13 January

The future of sport governance in Europe - The Times: They are A-Changin’

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Date & place

Friday 13 January from 09:00 to 13:00 CET

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The Plaza Hotel Brussels

118-126 Boulevard Adolphe Max

 1000 Brussels Belgium
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Program

Registration & Welcome

09.00

OPENING KEYNOTE SPEECH

9.30

Melchior WATHELET | Former Belgian Deputy Prime Minister, Former First Advocate General, Court of Justice of the European Union, Luxembourg (bio)

#1 TURNING THE PAGE FOR EUROPEAN SPORT: HOW TO SECURE THAT EUROPEAN SPORT BENEFITS FROM THE HIGHEST ETHICAL, LEGAL AND REGULATORY STANDARDS?

9.45

  • Is the status quo an option?
  • 22 Member States in favour of the status quo: how to explain that?
  • What role for UEFA after the ESL ruling?
  • What would be the benefits of applying the European legal framework to sports in general and football in particular?
  • Is there such a thing as a European sport model? Which organisational structure for a European model?
  • EU social dialogue: to what extent can it be a modern and privileged tool of future governance?

Romain BOUNIOL | Vice-Dean/Lecturer, Perpignan University (bio)
Oliver BUDZINSKI | Professor, Technische Universität Ilmenau (bio)
Antonius MANDERS | Member, European Parliament, Netherlands, Strasbourg/Brussels (bio)
Stephen WEATHERILL | Professor, Oxford University (bio)

Moderator: Carmen PERALES | Senior Court Reporter, PaRR, Brussels (bio)

Coffee Break

11:00

#2 LEVELING THE PLAYING FIELD FOR ALL: HOW TO ORGANIZE A CONTINENTAL SYSTEM OF SPORT COMPETITIONS WHICH WILL BE A CHANCE FOR ALL CLUBS AND PLAYERS?

11:30

  • Description of a utopia: which post ESL format?
  • The place of fans/consumers in a post ESL governance
  • Alternatives to homegrown players rules and the current transfer system
  • Post ESL ruling, how to split the calendar between club and national team competitions?
  • Futurology: the economic, financial and innovation impact of an EU ESL
  • How to manage solidarity?
  • No more forgotten cities: Giving all Member States the possibility to shine

Antón GARCIA | Senior Vice President, Compass Lexecon, Madrid (bio)
Valerio MANCINI | Professor, Rome Business School (bio)
Stefaan VAN DEN BOGAERT | Professor of European Law, Leiden University (bio)

Moderator: Irene GARCÍA PÉREZ | Reporter, Bloomberg, London (bio)

Walking lunch

12:45

If you would like to read about this event’s topic, you can access the following Concurrences documents. If you do not have access, please inquire for Subscription here.

DOCUMENTATION

1. Prof. dr. Robby Houben, Let’s play: ’Master and Servant’, Working Paper, 10 January 2023

2. Dwayne Bach and Fabian Ziermann, Empowering Monopolists? The Super League Opinion of AG Rantos, Kluwer Competition Law Blog

3. Court of Justice AG Rantos proposes that the judgment of the General Court confirming the anticompetitive nature of rules of an international ice skating organisation should be set aside when the rules pursue a legitimate sporting objective and are proportionate (International Skating Union), 15 December 2022

4. European Court of Justice, The EU Court of Justice AG Rantos suggests that two international football associations’s rules under which any new competition is subject to prior approval is compatible with EU competition law (ESLC / UEFA / FIFA), 15 December 2022

5. Mark-E. Orth, Sports & competition law: An overview of EU and national case law, 2 December 2021

6. Pallavi Shroff, John Handoll, Naval Satarawala Chopra, Shweta Shroff Chopra, Harman Singh Sandhu, Manika Brar, Aparna Mehra, Gauri Chhabra, Yaman Verma, Rohan Arora, The Indian Competition Authority launches an investigation against a baseball federation and grants a rare interim injunction against the federation restraining its members’ participation in "not recognized" sports events (Confederation of Professional Baseball Softball Clubs / Amateur Baseball Federation of India), 3 June 2021

7. Pedro Callol, The Spanish Commercial Court of Madrid makes an Article 267 reference to the EU Courts of Justice regarding the creation of a new exclusive football league comprising Europe’s top teams (ESLC / UEFA / FIFA), 11 May 2021

8. José Luís Da Cruz Vilaça, The EU Court of Justice receives a request for preliminary ruling in relation to whether the rules on the organisation of international football matches comply with EU competition law (ESLC / UEFA / FIFA), 11 May 2021

9. European Court of Justice, The EU Court of Justice sets aside the judgment of the General Court which annuls the Commission’s decision and classifies as State aid the Spanish tax scheme in the football clubs sector (Fútbol Club Barcelona), 4 March 2021

10. Simon Troch, Violetta Meli, The EU General Court judges that sports federations’ rule of banning athletes for participation in unauthorized events can – in certain circumstances – constitute a by object infringement of Article 101 TFEU (International Skating Union), 16 December 2020

11. Peter L’Ecluse, Valérie Lefever, The Brussels Court of Appeal annuls the Competition Authority’s decision rejecting a football club’s request for interim measures (Virton / RBFA), 19 November 2020

12. Belgian Competition Authority, The Belgian Competition Authority does not consider the relegation of the football club to division 1B prima facie incompatible with competition law (FC Waasland-Beveren), 2 July 2020

Organizers

This inaugural edition of the Sport Governance in Europe Conference will take place in Brussels on Friday 13 January 2023. The conference is organised by Concurrences in partnership with A22 and Clifford Chance. Attendance is by registration only. No on-site registration. The list of participants will be communicated to the speakers.

Sponsors

The Plaza Hotel Brussels

118-126 Boulevard Adolphe Max

 1000 Brussels Belgium