A research centre whose academic experts have taken the importance of sports history and its impact on society to a global audience is celebrating its 25th anniversary at De Montfort University Leicester (DMU).
The International Centre for Sports History and Culture (ICSHC) has been responsible for the publication of a myriad of books and journal articles covering every sporting discipline, from rugby, boxing and cycling to sporting mega-events like the World Cup and Olympics and Paralympics.
A FIFA Masters cohort at LCFC's King Power Stadium changing rooms...
Academics have delivered keynote speeches at hundreds of conferences around the world and the centre has seen thousands of students pass through its lecture theatres to achieve undergraduate and Master's degrees, as well as PhDs, before taking up roles within academia and at various sporting organisations at home and overseas.
To mark its 25th anniversary the ICSHC has published the ‘25th Anniversary Report 1996 to 2001’ charting its beginnings, under the directorship of Professor Wray Vamplew, to the globally recognised research centre it is today.
Current Director Professor Martin Polley said: “The ICSHC has had a fantastic first 25 years, with a great track record in teaching, research, PhD supervision, publications, media work, and consultancies.
“This anniversary allows us to reflect on those achievements, and also to think about the wonderful current work we are doing.
...and an archive picture of LCFC playing in the 1961 FA Cup Final
“This includes a sports history pathway on the BA History, three successful Masters programmes, a vibrant PhD culture, and some pioneering writing by our members.
“We are also delighted with our collaborations with some cutting-edge projects here at DMU, including Decolonising DMU, DMU Women and DMU Pride. We are all looking forward to shaping the next stage in the ICSHC's story.”
The ICSHC is also home to the FIFA Master or, to give its full title, the FIFA International MA in Management, Law and Humanities of Sport.
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Over the last 20 years the course has welcomed hundreds of international students to DMU to study the Humanities of Sport module before going on to the SDA Bocconi School of Management in Italy and the University of Neuchâtel and the Centre International d’Etude du Sport (CIES) in Switzerland.
The FIFA Master has been ranked by Sport Business International the number one postgraduate sports management course in Europe a record eight times. Course alumni have include the former Manchester United midfielder and South Korea international Park Ji Sung as well as New Zealand Olympic rower Emma Twigg who is competing in this month's Tokyo games.
In 2020, to mark the 20th anniversary of the FIFA Master course, the Centre hosted a special conference on the theme of ‘Female Leadership in International Sport’. Graduates Kirsty Burrows, Managing Director of Sports Rights Solutions, who advises the International Olympic Committee on the prevention of harassment and abuse in sport, Sara Panizo, who works for FIFA in Zurich overseeing development projects in the Americas, and Marianne Cornejo, International Motorsports Junior Manager for Red Bull, came back to DMU to lead the discussions.
Professor Pierre Lanfranchi, who was a co-founder of the Centre and is a FIFA Master course Co-Scientific Director, reflected on the evolution of the centre.
He said: “When we set up the centre, our vision was to create a place for scholars to meet and discuss the history of sport in its many contexts. Over the years, it has grown in so many directions, and it now encompasses undergraduate and postgraduate teaching, PhD work, conferences, webinars and so much more. The centre is now more diverse than we ever imagined it could be at the start, but it continues to be unique, open, friendly, and curious. I am so proud to have been a member since day one”.
The presence of a world-leading sports history centre has also led to DMU Special Collections actively acquiring sports-related collections to support teaching and research, including those of England Boxing and the Ski Club of Great Britain, as well as archives covering the Special Olympics hosted in Leicester in 1989 and 2009.
The work of DMU’s sports historians is also read by tens of thousands of football fans during the Premier League season via a history section in Leicester City’s matchday programme. In the 2019/20 season the programme ran DMU contributions on Black, Asian and minority ethnic players and managers throughout history. Many Leicester City fans were introduced for the first time to the stories of pioneers in England and Scotland, such as Andrew Jackson, Eddie Parris and Jack Leslie, as well as international pioneers like Larbi Benbarek and Jose Leandro Andrade.
Dr Heather Dichter, Associate Professor of Sport Management and Sport History at the Centre, said: “The ICSHC played a huge part in my decision to move to the UK and accept the position at DMU.
“The strengths of the ICSHC, and sport history in general at DMU, were reflected in the creation of DMU’s postgraduate sport management course taught entirely in Leicester, and I accepted the position to lead the programme.
“My ICSHC colleagues have been wonderful and supportive of my research, and I am so happy to have made the move across the pond to DMU.”
James Panter, who is the FIFA Master Humanities of Sport Module Co-ordinator and who co-managed production of the anniversary report with Centre Director Martin Polley said: “From report launches at the Houses of Parliament, keynote guest lectures by some of the biggest names in elite sport to conferences with leading academics and institutions, the work of the centre has always had a national and international impact. To be able to reflect on just some of these achievements, and also the success of centre graduates as we mark our 25th anniversary has been a great experience”.
You can follow the International Centre for Sports History and Culture on twitter via @ICSHC
Posted on Friday 16 July 2021