The Integrity Of The Game And Shareholdings In European Football Clubs

Master's Thesis from the year 2009 in the subject Law - Civil / Private / Trade / Anti Trust Law / Business Law, grade: gut, Tilburg University (Faculty of Law), course: International Business Law, language: English, abstract: The ENIC judgement of the Court of Arbitration for Sports clarified in 1999 that the UEFA regulations on multi-club ownership are necessary to maintain the integrity of football, in particular, the authenticity of results. Under the UEFA regulations, controlling interests in more than one club participating in a UEFA club competition are prohibited. However, it is not only multi-club ownership that may influence the so-called integrity of the game. Investments of clubs in other clubs (cross ownership) and shareholdings of "club-involved" persons in a club different from their own also raise issues. The following paper therefore examines the current regulations on those shareholdings for UEFA competitions (Champions' League and Europa League) and for national leagues in England, Spain, and Germany. The analysis provides a detailed overview of how the game's integrity is protected and shows whether improvements seem necessary.

Master's Thesis from the year 2009 in the subject Law - Civil / Private, Trade, Anti Trust Law, Business Law, grade: gut, Tilburg University (Faculty of Law), course: International Business Law, language: English, abstract: The ENIC judgement of the Court of Arbitration for Sports clarified in 1999 that the UEFA regulations on multi-club ownership are necessary to maintain the integrity of football, in particular, the authenticity of results. Under the UEFA regulations, controlling interests in more than one club participating in a UEFA club competition are prohibited. However, it is not only multi-club ownership that may influence the so-called integrity of the game. Investments of clubs in other clubs (cross ownership) and shareholdings of “club-involved” persons in a club different from their own also raise issues. The following paper therefore examines the current regulations on those shareholdings for UEFA competitions (Champions’ League and Europa League) and for national leagues in England, Spain, and Germany. The analysis provides a detailed overview of how the game’s integrity is protected and shows whether improvements seem necessary.

This study analyses the legal and statutory environment for investments in football clubs in Germany, as opposed to the situation in England. Whereas German regulations limit the acquisition of shares of football clubs, the legal framework is much more liberal in England. The paper looks at the potential conflicts of interest involved with club ownership issues as well as at the arguments for and against the German '50 plus 1' rule and how this rule may cause a shortfall in competitiveness as compared to English football. Finally, the study looks at doubts over the lawfulness of the rule in relation to European antitrust legislation and doubts over its effectiveness concerning legal loopholes provided by German corporation law. The paper relied predominantly on the analysis of literature concerning the regulation of club ownership in England and Germany, whereas a significant amount of German literature was used. Essentially, the research found that there is reason for severe scepticism about both the lawfulness and the effectiveness of the '50 plus 1' rule. It would probably not bear up against a test before the European Court of Justice. There are several opportunities in German corporate law to circumvent the rule. Finally, the paper urges the German Football Association (DFB) to consider a softening of the regulations currently in place, and effective modifications of the underlying licensing system, respectively, as well as the introduction of supporters’ trusts and fit and proper person tests. Finally, the paper claims that competitive balance on a European club level can only be restored if club ownership issues are resolved on a European level.

Master's Thesis from the year 2008 in the subject Sport - Sport History, grade: distinction, The University of Liverpool, 87 entries in the bibliography, language: English, abstract: This piece of work analyses the legal and statutory environment for investments in football clubs in Germany, as opposed to the situation in England. Whereas German regulations limit the acquisition of shares of football clubs, the legal framework is much more liberal in England. The paper looks at the potential conflicts of interest involved with club ownership issues as well as at the arguments for and against the German "50 plus 1" rule and how this rule may cause a shortfall in competitiveness as compared to English football. Finally, the dissertation looks at doubts over the lawfulness of the rule in relation to European antitrust legislation and doubts over its effectiveness concerning legal loopholes provided by German corporation law. The paper relied predominantly on the analysis of literature concerning the regulation of club ownership in England and Germany, whereas a significant amount of German literature was used. Essentially, the research found that there is reason for severe scepticism about both the lawfulness and the effectiveness of the "50 plus 1" rule. It would probably not bear up against a test before the European Court of Justice. There are several opportunities in German corporate law to circumvent the rule. Finally, the paper urges the German Football Association (DFB) to consider a softening of the regulations currently in place, and effective modifications of the underlying licensing system, respectively, as well as the introduction of supporters' trusts and fit and proper person tests. Finally, the paper claims that competitive balance on a European club level can only be restored if club ownership issues are resolved on a European level.

