Our Managing Lawyer, Alkiviadis Papantoniou, participated in the 27th IASL Congress held on 11-13 December in Rome. The theme of the Congress was “The Football Industry”. Speakers and attendees had the chance to engage in fruitful discussion and to exchange ideas on the matters of football governance, regulation & finance, and address the most recent and future developments, in a rapidlychanging global landscape.

It was our pleasure to present our study titled “Multi-Club Ownership in Football: Regulatory Approaches and Legal Dimensions.”

Multi-club ownership is a global phenomenon and one of the most talked-about topics in world football at the moment. MCO structures tend to become the norm rather than the exception, posing challenges to club-owners and football regulators in relation to the survival of clubs and the necessity to safeguard the integrity of competitions.

Our presentation focused on the sheer increase in MCO structures in Europe and other continents, the regulatory measures adopted to address potential problems, the most relevant case law by the Court of Arbitration for Sport and finally, the pros and cons of Multi-club ownership for clubs, competitions and the sport in general.

We would like to give our sincere thanks to the International Association of Sports Law and its President, Mr Majed Garoub, for the great organisation and hospitality.

Looking forward to the 28th!