Academy executives from across the European football family have graduated from the ECA Academy Management Programme (AMP) following the final module held in Bruges.
Twenty-seven participants were selected to take part in the first cohort of the ECA AMP, with participants representing 25 ECA Member clubs and comprising at least 19 different nationalities. They concluded their ECA-led learning journey in the Belgian city, where they completed their last module, on community management, before presenting their final projects.
The ECA AMP, which is being delivered in collaboration with Johan Cruyff Institute, is a blended executive education programme which aims to elevate and inspire those in management positions within European club academies to realise their full potential.
Sara Williams, ECA Knowledge and Education Manager, who has overseen the progress of the graduates through their learning journey, said: “I’m very proud of the hard work and dedication expressed by participants to get to this day. Throughout the nine-month journey they have attended three onsite modules at AFC Ajax, Manchester City FC and now Club Brugge KV, have participated in several online sessions including peer-to-peer and individual executive coaching sessions, and have completed several assignments and activities. All these elements have contributed to the growth m in their knowledge, expertise and competencies in key areas, both on and off the pitch, and the presentation of the final projects today was a testament to that.
“The overall aim was to see the Academy responsibles become the best leaders, learn how best to motivate their team and players, and immerse themselves in pan-European best practices.”
Hosted by Club Brugge KV, the closing stage of the ECA AMP was split into two parts - the strategic importance of community management in sports followed by an opportunity to present a final project, before attending a graduation ceremony.
The Community Management module was aimed at providing participants with a deep understanding of community-focused club management and in turn, participants learned to develop, implement, and evaluate effective community engagement plans through assignments, group discussions, and case studies.
Guiding them through the module was leading consultant Geoff Wilson, former Head of Marketing and Communications at the Irish FA.
The AMP participants were also privileged to be joined by Edwin van der Sar, former chair of the ECA Youth Working Group, under whose leadership the idea of creating this education programme was initiated. He provided some key insights and important motivational words of inspiration for all the participants.
Also in attendance was Matt Wade, Head of Sport Strategy representing current ECA Youth Working Group lead and CEO of Feyenoord, Dennis te Kloese.
Participants represented in Bruges included: Shamrock Rovers, BK Hacken, FC Dynamo Kiyv, Vfl Bochum, FC Dinamo Tbilisi, Arsenal Women FC, FRF, Riga FC, AGF Aarhus, KKS Lech Poznań, Parma Calcio 1913, Eintracht Frankfurt, FC Shakhtar Donetsk, Borussia Dortmund, SK Slavia Praha, NK Maribor, FC Universitatea Cluj, Manchester United FC, Celtic FC as well as the Royal Belgian FA and ECA.
Johan Cruyff Institute
The ECA AMP is a collaboration with Johan Cruyff Institute, where sport, management and social work are three key pillars of the Dutch great’s legacy. Cruyff’s own experience as a professional footballer, and later as a coach and advisor, led him to devise a plan to help athletes enter the working world at the end of their sports careers, leading to the founding of the Johan Cruyff Institute in 1999. Since then, it has trained athletes, sport managers and other professionals in sport management, marketing, sponsorship, football business, leadership and coaching. It now offers over 90 study programmes, In Company Training, Sport Xperiences and, besides it’s pioneer Online Platform, has teaching centres in Spain, the Netherlands, Peru and Mexico.