resolved in different countries. It was interesting to discover how sporting organisations are run financially and strategically, along with the process of hosting international mega events.
“It was also interesting to learn about issues such as doping, corruption and betting. We were given a detailed overview of the successful models of licensing and financial fair play implemented by UEFA.”
Guest speakers included Nasser Al Khater, Assistant Secretary General, Tournament Affairs, SC. He gave a presentation on the 2022 FIFA World Cup Qatar during the management module. “Nasser gave a great presentation and answered a lot of questions,” she added. “He was very honest and admitted there is a lot of work to do in the lead-up to 2022. He helped the students understand the impact the World Cup will have in Qatar and the region.”
For her final project, Al Emadi worked alongside three fellow students to produce a case study ‘Branding a Nation Through Sport: The Case of Qatar’. “We looked at how Qatar is achieving its vision by investing in major teams like Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain, the development of grassroots initiatives such as Aspire, hosting major events, starting with the Asian Games in 2006, all the way through to hosting 88 tournaments in 2015.”
She outlined how her achievement will help the SC and her future career. “The programme offers an opportunity to transfer knowledge. I need to pass on my experiences to benefit my country and the SC. The course was a story of sport, how it started and how it has developed over the years in terms of competition, administration, law and politics.
“One of the best things about the FIFA Master is the network you get to be part of. Listening to alumni talk about what they’re doing was so inspiring. The network puts you in touch with the sports industry.”
