Sports law in 2025 – Key issues to watch in Europe

Here are the top sports law issues to watch out for in 2025 in Europe from the LawInSport Editorial and Advisory Board.  We hope this proves useful not only in identifying specific cases and issues, but also in detecting broader themes when read in conjunction with the contributions from other jurisdictions.

Contributors:

• Sven Demeulemeester Partner, and Willem‑Alexander​ Devlies, Managing Associate, Atfield, Belgium
  • The RRC Sport case (C-209/23) on the validity of the FIFA Football Agent Regulations (FFAR)
  • Football calendar congestion case against FIFA
• Marc Peltier, Associate Professor Of Law, University Of Nice, France
  • From Summer to Winter Games – Preparing for French Alps 2030 amid continued political uncertainty
• Maciej Bałaziński, Attorney-At-Law, Kancelaria Prawna Maciej Bałaziński I Współpracownicy, Poland (assisted by Karolina Letniowska, Advocat)
  • Further amendments to the Polish Football Association’s (PZPN) regulations
• Jan Kleiner, Director of Football Regulatory, FIFA, Switzerland
  • FIFA Regulations on the Status and Transfer of Players
• Josep Vandellos, Founder/Partner, Vandellos Sports Law, Spain
  • The aftermath of the Diarra case in Spain. Article 16 Royal Decree 1006/1985
  • The outcome of the Rubiales case after the former president of the RFRF appealed the FIFA Disciplinary Committee to CAS
• Christian Keidel, Partner, Lentze Stopper, Germany
  • German Football Federation (DFB) Regulations for football agents as of 1 January 2025
  • Oral hearing before the ECJ in the dispute between the DFB and football agents
• Emin Ozkurt, Managing Partner, Ozkurt Law Offices, Turkey
  • FIFA Transfer Reforms 2025 and navigating the impact of the CJEU Diarra ruling
• Marie-Anne Lindhardt, Partner, MAQS Law Firm, Sweden
  • Are we finally heading towards more “Safe Sport” in Sweden?
  • New regulations for training compensation within Swedish football
• Michele Colucci, Honorary President at Italian Association of Sports Lawyers
  • Advancements in data regulation, governance, emerging tech and diplomacy
  • Resolution of key cases before the ECJ
• Benoît Keane, Solicitor Advocate & Avocat, Keane Legal, Belgium
  • RFC Seraing: the extent to which national courts can rely upon the legally binding nature of arbitral decisions 

We would like to thank each member of our Editorial and Advisory Board for taking the time out of their busy schedules to share their views with us, and also more broadly for their significant input into LawInSport over the course of the year. Thank you.