FIFA unites World Cup winners and club executives as teammates to study for soccer diploma
abcnews.go.comWorld Cup and Champions League winners have been learning about the soccer industry at FIFA this week alongside club founders and front-office leaders
ZURICH — World Cup and Champions League winners are learning about the soccer industry at FIFA alongside club founders and front-office leaders.
All were teammates in the classroom this week at the soccer body’s headquarters in Zurich to study all fields of the industry for the FIFA Diploma in Club Management.
Graduates this week included Juan Mata and Angel City founder Julie Uhrman, while Cesc Fàbregas, Esteban Cambiasso and Radamel Falcao are among the latest intake for the 18-month course.
Now in its third edition, the FIFA course aims to give former stars a pathway to careers off the field and better educate soccer industry executives about the players’ perspective.
“When we learn something it is a great feeling. These courses give us a chance to do that,” said Mata, who won a World Cup title with Spain and a Champions League with Chelsea.
As a co-founder in 2017 of the socially progressive Common Goal charity, Mata’s smarts already were established and he was expected to have an impactful post-playing career.
However, former Argentina and Inter Milan midfielder Cambiasso cautioned in one session that some industry executives “think that if a football player develops his brain, that is a danger.”
Fàbregas is studying on the course while coaching in Italy at Como, newly promoted to Serie A after a 20-year absence, where he is also a minority investor.
He was hired at Como by Dennis Wise, who played for Chelsea and England, was an executive at Newcastle and is part of the FIFA selection board for the course and helps teach it.
“There are many of us that are capable of
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