Deputy Legal Director at the Fédération Equestre Internationale (FEI), she is an Irish qualified lawyer and studied Law and European Studies at the University of Limerick. She worked in the aircraft finance group of the Irish corporate law firm McCann FitzGerald. Áine completed an International Masters in the Management, Law and Humanities of Sport in 2011 and went on to work as Senior Legal Manager with the International Boxing Association before moving to the FEI in 2014.

Alastair is a sports lawyer and partner at Level. 

He acts for clients in the sports sector across a broad range of issues, from contractual matters to questions of public law. He also specialises in conduct, disciplinary and regulatory work, advising on non-contentious issues such as the drafting of regulations and procedures, as well as acting on contentious disciplinary matters (including cases related to betting and integrity). He is experienced in advisory work and has extensive knowledge of regulatory structures in football.

Alastair regularly appears as advocate in his matters, utilising his in-depth knowledge and skills as a communicator to deliver successful outcomes before disciplinary panels and tribunals. His style has been described by clients as “clear and persuasive” and “concise but hard hitting”.

Prior to joining Level, Alastair was a senior associate in the arbitration department of a magic circle firm. As well as sports work, he has previously advised on a wide range of commercial and investment treaty disputes in diverse industries including energy, pharmaceuticals and insurance.

Director of Dispute Resolution, Restructuring & Sport, Walker Morris LLP

Barrister, Matrix Chambers

With over 13 years of experience in the sports law field, Anna has extensive cross border legal background from both the sport community and from a top tier Swiss law firm. Working in an international environment has given vast experience in the global legal climate, such as knowledge of various legal and national conditions relating to sports globally, as well as a large network of talented lawyers.

She advised a wide range of sports clients (including international and national governing bodies and organisations, public bodies, event organisers, sporting venues, clubs, sponsors, agents and individual athletes) on a variety of sports-related issues, including governance and constitutional matters, anti-doping, discipline and litigation, rules and regulations, contractual and regulatory disputes.

Anna is an experienced advocate and has appeared frequently before the Court of Arbitration for Sport and other sporting tribunals. She sat as a member of the Swedish Equestrian Disciplinary Panel for several years, she also sat as a member of the Norwegian Anti-Doping Appeal Panel, hearing on-field disciplinary cases, anti-doping cases and competition appeals.

In 2016 Anna joined the Fédération Internationale Equestre (FEI) as Legal Counsel.

In 2022, Anna was elected top 5 of Sweden’s most influential equestrian women for her persistent work against horse abuse and doping in equestrian sport.

Anna competed at high level in equestrian show jumping and in freeride skiing.

Partner, Barbora Šnáblová Attorneys 

Senior Director, Legal,  International Tennis Integrity Agency

Beth French is the Head of Commercial Projects at FIFA, with a diverse background that combines legal expertise and strategic leadership. She previously served as a lawyer at FIFA, where she gained in-depth knowledge of the organization's commercial structures and key partnership frameworks before transitioning into her current role in commercial projects. Prior to her time at FIFA, Beth worked as a legal and business advisor in the gambling industry for a number of years, specializing in regulatory compliance, corporate strategy, and business & commercial development for major gambling companies. 

I am a partner in Bird & Bird's Sydney office, working in the Media, Entertainment and Sports group.

I provide specialist advice and represent sports clients in a wide range of matters, in particular when it comes to their regulatory, integrity, governance, and contractual affairs.

Working alongside Rich Hawkins, our Sydney team provides a full-service offering for all sports commercial and regulatory/contentious matters, servicing clients in Australia, the Asia-Pacific region, and further internationally. I also work closely with our market leading sports team in London on their international matters.

Prior to joining Bird & Bird, I worked for many years at a leading arbitration firm in Geneva. Located in the international sports hub of Switzerland, I advised numerous international federations as well as elite level athletes, clubs, and other sports bodies and individuals. As part of that work, I appeared regularly before the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) in Lausanne, as well as other international sports tribunals.

I have significant experience with sport regulatory, governance, and contentious matters, including (for example) anti-doping, anti-corruption and match-fixing, safeguarding, other misconduct, and best practice in governance. I have assisted clients at each stage of the legal process, from the drafting and day to day implementation of their regulations, to the enforcement of (and challenges to) such regulations. When it comes to sports clients, I believe we should proactively implement practices and procedures to protect the integrity, reputation, and interests of not only the governing bodies in question, but of all the stakeholders who invest so much time and passion into their respective sports.

In addition to my counsel work, I sit as a permanent arbitrator on the closed list of the Basketball Arbitral Tribunal (BAT), where I resolve contractual claims between international basketball stakeholders. I am a member of the Ethics Board of the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF), a Director of the Australian and New Zealand Sports Law Association (ANSZLA), and a member of the editorial board of the LawInSport international sports law publication. I am co-author or editor of several publications concerning international sports arbitration and regularly speak at sports law conferences and deliver lectures for university and post-graduate legal programs.

As a dual Australian and Swiss citizen, I speak English and French, and also have a basic knowledge of Spanish.

Christian Keidel has been focusing his area of expertise for more than 12 years on dispute resolution in sport and the advice of international sport associations. He has represented successfully stakeholders in sports in numerous cases in front of the dispute resolution bodies of UEFA and FIFA as well as the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) and state courts. He is also a long-time advisor to international sports associations with respect to regulations, good governance and the commercialisation of rights. Further, he provided legal advice in various high-value transfers of football players. His clients particularly appreciate his precise working methods and his ability to solve complex disputes with a comprehensible and convincing argumentation. Christian Keidel regularly gives lectures on sports law at the Technical University of Munich and is a member of the lawinsport editorial board.