This original Research Handbook examines the key legal aspects of a professional football club’s actions. Reflecting also on the role of key governing bodies such as UEFA, the Handbook informs and contributes to the ongoing debate surrounding the governance and behaviours of professional football clubs.

The beautiful game is big business. Football leagues worldwide are being dominated by clubs which are becoming richer and more powerful. Since the first edition of this book was published in 2003, much has changed in the industry. However the central challenge remains how best football, its leagues and clubs can navigate a path between the logic of the market and the logic of community (social), while also remaining focused on a sporting logic. In this second edition, author Stephen Morrow offers a critique of football’s economic structure, prevalent models of club ownership and governance, and new approaches to regulation that have emerged. The book also reflects on the Covid-19 pandemic and on ways in which it has illuminated many of the structural weaknesses inherent in football. It also offers an insight into the woman’s game and its financial development in some countries, as well discussing issues such as football’s response to environmental challenges. Drawing on theory and new literature from across relevant academic disciplines, this book seeks to make sense of the current challenges while also putting forward solutions as to how football can continue to harness and build on its social and community significance.

The vast majority of sports have become a billion-dollar businesses. This is reflected in various professional sectors (legal, financial, marketing, media, etc.). Sometimes an outside observer may think that the greatest challenges for those in charge are restricted to the playing field and improving the teams. In fact, the reality of the industry has shown that the greatest challenges—and secrecy—take place far from the fields and sport court. This book discusses one of the most powerful tools used by football clubs to face the increasing financial demands. The author is a lawyer and has participated in hundreds of negotiations worldwide involving economic rights.

Showcasing a robust conceptual model primed for use in future studies, this work offers a close analysis of the culture of the fast-moving football club ownership world, football fandom and consumption, and what it might mean for the future of the sport.

Derived from the renowned multi-volume International Encyclopaedia of Laws, this practical analysis of sports law in the European Union deals with the regulation of sports activity by both public authorities and private sports organizations. The growing internationalization of sports inevitably increases the weight of global regulation, yet each country maintains its own distinct regime of sports law and its own national and local sports organizations. Sports law at a national or organizational level thus gains a growing relevance in comparative law. The book describes and discusses both state-created rules and autonomous self-regulation regarding the variety of economic, social, commercial, cultural, and political aspects of sports activities. Self- regulation manifests itself in the form of by-laws, and encompasses organizational provisions, disciplinary rules, and rules of play. However, the trend towards more professionalism in sports and the growing economic, social and cultural relevance of sports have prompted an increasing reliance on legal rules adopted by public authorities. This form of regulation appears in a variety of legal areas, including criminal law, labour law, commercial law, tax law, competition law, and tort law, and may vary following a particular type or sector of sport. It is in this dual and overlapping context that such much-publicized aspects as doping, sponsoring and media, and responsibility for injuries are legally measured. This monograph fills a gap in the legal literature by giving academics, practitioners, sports organizations, and policy makers access to sports law at this specific level. Lawyers representing parties with interests in the European Union will welcome this very useful guide, and academics and researchers will appreciate its value in the study of comparative sports law.

As football clubs have become luxury investments, their decisions increasingly mirror those of any other business organisation. Football supporters have been encouraged to express their club loyalty by ‘thinking business’ - acting as consumers and generating money deemed necessary for their clubs to compete at the highest levels. In critical studies, supporters have been portrayed as passive or reluctant consumers who, imprisoned by enduring club loyalties, embody a fatalistic attitude to their own exploitation. As this book aims to show, however, such expressions of loyalty are far from hegemonic and often interface haphazardly with traditional ideas about what constitutes the ‘loyal fan’. While there is little doubt that professional football is experiencing commodification, the reality is that football clubs are not simply businesses, nor can they ever aspire to be organisations driven solely by expanding or protecting economic value. Rather, clubs hover uncertainly between being businesses and community assets. Football Supporters and the Commercialisation of Football explores the implications of this uncertainty for understanding supporter resistance to, and compromise with, commodification. Every club and its supporters exist in their own unique national and local contexts. In this respect, this book offers a Euro-wide comparison of supporter reactions to commercialisation and provides unique insight into how football supporters actively mediate regional, local and national contexts, as they intersect with the universalistic presumptions of commerce. This book was previously published as a special issue of Soccer and Society.