  | It is a great honour and an immense pleasure for CIES to launch its fourth Programme for sports administrators in Egypt in cooperation with Cairo University (CU). For more than 15 years, The CIES, which benefits from the financial support of FIFA, has developed a great number of projects with the purpose of achieving a better understanding of the multiple facets of sport and of football in particular. This is why CIES has carried out extensive research in the fields of law, economics and sociology. It has also created an International Master in Management, Law and Humanities of Sport (the FIFA Master) in which more than 260 students from more than 79 countries have already participated. CIES is also the trustee of the João Havelange Research Scholarship which is open to universities from all over the world. Finally, since 2004, CIES is in the process of creating an International University Network which already comprises 14 members in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Costa Rica, Palestine, Senegal, South Africa, Spain, Turkey, Ukraine, Trinidad & Tobago and Venezuela. In Egypt, the Cairo University (CU) is the dynamic and enthusiastic partner of this project. In the age when sport has become one of the key actors of society, it is vital to continue our efforts so that it can retain its power of attraction and its dignity. Remarkable sporting achievements and their economic implications must preserve unwavering ethics. The Programme in question meets this objective. Our presence in Egypt demonstrates our will to offer the future sports administrators of this country and its neighbours working tools in such varied fields as communication, law, sponsorship, finance, management, the organisation of sports events and marketing. The important thing is that these instruments have to be adapted to local realities in order to keep all their efficiency. It will be the role of Cairo University to ensure that this is the case. As the ambitious programme launched by FIFA proclaims, it is a good idea to «Win in Africa with Africa». We will then ensure that, after its successful completion, the FIFA World Cup South Africa 2010 will leave a concrete and fruitful heritage to be bestowed on future generations. Over the last decade, Cairo University has made a strategic decision to respond proactively to the rapidly evolving realities of the global higher education market. This strategic choice was made in pursuit of the university’s thrusting drive to re-brand and re-launch itself as a world-class leading provider of a comprehensive higher education package embracing globally-recognized research, education and community service for its target stakeholders on the national, regional and international levels. Finally, Cairo University wishes to offer high-level educational courses in sports management and sports medicine where it is felt knowledge is still lacking. The second intake of sixteen students has just completed their assessments successfully. They have joined the alumni association, becoming the second group of FIFA/CIES alumni at Cairo University, and are looking forward to their graduation ceremony. |