SD Eibar & the University of the Basque Country renew ties
The dean of the University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU) visited Ipurua to present the second edition of the higher education training course which is to be taught within Eibar's stadium
The dean of the University of the Basque Country, Iñaki Goirizelaia paid a visit to Ipurua, where he was welcomed by club president, Amaia Gorostiza, as the two organisations renewed their ties with the presentation of the second edition of the Diploma in the Technical Management of Football Clubs, a course run jointly by the SD Eibar Foundation and the UPV/EHU.
Taking their place alongside the university dean were the vice-dean of the Gipuzkoa campus, Ana Arrieta and the coordinator of the Sports department within the Faculty of Education and Sport, Maite Fuentes. The university representatives shared in a working breakfast with SD Eibar's president; vice-president, Mikel Larrañaga; and the head of the club's Foundation, Jon Arregi.
The renewal of the partnership agreement between the organisations sees SD Eibar retain its status as the only top-flight club to offer higher education training within its stadium, with the course set to be hosted in the Training Centre located in the North Stand.
The first edition of the Diploma in the Technical Management of Football Clubs, opened by Vicente del Bosque in November 2015, was hailed a great success, with a cohort of 21 students successfully graduating from the course.
The presentation ceremony held to mark the second edition of the diploma - which interested parties can currently register for - saw details of the new aspects of the course outlined, including: an increased academic workload, with the course now comprising eight taught modules as opposed to the previous six. Furthermore, this year's edition features a module focusing on Sports Law, as well as an increase in the content devoted to management (marketing, communications and finance).
In addition, the course, which is divided up into eight modules - taught in sessions held on Friday afternoons and Saturday mornings throughout the season -, will cover aspects such as training sessions, fitness training, match analysis, scouting, medicine and sports nutrition, all of which will see students fully immerse themselves in the whole range of areas involved in the management of a professional football club. The teaching staff is made up of leading professionals from the university and Basque football teams, including representatives from SD Eibar itself, in the shape of José Luis Mendilibar and Fran Garagarza.
All of the information on the diploma, which begins on 14 October 2016, can be accessed via www.sdeibar.com/formacion , where interested parties can also register for the course.
In the words of Goirizelaia, "The UPV/EHU enjoys strong and close relationships with all of the Basque football clubs, but it's with SD Eibar that our partnerships has resulted in the most significant outcome, in the form of an academic qualification. I wish to highlight the great work done by the club and our School of Education and Sport in bringing together football and academia, sport and knowledge. The UPV/EHU is proud to take its teaching to Ipurua".
In the eyes of club president, Amaia Gorostiza, "the partnership between Eibar and the Basque Public University is vital and it represents a strategic commitment for the future of a region in which university-level training is being brought ever closer to the world of elite football. The fact that the diploma is taught within our facilities at Ipurua is key and it provides concrete evidence that we're the only La Liga club to have taken the step to welcome a university into our stadium".
