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FOOTBALL LAW IN PRACTICE

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Our 8 week online course, provides a flexible and on-demand education for people working in football who are short on time and want to:

  • Learn from industry experts
  • Learn best practice
  • Learn industry specific skills
  • Build and improve knowledge of the football and the law

The course is designed to give non-lawyers and lawyers an educational experience focused on practical application rather than theory.

The course covers:

  • Legal frameworks and regulations
  • Governance, club ownership and investments
  • Dispute resolution
  • Player and manager contracts, and tax
  • Agency
  • Integrity - safeguarding, anti-doping, match-fixing and ethical issues
  • Commercial contracts - sponsorship and media rights contracts.

Organisations that have participated in the course include:

What our students say about the course

“It provided an amazing insight into the world of football beyond my experience of it on the pitch. It also gave me an appreciation and deeper understanding as to how the important issues in the game are regulated, disputed and resolved. I highly recommend this course to any ex or current players that are wishing to learn more about the key off-field issues that are so influential in not only a player’s career, but also to the sport more generally.”
Harrison Dunk, Professional Football Player, Cambridge United Football Club

“Amazing course with informative content and engaging teaching.”
Dan Woodfine 

“I’d definitely recommend this course to anyone new to the area as it gives a really concise and useful overview of current issues in football law and the speakers' insights are great because they’re at the forefront of what’s happening.”
Harriotte Underwood, Solicitor, Adams & Remers

“I found the course really useful, particularly the live Q&A sessions as it was great to interact with a very high-profile panel.”
Sam Georgivic, Associate (Sport, Media and Entertainment),  Harbottle & Lewis

Who's the course for? 

This course is for lawyers, executives, sports administrators, agents, players and coaches, who are short on time, but see the value in improving their knowledge and understanding of the important legal issues in football.

Taught by world leading experts, students receive practical insights and best practice that are invaluable for anyone working in the industry. In addition, students can ask questions directly to professionals in the industry with our live Q&A sessions which take place on a weekly basis.

It will be most beneficial to those working in football or with a base understanding of the football industry, and/or football regulations. We provide extra materials for anyone who would like to go into more depth on each of the subjects. 

The Course Curriculum

Legal and Regulatory Frameworks

In this first week we establish the legal and regulatory frameworks in football:

  • Get to know the key regulations in football
  • Understand why these regulations matter, and how they impact football stakeholders on a day to day basis
  • Learn how national and international laws intersect with football regulations
Governance, Club Ownership and Investments

In the second week we will explore the corporate governance structures in football and see how these influence investment opportunities in the game:

  • Learn how federations, leagues and clubs are structured
  • Establish an understanding of why and how corporate structures influence how the game is run
  • Learn how investments are being made in football and its impact
Dispute Resolution

In week 3 we will explain and examine the dispute resolution mechanisms in football:

  • Adjudicatory bodies at FIFA, confederations, federations, and leagues
  • The roles of arbitral bodies such as the Court of Arbitration for Sport and Sports Resolutions
  • How to appeal decisions and common mistakes to avoid
Player and Managers Contracts and Tax

In week 4 we look at player and manager club and international contracts and representation agreements:

  • Transfers and immigration considerations
  • Negotiating contracts
  • Considerations such as image rights structures and tax
  • Third party influence and investment
  • Solidarity and training compensation
  • Minors contracts
Agency

In week 5 we look at the role of agents in football:

  • FIFA's Agents Regulations
  • Working with agents in practice
  • The role of player associations
  • How international transfers work
Integrity

In week 6 we explore how integrity issues are impacting federations, leagues, clubs, players and managers.

  • Anti-doping regulations
  • Anti-corruption regulations including match-fixing
  • Safeguarding and the FIFA Guardians initiative
  • Dealing with discrimination, abuse and harassment
Commercial Contracts - Sponsorship and Media Rights

In week 7 we will look at the how commercial contracts are structured and negotiated in football.

  • Kit deals
  • Boot deals
  • Broadcast deals
  • Betting
  • Crypto – NFTs & Fan Tokens
  • Stadium naming rights
  • Athlete endorsements

Lecturers

Our lecturers are all leading lawyers who have extensive experience working in football and sports law including: 

  • Achta Mahamat Saleh, Former Director of Legal Affairs & Compliance, Confederation of African Football.

