The scholarships will invite researchers worldwide to collaborate against the global scourge of online hate speech in sport while earning a Masters by Research degree. 

The announcement comes on the United Nations Day for Countering Hate Speech. The initiative will be formally presented to delegates at the FIA Conference in Cordoba this week. 

The scholarships fall under the auspices of the FIA University and are backed by the FIA Foundation. The FIA is partnering with Dublin City University (DCU) Business School on the initiative. DCU Business School is one of the lead partners on the Tackling Online Hate in Football project funded by the UK Arts and Humanities Research Council and the Irish Research Council. This research initiative will expand DCU Business School’s research on hate speech and online abuse in to other sports including motorsports.

It will be a distance-learning programme spanning two years part-time and starting in January 2024. The FIA scholarship covers all academic fees and costs. The scholarship programme is part of the FIA’s Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) commitment. 

The FIA’s Member Clubs in 146 countries and their local academic partners have an opportunity to have their students participate in the selection process for the scholarship.

The FIA invites researchers worldwide to collaborate with it against online abuse in sport, while earning a Masters by Research from Dublin City University (DCU), covered by the FIA research scholarships.

FIA President, Mohammed Ben Sulayem, said: “I am pleased to announce the launch of the global scholarship initiative which is aligned to our efforts to combat online abuse in sport. Together with the FIA University and the FIA Foundation and in partnership with DCU Business School, we are taking a knowledge-led approach to the campaign. The research will enable us to build a greater  understanding of the psychological effects of online abuse to inform our strategic approach to tackling the problem.”

A central pillar of the FIA’s United Against Online Abuse campaign is a collaborative approach between national governments, regulatory institutions and fellow sporting bodies – with the objective of building a “global coalition to stop hate speech in sport”. 

The FIA President has recently held discussions on the subject with his Serene Highness Prince Albert of Monaco, His Majesty the supreme ruler of Malaysia, the British Minister for Trade, the Prime Minister of Slovenia, Gianni Infantino, the President of FIFA. The FIA is also in dialogue with representatives from IOC, UEFA, FIM and other sporting bodies. 

“We are committed to a zero-tolerance approach to bring about meaningful change through collaborative action. Together we can make real change,” the FIA President added.

Applications for the scholarships will open on July 1 and close on September 30, 2023. For more information, please contact the FIA University at scholarship@fia.com. 

About Dublin City University

Dublin City University (DCU) Business School is an internationally focused business school, whose globally ranked Master’s Degrees offer clear routes to career progression in a wide range of business areas. Its longstanding connection to industry has been the hallmark of its approach to education since its foundation in 1980. DCU is a leading innovative European University with a mission to ‘transform lives and societies’. DCU is proud to be one of the world’s foremost Young Universities and is among the world’s top 2% globally. The University is known for the ‘transformative student experience’ it offers, and is also recognised for its impact in addressing global challenges in collaboration with national and international stakeholder.