Circular no. 1847 - FIFA Legal Aid and Pro Bono Counsel – Open for Applications
TO THE MEMBER ASSOCIATIONS OF FIFA
Circular no. 1847
Zurich
Legal aid and pro bono counsel
Dear Sir or Madam,
As part of FIFA’s commitment to guaranteeing the rights of individuals who lack the financial means to defend themselves in proceedings before the FIFA judicial bodies, the FIFA Council approved, in 2019, the implementation of legal aid and pro bono counsel for individuals facing financial difficulties.
In late 2019, following a thorough selection process, 21 qualified lawyers were chosen by FIFA to serve as the first-ever FIFA pro bono counsel.
Now, with almost four years having passed since the above-mentioned appointments, it is time to renew FIFA’s list of pro bono counsel by appointing or reappointing counsel, as well as to provide further clarification with respect to the conditions and requirements associated with pro bono counsel, in accordance with article 46 paragraph 6 of the FIFA Disciplinary Code and article 40 paragraph 6 of the FIFA Code of Ethics.
- Requirements
In order to be eligible for selection on FIFA’s list of pro bono counsel, candidates are required to present evidence of appropriate experience and expertise in the field of football/sports law. In particular, they must fulfil the following criteria:
- Be active sports lawyers in a company and/or law firm and have at least seven years’ experience of dealing with sports law matters;
- Have a minimum of three to five years’ experience with sports organisations; - Have a minimum of three to five years’ experience in sports arbitration proceedings;
- Fluency in at least two of the following official FIFA languages would be an asset: English, Spanish and/or French.
- Selection process
Candidates interested in being included on FIFA’s list of pro bono counsel who meet the abovementioned requirements will be required to submit their application (including a letter of motivation and CV) to
The applications will then be reviewed by the secretariat of the FIFA judicial bodies, which will draw up a final list of pro bono counsel. The list will subsequently be submitted to the FIFA Council for ratification.
Upon ratification, the list of pro bono counsel will be published on legal.fifa.com.
- Terms
The term as pro bono counsel shall be limited to three years. For the sake of good order, individuals who were previously appointed as a FIFA pro bono counsel will have to apply ab initio and submit a full and updated application in accordance with the process outlined above.
- Conditions
During their term, all pro bono counsel are required to act in accordance with the highest standards of integrity and honesty at all times in the performance of their duties in alignment with FIFA’s rules and regulations.
- Pro bono in absentia
In the context of ethics proceedings, and consistently with article 40 paragraph 7 of the FIFA Code of Ethics, in cases where the party could not be reached, the adjudicatory chamber of the Ethics Committee may appoint a pro bono counsel in absentia who will act on their behalf.
In concrete terms, such appointment would take place in situations where the secretariat to the Ethics Committee has unsuccessfully made all reasonable efforts to notify the accused of the final report on the investigation proceedings, including (i) sending the report by email (if available) and/or through the accused’s member association and/or (ii) a public announcement has been made on the proceedings against the accused. In such cases, when the secretariat to 3 the Ethics Committee has not received a response from the accused within fifteen (15) days of the aforementioned notification, the accused will be deemed to be absent, and a pro bono counsel will be appointed to defend the rights of the accused by acting on behalf of the latter in the adjudicatory proceedings.
- Additional information
Further information on FIFA’s legal aid system and the list of pro bono counsel is available on legal.fifa.com.
Any queries on this subject can be addressed by email to the FIFA Judicial Bodies Subdivision at
Yours faithfully,
FÉDÉRATION INTERNATIONALE
DE FOOTBALL ASSOCIATION
Fatma Samoura
Secretary General
cc: - FIFA Council
- Confederations
- FIFA judicial bodies
- FIFA Football Tribunal
- ECA - FIFPRO
- World Leagues Forum