  • Álvaro Gómez de la Vega Jiménez, Sports Legal Manager, RCD Espanyol de Barcelona

  • Andrew Mercer, General Counsel & Director of Legal Affairs, Asian Football Confederation

  • Beth French, Legal Counsel, FIFA

  • Carlos Schneider, Director of the Secretariat of the Judicial Bodies, FIFA. Formerly Legal Counsel with UEFA.

  • Chris Anderson,Experience Football Lawyer and Former Head of the Football Governance Review with The Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sports (DCMS)

  • Ciaran Fitzgerald-Morgan, Legal Counsel, TEAM Marketing

  • Daniel Geey, Partner, Sheridans. Author of “Done Deal: An Insider's Guide to Football Contracts, Multi-Million Pound Transfers and Premier League Big Business”.

  • Dr. Despina Mavromati, Attorney-at-law, BianchiSchwald & Lecturer, University of Lausanne

  • Ian Smith, Former Director, Commercial & Operational Legal, FIFA.

  • Jaime Cambreleng Contreras, Partner at Cavaliero & Associates and Former Head of Litigation at FIFA.

  • James Kitching, Consultant & Managing Director, The FC Sports. Former Director of Football Regulatory at FIFA.

  • Jane Purdon, Director, Women in Football and Chair, Professional Game Academy Audit Company. Former Head of Governance and Leadership at UK Sport, and Director of Governance at The Premier League.

  • Jonathan Brown, Senior Managing Director, Ankura, specialising in Risk, Forensics & Compliance.

  • Josep Francesc Vandellos Alamilla, Founder/Partner, Vandellos Sports Law.

  • Kelly Skeggs, Chief Operating Officer and General Counsel, OmniSports.

  • Liz Coley, Partner, LEVEL & Former Club Secretary at Sunderland FC, West Ham United FC & Southampton FC

  • Kieran Maguire, Football finance lecturer, Price Of Football Podcast presenter and author.

  • Kim Mundy, Head of Safeguarding & Governance, Southampton FC

  • Liam Thorpe, Head of Legal, Red Bull Media House

  • Loic Alves, Legal Counsel, FIFPRO

  • Luís Villas-Boas Pires, Head of Agents, FIFA

  • Mario Flores Chemor, Head of Sports Legal, European Club Association (ECA)

  • Mario Tenore, Associate Partner, Pirola Pennuto Zei & Associati

  • Mark Hovell, Head of Sport, Mills & Reeve & CAS Arbitrator

  • Massimo Coccia, Founding Partner, Coccia De Angelis Vecchio & Associati and CAS Arbitrator

  • Matthew Kaiser, Associate Attorney, Global Sports Advocates

  • Michael Savva, Assets and Structured Finance Partner, Watson Farley & Williams (Middle East) LLP. 

  • Nick De Marco QC, Barrister, Blackstone Chambers.

  • Paolo Lombardi, Managing Director, Lombardi Associates Ltd and Former Head of Disciplinary and Governance at FIFA.

  • Paul Shapiro, Partner, Northridge Law

  • Richard Bush, Partner, Bird & Bird LLP

  • Roberto de Palma Barracco, Judge, NDRC/CNRD, Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF) & Head of Research. CBF Academy & CAS Arbitrator

  • Roy Vermeer, Legal Director, FIFPro and formerly Senior Group Legal Counsel at FIFA.

  • Sarah MacDonald, Partner, Wiggin

  • Stephan Smith, Senior Counsel, World Rugby & Former Legal Counsel, The FA

  • Tim Greenwell, Chief Governance & Operations Officer, Southampton FC

Essential Edition

£899

  • Study at your own pace - Complete the course at a pace that suits your schedule. 
  • On-demand lectures - Access to on-demand lectures that are broken down into digestable short videos. 
  • Additional materials - Access articles and videos going into more depth on subjects.
  • Receive certificate - Once you have completed all the multiple choice assessments, at the end of each module, you will receive a certificate.  
  • CPD - Students recieve 20+ hours of CPD when completing this course.

Plus and institutional members receive £100 discount. Prices shown includes VAT. Instalment plans are avaliable on an individual basis.  

Coming Soon

The next version of the course will be announced shortly.

Do you have any questions? 

If you would like to find out more please email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..