​Visiting the Aspire Academy after 13 years. This was the time and the place when the QNV 2030 Sports Project started. I have presented many times about my time in Doha at conferences and universities. Being finally back in Doha feels almost like coming home. Athletics was probably the first successful sports program of the Aspire Academy, winning a silver medal at World Youth Championships U18 in 2009 and a Gold Medal at the World Junior Championships U20 in 2020. It was interesting to follow some careers of students from the first 3 batched over the past decade. Among those are Ahamd Jaad who became a coach himself, Mutaz Barshim became a multiple World- and Olympicmedalwinner, Mohamad Saleh Adam a lawyer, and Omar Shamiyeh a successful entrepreneur.
Credits go to the staff of the Aspire Academy "start-up" of these days: Carlos Alberto Cavalheiro, GeraldLenting Andres Charadia, Dr. Adam Beard, Greg Bopf, Uwe Hakus, Matthew Robinson, Gregoire Millet, François Fourchet and many more ...
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Today I start the course "Soccer Markets: Case Studies". In the course we look at selected case studies on the topic of soccer markets. This will be clubs, federations or events.
A central case this year will certainly be the FIFA World Cup in Qatar one of the most discussed sporting events ever. We will have a critical look from a strategic and business perspective as well as from a ethical  point of view. Does Qatar's sports and diversification strategy pay back or has it maybe done more harm to the reputation of the country? A number of scientific research papers which have been published over the past decade will serve among media reports as a good basis for the discussions in the seminar.
​But we will also expect live interview guests with regards to the topic, who give us insight information about the development of the  sports market in Qatar and the Middle East.

Another topic will be the business case of developing woman's football. While most experts are looking in ever growing soccer market of China, many oversee opportunities in other asian countries. In a workshop format we will analyze markets, their stakeholders and special requirements when it come to develop woman sports in general and soccer in particular. 
This course will be also available on my online academy www-ralfiwan.academy

I have already dealt with this topic in the last course with my students: Fitness, is the fastest growing "sport" in the world. despite the COVID pandemic. The demand for fitness is not only for gyms, fitness studios, CrossFit boxes, micro,- or yoga studios. Fitness competitions are becoming more and more popular. Although there has been a slight dip in participation rates due to COVID in 2020 and 2021; most competition formats have come out of the crisis in good shape. Whether Crossfit Games, Spatan Race, Mudder Games or other OCRs.
One competition format that has established itself in recent years - not only in Germany but throughout Europe - is HYROX. The target group are the millions of worldwide athletes who call Functional Fitness their sport. Up to now, there have hardly been any comparable, measurable fitness events for everyone. HYROX, that is the ultimate challenge: A perfect combination of strength, endurance and speed, for all performance and age groups!

I have been following the event since 2019, when I listened to a podcast with one of the founders of the fitness series, Moritz Fürste, Germany's most successful hockey player. Fürste was able to explain the motivation and concept of the event in the sports business talk and convinced me not only from a business point of view. Since I have a background in athletics - both as an athlete and coach - I fully understand the concept of 8x 1km running in combination with 8 workouts.

Inspired by the talk and the concept, I started training with the goal of completing a HYROX competition myself in April 2020. Due to Corona, of course, that didn't happen for a while, but in September and November 2021 competition was calling: I started in Leipzig and Berlin!

Having an idea and a concept is certainly one thing, but to successfully put such a concept into practice a completely different one!
HYROX or better, the company UpsolutSports GmbH from Hamburg, which is behind the concept, has succeeded greatly! It was a great experience and I had the opportunity - besides the races - to chat to some other athletes and officials. Great success for the event - at least the two events I competed in.

