AISTS Alumni Behind FIFA World Cup 2026™

Every four years, the FIFA World Cup becomes the most watched sporting event on the planet. FIFA World Cup 2026™ – Canada, Mexico and the United States pushes that further: 48 teams, 104 matches, three host countries, the largest edition in the competition’s history. Behind it are people whose job is close to the top of what a career in sport can offer. Several of them studied at AISTS, including Reyna Marely Flores-Martinez and Javier Altamirano, on the same venue team in Monterrey, and Yasmeen Shabsough, now on her second FIFA World Cup after Qatar 2022.

The AISTS Master in Sport Management: One Programme Behind Their Careers

The AISTS Master of Advanced Studies in Sport Management and Technology has been ranked the world’s number one Master in Sport Management by Eduniversal for ten consecutive years. It puts participants in direct contact with the organisations that run world sport, so the transition from classroom to career happens before graduation, not after.

Participants have the opportunity to attend workshops led by federations and sport industry stakeholders, and complete a team project with a real sport organisation before they graduate. It’s the kind of hands-on exposure that later shows up as a first job offer, a reference, or simply the confidence to walk into a venue operations centre on the day of a World Cup match. It’s this bridge, repeated across twenty-plus graduating classes, that keeps producing alumni like the three below.

Three Different Roads to the Same FIFA World Cup 2026™

From Lausanne to FIFA World Cup 2026™: different years, different functions, one tournament.

Reyna Marely Flores-Martinez

AISTS 2008 Venue Operations Director · FIFA World Cup 2026™, Monterrey

Marely joined FIFA’s Football Tournaments division in 2016 and has since worked on eleven FIFA World Cups, including the 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia™ and the FIFA Women’s World Cup France 2019™. Her venue management assignments have taken her through the FIFA Club World Cup Morocco 2022™, the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022™, the FIFA U-20 World Cup Argentina 2023™, and in 2024 to the Paris Olympic and Paralympic Games, where she led venue readiness.

“Leading the Venue Team in Monterrey to deliver the FIFA World Cup in my country has been both a privilege and a great opportunity.”

Javier Altamirano

AISTS 2012 Deputy Marketing Venue Manager · FIFA World Cup 2026™, Monterrey

Javier graduated with a team project for the International Fencing Federation and started his career where he studied, at the World Taekwondo Federation in Lausanne. From there he moved into major event delivery, leading media operations for World Rowing at the Rio 2016 Olympics, before spending close to a decade at Sportradar working on sports technology innovation and startup partnerships. In 2026 he joined FIFA World Cup 2026™ on the same venue team as Marely, delivering partner and sponsor rights on-site.

Yasmeen Shabsough

AISTS 2021 Football Events Consultant · Supreme Committee for Delivery & Legacy, Doha

A recipient of the AISTS Athlete Scholarship and a former international footballer for Jordan, Yasmeen joined FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022™ in team services planning, then moved through the FIFA Women’s World Cup Australia & New Zealand 2023™ and the AFC Asian Cup Qatar 2023™. Since 2024 she has worked for the Supreme Committee for Delivery & Legacy in Doha, managing team services for the FIFA Arab Cup and the FIFA Intercontinental Cup.

“Four years ago, I was on the ground helping deliver the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022. Today, I’ve joined the FIFA World Cup 2026™, my second.”

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AISTS Alumni at FIFA and FIFA World Cup 2026™ – Canada, Mexico and the United States

Marely, Javier and Yasmeen are three names among many. The AISTS alumni network extends well beyond them, into different countries, different roles, and different stages of a career, from someone’s first job in sport to leading an entire organisation. Some manage venues, others negotiate sponsorships, others protect athletes or run communications. What they all have in common is the AISTS Master, and the same passion for sport that brought them there in the first place.

What It Takes to Break Into the Sport Industry

Getting into the sport industry rarely starts with just a job application. AISTS consistently points its students toward the same groundwork: genuine passion for sports, internships that turn theory into something a hiring manager can verify and professional relationships within the sport industry. Being based in Lausanne helps. The city sits close to the IOC and nearly 60 international federations, which turns a full-day workshop or an informational coffee into a real connection.

One Master’s, Many Doors: AISTS Alumni Careers in Sport Management

The FIFA World Cup 2026™ will be watched by billions of people who will never know the names behind stadium operations, sponsorship activation or team logistics. Some of those names, like Marely, Javier and Yasmeen, started in the same classroom in Lausanne, at different times and for different reasons.