Johan Cruyff Institute awards scholarships to international athletes to train them as leaders in sport management through The Cruyff Athlete Fund scholarship program
Johan Cruyff Institute has assembled a luxury team for the 2020-21 academic year. The institution, through its scholarship fund The Cruyff Athlete Fund, has selected several international athletes from all the applications received to support them in their training and make them leaders in sport management.
Jennifer Hermoso, a forward for FC Barcelona and Spain’s national women’s football team, and three-time winner of the Pichichi (top goalscorer) trophy; Bayron Piedra, recognized as the best Ecuadorian middle- and long-distance runner; Eduarda Amorim, a member of the Brazilian women’s handball team in the last three editions of the Olympic Games, and Marsha Cox, captain of the South African field hockey team, will study the Master in Sport Management Online. Meanwhile, Alexia Putellas, another forward for FC Barcelona and the Spanish national team; María Pía Fernández, a Uruguayan middle-distance runner; André Jesús Camborda, a Peruvian handball player; Andrés Eduardo Díaz, a Spanish triathlon athlete; Bart Aernouts, a Belgian triathlete, and Vasileios Stefopoulos, a member of the Greek national bowling team, will all study the Postgraduate Diploma in Sport Management Online. And finally, Jepi Selva, a Spanish roller hockey player, has chosen the Postgraduate Diploma in Sport Marketing Online.
They will be the beneficiaries of the second edition of The Cruyff Athlete Fund scholarship program, one of the most important pillars of the CSR program of Johan Cruyff Institute and part of the academic legacy of Johan Cruyff. Johan was convinced that, with adequate academic training, athletes are the best people to lead and professionalize the sports industry. This is something their predecessors—Sabine Hazboun, a Palestinian Olympic swimmer; Asmita Kharel, a Nepalese cricket player, and Maria Lamprinidou, a Greek volleyball player—have been able to see this year. This month Sabine and Asmita will graduate of the Master in Sport Management Online, and Maria will do so next year, as winners of the scholarships for the 2019-2020 academic year that is about to conclude.
This is how the new scholarship winners received the news:
Jennifer Hermoso: “I am very happy and motivated to start this program, thanks to the opportunity offered me by Johan Cruyff Institute. This scholarship will help me guide my future, since I want to be able to contribute my sporting and professional experience to future generations of Spanish athletes and continue to contribute to gender equality in sport.”
Bayron Piedra: “The scholarship will help me enhance my sports career by giving me the necessary tools in the area of sport management. My future plan once I have a master’s degree is to share with society what sport has taught me, the values that it has given me throughout my sports career. I aspire to work in national and international sports organizations to look after the interests of the most vulnerable and create projects for new talents.”
Eduarda Amorim: “I am truly honored to have been selected to receive the scholarship from The Cruyff Athlete Fund. The program will enable me to start building the knowledge I will need for transitioning from being an athlete on court to being a manager of the sport. By completing this education, I believe I will be better prepared for the future challenges of working in the sports industry.”
Marsha Cox: “I am extremely honored and excited to have been given this opportunity. Nelson Mandela said ‘education is the most powerful tool that you can use to change the world’. This opportunity is something that will certainly change my world and I am extremely grateful.”
Alexia Putellas: “It is a privilege for me to be able to study at Johan Cruyff Institute. My objective is to learn new concepts related to sport and prepare myself for the future.”
María Pía Fernández: “The scholarship for me is a great opportunity to train academically. Investing time in studying and in professional training is just as important as investing hours in my sports training. Beyond the economic inequalities between sports, studying opens many doors for us and prepares us for today’s competitive world. In my case, I see it as a great chance to develop opportunities, projects and everything that is related to growth at a sports level in my community and, why not, in my country.”
André Jesús Camborda: “The master’s program will be a great source of knowledge. As an athlete and as a professional, this scholarship will help me to consolidate my professional training in the sports field and I am sure that it will enable me to aspire in the future to a position that contributes to the management of sport in my country. I hope that more athletes are encouraged to specialize and look for a better future for sport.”
Andrés Díaz: “The scholarship will help me expand my knowledge about the professional development of athletes and sports entities, since what I want to do in the future is to form a triathlon team.”
Bart Aernouts: “I’m very honored and grateful to receive a scholarship for my postgraduate studies in sport management. I strongly think that this will not only provide me more knowledge about the business side of sport, but will also be crucial for aiming for a future in the sport business after my career as an athlete. My plans for the future are first of all to focus on my career as an athlete as long as I’m competitive and enjoy the training and racing. After this, I would love to stay in the sport business and maintain a connection with elite athletes and professional sport.”
Vasileios Stefopoulos: “I am honored to have been selected for the Cruyff Athlete Fund scholarship for the Postgraduate Diploma in Sport Management. I am a ten-pin bowling athlete and member of the national team. I studied physical education and sports science and I am currently working in the sports business. Thanks to this scholarship, I’m one step closer to building a strong academic background, to being a better person and to achieving my career goals.”
Jepi Selva: “I am very motivated and excited to start the Postgraduate Diploma in Sport Marketing Online at Johan Cruyff Institute. With these studies, I want to get myself up to date and go deeper into what marketing events and sport management refer to in order to plan my professional future in this sector.”
New call for applications, in progress
The application campaign for the third edition of The Cruyff Athlete Fund will be launched on September 1, 2020. Candidates will be able to apply for all the online programs of the postgraduate diplomas and master’s degrees in sport management, sport marketing and sponsorship and football business offered by Johan Cruyff Institute for the September-October edition of the 2021-2022 academic year. The application period for scholarships will end on May 17, 2021, and the winners will be announced on June 14, 2021.