This winter 2022/23 HYROX starts into its 4th season. The DACH (Germany, Austria and Switzerland) countries are the core of the event calendar, so are Spain, Netherlands and the UK. Even in the USA, the largest fitness market in the world, there have already been a number of successful events. Chicago, Dallas, New York or Las Vegas. All first-class organized events, which find more and more enthusiasts. 
I will also also participating again this season and have booked my tickets for two events initially. More to come maybe in 2023.
In addition to the sporting side, HYROX remains a very interesting research object as a business case in the field of fitness events. 

The winter semester starts with a course at the ALBA College on Leadership in Sport.. The ALBA College is a cooperation between the most successful German basketball club ALBA Berlin and the University of Europe for applied sciences.
In the course we will look at the organizational structure of sports organizations in general as well as organizations in professional sports. What are the requirements and challenges for managers and executives in the sports industry? What challenges will sport face in the future and what are the tasks of managers and executives in particular in an often fast-moving and hectic industry? In addition, we will deal with very general techniques and concepts of employee management.

The global political situation has changed completely since February 24, 2022 - to a significant extent, of course, in Europe. Many people did not think it possible that there would be another war of this magnitude in Europe. Neither did I. The war in Ukraine has also had an impact on the sports industry. From Chelsea, to Formula 1, from sporting events and the exclusion of Russian athletes and teams from leagues and sporting events. How the sanctions against Russia will impact other areas of the sports and fitness industry in the coming months remains to be seen.

In March, my summer semester starts with a whole series of interesting courses. 
The Football Industry course will focus on the industry's stakeholders, their business models and projects in the national and international soccer business. The digitalization but especially the corona crisis of the past. 2years has changed the soccer business globally. We take a look at the stakeholders and their new or adapted business models and venture an outlook on what could lie ahead for the industry.

In the international course of Managing Fitness & Recreationnal Markets we will start with an introduction to the topic of fitness and health and we will also look at the health challenges of societies and which business models can arise from this. Finally, we will devote quality management in fitness & health to the service idea and process management.

Not only talking about fitness, but also becoming active ourselves. That's why I'll be back in action at the Hyrox Event Frankfurt at the end of April. The Hyrox Event, which calls itself a fitness event for all, is an excellent combination of functional training and endurance. 

I would like to give a small preview of the summer of 2022, when the "Lectures by the Lake" will take place in Görlitz at Lake Bertzdorf, a compact seminar in an inspiring environment directly at the lake. The topic this summer is Leadership with as focus on sustainability, social performance and change management.

I wish everyone a good start to the week and a safe place to be

With best regards and wishes
Ralf Iwan

Ich freue mich bereits wieder auf das Wintersemester 2020/21.

Den Start machen auch in diesem Jahr zwei Kurse am ALBA College, mit Dualen Studierenden, zu den Themen Sponsoring und Leadership in Practice. 
Mit internationalen Studierenden der International School of Management (ISM) geht es im September um die Einführung in das internationale Management und das Management von internationalen Sportorganisationen. Neben Grundlagen der Strukturen des internationalen Sports und seinen Stakeholdern, werden wir auch einen Rückblick auf die beiden großen internationalen Sportevents des Jahres, die Olympischen Spiele in Tokyo und die UEFA Fußball Europameisterschaft werfen und so Theorie und Praxis verbinden. Insbesondere die Themen Governance, Vermarktung und Digitalisierung werden uns hier beschäftigen.
Zum Thema Digitale Transformation im Sport werde ich auch in diesem Wintersemester wieder einen Kurs mit Studierenden des International Sports & Eventmanagement Kurses der University of Europe in Berlin geben, auf den ich mich schon sehr freue. Hier werden wir uns die Chancen aber auch möglichen Risiken der digitalen Transformation aus Sicht von Athleten, Vereinen, Verbänden und Sportevents genauer anschauen und diese an Fallbeispielen verdeutlichen. Der Kurs im Seminar-format bietet Studierenden die Möglichkeit sich selbst in kleinen Gruppen mit bestimmten Aspekten der Thematik auseinanderzusetzen und so den Austausch von Ideen und Erfahrungen zu fördern.