The Union of European Football Associations, UEFA, through its learning function, the UEFA Academy, has successfully completed EFMD’s Learning Impact Certification, LIFT. Warm congratulations!

The LIFT certification was created using inputs from over 30 organisations, including CLIP-accredited learning functions and EQUIS-accredited business schools. LIFT was piloted in 2023 and was officially launched in February of this year, making the UEFA Academy the first certification of 2024.

UEFA is the governing body of European Football and the umbrella organisation for 55 national associations across Europe. Its objectives are, among other things, to deal with all questions relating to European football, and to promote football in a spirit of unity, solidarity, peace, understanding and fair play, without any discrimination on the part of politics, race, religion, gender or any other reason, to safeguard the values of European football, promote and protect ethical standards and good governance in European football, maintain relations with all stakeholders involved in European football, and support and safeguard its member associations for the overall well-being of the European game.

The UEFA Academy was founded in 2019, although its roots go back to 2005. The UEFA Academy’s purpose is to lead and inspire the education of individuals and organisations to continuously elevate the game of football. This is underpinned by its vision “to be the home of the best learning initiatives in sport for professionals and organisations” and its values of being explorative, relentless improvement and community builder. The UEFA Academy’s activities include learning programmes designed for managers, specialists and players, as well as on-demand education, knowledge sharing and research. Since its creation, the UEFA Academy has run programmes in 60 countries and graduated over 3,500 learners representing 170 nationalities.

‘The UEFA Academy has demonstrated their ability to deliver impact in the very way they bring their values to life. They have demonstrated ‘expertise’ through their framework and approach that delivers a strong participant experience, resulting in learner recommendation rates for many programmes being at nearly 100%. They have demonstrated ‘relentless improvement’ through their systematic use of stakeholder feedback to ensure the on-going amelioration of their programmes and demonstrated ‘community’ by helping to establish alumni groups that facilitate continuous learning. In addition, they have made contributions back to society at large through their research grants as well as their learning programmes that extend beyond European football to other sporting bodies and organisations,’ commented Steven Smith, Senior Advisor, Corporate Services and LIFT Lead, EFMD Global.

‘LIFT allowed the UEFA Academy to conduct a strategic, outside-in review of how we approached impact following a period of rapid growth. It also helped us to ensure that our development was aligned to our mission of offering football executive education that allows both individuals and their organisations to achieve their development ambitions – thus delivering real impact to both,’ said Thomas Junod, Head of UEFA Academy.

About LIFT

EFMD’s LIFT (Learning Impact for Today and Tomorrow) Certification allows a learning function to evaluate and benchmark its maturity in how it delivers impact to its stakeholders against industry standards. Developed through a design thinking approach and collaborative input from over 30 organisations, including CLIP-accredited learning functions and EQUIS-accredited business schools, LIFT certification allows learning functions to engage stakeholders, analyse impact, and align practices with industry best standards, fostering a culture of continuous improvement.

LIFT provides an externally recognised three-year certification, enabling organisations to receive validation, insights for improvement, and a holistic perspective on their impact approach.

To learn more about LIFT, visit our website or contact Steven Smith or Shanshan Ge.

Discover the essence of the LIFT certification through a series of articles, each spotlighting one of its four core standards. Follow the series for insightful perspectives here.