PM Network - May 2016

14 PM NETWORK MAY 2016 WWW.PMI.ORG theEdge

Football’s
New Shrine

FIFA has been roiled by criminal indictments and
resignations during the last 12 months. But con-
troversy at the international football governing
body didn’t distract the project team tasked with
completing the new FIFA World Football Museum
on time. Designed to showcase the history of foot-
ball, FIFA and the World Cup,
the museum opened in Zurich,
Switzerland just two days after
a February election to replace
FIFA president Sepp Blatter,
who was banned from the sport
in December.

Construction began on the 3,000-square-meter ( 32,292-square-foot) museum in 2014 with the support of Mr.

Blatter. After he announced his resignation in 2015, the project team kept moving forward— albeit with a low profile and new challenges. Recruiting staff for the museum became more difficult as the opening date neared.

“[W]e had to focus on our mis-
sion, to build a museum and a team,” museum
managing director Stefan Jost said.

That focus paid off with an on-schedule project completion. Visitors can experience interactive and multimedia exhibits alongside more than

1,000 football objects. The three-story facility also includes a sports bar, restaurant, apartments and conference facilities. —Kelsey O’Connor

PROJECT:

FIFA World
Football Museum

LOCATION:

Zurich,
Switzerland

COST:

CHF140 million

EYES ON THE
PRIZE:

The museum’s
crown jewel is
the FIFA Ballon
d’Or, an annual
award for the
world’s best male
football player.
“We
couldn’t
ignore the
turbulence,
it was not
easy.”