The rapid rise of Multi-Club Ownership offers clear financial advantages but raises concerns over sporting integrity, conflicts of interest, and financial regulations. Lawyers must guide clients in structuring MCOs to comply with UEFA and FIFA rules, especially regarding restrictions on clubs competing in the same European competitions.

Taxation remains a complex and evolving issue in professional football, with increasing scrutiny from authorities across jurisdictions. This session will address key areas such as tax residence and incentive regimes for players, the use of image rights companies, the treatment of agent fees, and the tax implications of buyout clauses. Particular attention will be given to planning strategies and recent regulatory trends.

U.S. Soccer has developed under a markedly different legal and economic logic than the global football tradition. Built around a closed-league system, franchise rights, centralised contracts, salary controls and league-driven governance, Major League Soccer reflects a business-first approach to professional sport. This session will examine the regulatory foundations of the U.S. model – and explore what global football can (or should) take from it.

US sports leagues have developed distinctive commercial strategies involving centralised media rights, NIL (Name, Image and Likeness) structures, athlete brand exploitation, and data monetisation. This session will explore selected U.S. legal and business practices with growing international resonance, and assess how these mechanisms may inform, inspire or challenge the commercial evolution of professional football in the lead-up to the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

The regulation of football agents is at the heart of a global legal standoff, with multiple proceedings pending before courts and tribunals. This session will examine the current legal landscape, the impact of ongoing challenges to FIFA’s regulatory framework and the possible directions for reform that may reshape the future of transfers and player representation.

This session will revisit the Lassana Diarra case as a key turning point in the legal debate surrounding contract termination, just cause, and transfer-related restrictions. It will examine how the CJEU’s condemnation of FIFA’s regulatory framework laid the groundwork for the ongoing class action in the Netherlands, and how these developments relate to FIFA’s anticipated reform of Article 17 of the RSTP. Participants will reflect on whether the future of contractual stability should lie in unilateral regulation, negotiated agreements, or a hybrid model, and what role EU legal principles and player-led collective action may continue to play in driving structural reform.

The judgment delivered by the Court of Justice of the European Union in Seraing on 1 August 2025 has triggered renewed scrutiny of the sports arbitration system. This session will assess the implications of the ruling for the legal standing of CAS and the Swiss Federal Tribunal (SFT) in the EU context, the role of FIFA’s Football Tribunal and the broader consequences for arbitration autonomy, recognition of awards and the future interaction between national courts and international federations.