While the best soccer players in the world are preparing for the upcoming World Cup in Brazil, college teams and judges from 19 countries are ready to compete for their own World Cup from Jan. 8-11 at the University of Vermont.

Hosted by UVM’s School of Business Administration, the second Family Enterprise Case Competition (FECC) is the premiere family business education event in the world and showcases exceptional undergraduate and master’s level case writing, analysis and presentation skills. Students apply the knowledge and expertise they have developed in the classroom towards solving complex family business cases during a four-day competition.

The four-round format has teams present their case to a distinguished international panel of judges who will determine which group best understood, analyzed and presented the most compelling case study. Last year’s inaugural event was won by the ESADE Business School from Spain and attracted 70 judges and teams from across the globe.

"The participation of a larger number of prominent business schools from around the world for the second Family Enterprise Case Competition, highlights the increasing focus on family businesses by business schools," said Sanjay Sharma, dean of the of the School of Business Administration. "Building on the success of last year’s event, the excitement that this year’s competition is generating from teams, judges and students from 27 countries, is evidence that UVM is not only one of the leading global institutions actively researching in this important field, but also that it’s providing a unique experiential learning platform for all the schools and universities who participate."

This year’s competitors include the following teams:

• Dalhousie University, Canada
• Concordia University - John Molson School of Business, Canada
• Wilfrid Laurier University, Canada
• Sprott School of Business, Canada
• University of Manitoba - Asper School of Business, Canada
• Universidad del Desarrollo, Chile
• Universidad de los Andes, Colombia
• Università Commerciale L. Bocconi, Italy
• Universiti Tun Abdul Razak, Malaysia
• Universidad Panamericana Campus Guadalajara, Mexico
• Universidad Panamericana Campus Bonaterra, Mexico
• Windesheim University of Applied Sciences, Netherlands
• Esade Business School, Spain
• Jönköping International Business School, Sweden
• Kellogg - Northwestern, USA
• University of Massachusetts, USA
• Grand Valley State University, USA
• Syracuse University, USA
• Stetson University, USA
• University of Vermont School of Business, USA