- Since 2020 Partner at Lentze Stopper Rechtsanwälte
- 2009 to 2020 Salary Partner at Martens Rechtsanwälte
- Since 2016 Member of the lawinsport editorial board
- Since 2010 lecturer in Sports Law at the Technical University of Munich
- 2007 to 2009 Lawyer at Beiten Burkhardt (Munich)
- 2005 to 2007 Legal clerkship at the Higher Regional Court of the District of Munich, with internships at, inter alia, Waldorf Frommer and Elber Forino Vagedes Abogados (Buenos Aires, Argentina)
- 2001 to 2005 Studied law at the Ludwig Maximilian University in Munich
- 1997 to 2001 Studied at the State Academy of Photographic Design in Munich, subsequently working as a freelance photographer

Chris specialises in both property litigation and the regulatory/disciplinary aspects of sports law.

In sports law Chris has many years of experience in appearing before various tribunals, from small domestic disciplinary hearings to the Court of Arbitration for Sport in Switzerland as well as in High Court litigation.

Chris is particularly well respected for his work in relation to selection issues and Paralympic classification issues. In respect of both he has drafted, litigated and presented at conferences.

Chris has acted for numerous governing bodies in sports as diverse as football, swimming, diving, cricket, tennis, rugby and boxing and as well as prosecuting (or defending) regulatory and disciplinary matters, Chris has extensive experience of drafting many regulations covering matters such as anti-doping, on field etiquette and selection matters.

Interim Chief Executive Officer Head of Licensing, Legal & Compliance (Legal Counsel), The Irish Horseracing Regulatory Board

Senior Associate, Clifford Chance

Farai a Partner at Razano Attorneys. His practice focuses on sports law and entertainment law. He has acted for individual athletes, football clubs, sports associations, and several clients in the film and television industry. Farai has advised and acted for various clients before national and international specialist dispute resolution tribunals. He has also acted as a Prosecutor for the South African Institute for Drug-Free Sport and Boxing South Africa.

Partner & Head of Sport, LCA Studio Legale

Partner of Ambiel, Belfiore & Hanna Advogados

Associate, Blalock Walters

Howard Jacobs has been identified by leading national and international publications as one of the leading sports lawyers in the world. He is an athlete’s lawyer and not a sports agent. He represents athletes in all types of disputes, with a particular focus on the defense of athletes charged with doping and other disciplinary offenses. He has represented over 250 professional athletes, Olympic athletes and amateur athletes in disputes involving doping, salary issues, team selection issues, SafeSport issues, endorsements, unauthorized use of name and likeness, and other matters. Howard Jacobs has been consistently listed by the Chambers Guide as one of the top ranked lawyers in the United States for athletic disputes.  In addition to his law practice, Howard Jacobs is an Adjunct Professor at Southwestern Law School in Los Angeles, where he teaches sports law.

As an athlete advocate, Howard provides a voice for athletes and others in all types of disputes; he has argued many landmark cases for athletes, winning cases that have set precedents and established better and more fair practices. Because of this, Howard Jacobs is a sought after expert on sports law issues.

Howard graduated from Florida State University and William and Mary Law School. He ran cross country and track & field for Florida State University and competed as a professional triathlete during law school. He currently resides in Southern California with his wife, two children, a gentle giant of a ridgeback mix, an aussiedoodle puppy and a garage full of bicycles.

Jaime is a partner at Cavaliero & Associates where he joined in 2022 after having worked for more than seven years in the FIFA legal affairs division.

Jaime became the organization’s first Head of Litigation in 2018. In such role, Jaime lead a team entrusted with the defence of all decisions passed by the different bodies of FIFA that were challenged before the Court of Arbitration for Sport and the Swiss Federal Tribunal.

During this period, Jaime participated in -and oversaw- over 400 arbitral procedures on a wide variety of disputes on several topics: contractual, employment-related, governance, doping, ethics violations, match manipulation, third party influence (TPI) and third party ownership (TPO), sporting succession, etc.

Between 2014 and 2018, Jaime worked at FIFA’s Disciplinary department of which he became the Head in 2017. In that role and as Secretary to the FIFA Disciplinary and Appeal Committees, Jaime was responsible for supervising disciplinary procedures related to breaches of several FIFA regulations, including infringements related to match incidents, match manipulation, international transfers of minor players, failure to comply with FIFA or CAS decisions, doping, third party influence and ownership, etc.

Prior to joining FIFA, Jaime worked for an international law firm in Spain, specializing in corporate law. 

Jaime was admitted into the Madrid Bar Association after obtaining his Law Degree from the Universidad Pontificia Comillas (ICADE) in Madrid, Spain where he also obtained a Diploma in International Relations. He also holds a Master of Laws (LL.M.) from the Instituto de Empresa (IE) in Madrid, Spain.

Aside from having lectured in several sports law programmes such as ISDE, University of Lausanne or FIFA’s Diploma in Football Law, Jaime is regularly invited to participate as a speaker in conferences and he has published articles on international sports law.

Jaime is an arbitrator at the Qatar Sports Arbitration Tribunal (QSAT), a member of the Disciplinary Panel of the International Volleyball Federation (FIVB) and clerk of the Tribunal of the Equestrian International Federation (FEI). He is also a member of the Club Español de Arbitraje (CEA).