Football Law 2024 - Player Contracts, Agents, Tax And The Business Of Football

ABOUT

The LawInSport Football Law 2024 conference will be held at 1 Wimpole Street, London, with a schedule spanning two days (20th & 21st May).

Day 1 will include a roundtable, panel discussions on football governance, transfers, compliance, and multi-club ownership, followed by a drinks reception.

Day 2 will focus on the influence of football in Asia and the Middle East, commercialisation of data, criminal investigations into player & coaches conduct & reputation management, and the life of an in-house football lawyer.

Who Should Attend

Sports executives and administrators (Club Secretaries, CEOs, CFOs, Directors, etc)
In-house counsel working at clubs, federations, sponsors, media companies, agencies
Agents
Athletes and coaches
Professional services (lawyers, accountants consultants, tax advisers, wealth managers, etc)
Academics and students (please note there is a limited number of places for students)

In short, if you would like to gain a better understanding of the most important legal issues that will impact football, then this conference will be an invaluable resource and one you will not want to miss.

Interactive Panel Discussions

The conference provides attendees with two full days of interactive panel discussions, with world leading experts discussing the contemporary legal issues impacting football.

Roundtables

Throughout the conference a number of forums for subject matter experts and stakeholders will take place under Chatham House Rule. These forums give attendees greater opportunities to enter into more detailed topics specific discussions and develop relationships with colleagues with subject matter interest.

Professional Development & Knowledge Sharing

Not only will attendees partake in cutting-edge panel discussions, they will also receive a complimentary conference magazine. Attendees will therefore have access to detailed reference materials that will help them when faced with legal issues in their work or studies.

Networking

LawInSport events are renowned for their unparalleled networking opportunities, and this will be a theme that continues at this year’s Football Law Conference. With over 6 hours of networking and two drinks receptions, attendees can take advantage of dedicated time to meet with colleagues in the sector in a friendly and welcoming environment.

Private Work Space

We understand that with all the best intentions to attend every session over the two days, there will be times when attendees may need to check into work or take calls...the work of lawyers and executives never stops!

Therefore to give attendees the best opportunity to be present and make the most of the conference, we have allocated a private room to work in and take calls should you need to. You will never have to be far from the action and be able to take advantage of all the networking opportunities and participate in the conference as much as possible.

CPD/CLE

The Football Law Conference provides 7 hours of self-certified continuing professional development/continuing legal education.

Attending Organisations

Football Clubs & Sports Federations

Aston Villa FC
Burton Albion
Bury FC
Cambridge United FC
Celtic Football Club
Chelsea Football Club
Colchester United FC
Confederation of African Football
European Handball Federation
Everton FC
FIFPRO
Gateshead FC
International Boxing Association
League Managers Association
Liverpool FC
Maidenhead United FC
Manchester United FC
Norwich City FC
QPR FC
Rangers FC
Reading FC
Rochdale AFC
Royal Antwerp FC
Tottenham Hotspur FC
Turkish Football Federation
Wycombe Wanderers FC
Yeovil Town FC

Sports Organisations - Agency, Solution Providers & Consultants

Alvarez & Marsal
Ankura Consulting Group
BL Ballers
Bloomsbury Football Foundation
Breaking Down Barriers
CAA
CAS
Credit Suisse (UK) Ltd
Deloitte
Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS)
DMB Sports Management
FA Sport
FACT
Fiducia Football Agency
International Sports Agency
Keno Media Consultancy
Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 Team
Practical GC
ProDataStack & Winners
PWC
Sentinel Sport and Mediation
Sport Business Connected
The Player Care Group

Law Firms & Chambers

2 Temple Gardens
3 Hare Court
11KBW
12KBW
39 Essex Chambers
Advantage Rule
Advokatfirman NORDIA
Anderson Mori & Tomotsune
Antas Da Cunha ECIJA
Armstrong Teasdale
Baker Tilly
BCL Solicitors LLP
Bishop & Sewell LLP
Blackstone Chambers
BMDW Advocaten
B P Collins LLP
Brandsmiths
Burness Paull LLP
Capital Law
CEE Attorneys
Centrefield
Chapman Albin LLC
Clintons
DAHL
Ecija & Asociados Abogados Barcelona S.L.
Farrer & Co LLP
Fieldfisher
Field-R Law
Five Paper
Freemans Solicitors
Front Row Legal
Gowling WLG
Hall Brown Family Law
Harbottle & Lewis
Hickman & Rose
Hugh James
Hugo Paris Avocat
IPS Law LLP
J+Legal
JMW Solicitors LLP
Kancelaria Prawna Maciej Bałaziński i Współpracownicy
Kellerhals Carrard
Law Office Kraljičković
Lawrence Stephens
LEVEL
Lewis Silkin
Linklaters
Lombardi Associates
MAQS Advokatbyrå
Matrix Chambers
Mills & Reeve LLP
Moore Barlow LLP
Nelson Guest & Partners
Newfields Law Ltd
Northridge
Norton Rose Fulbright
Onside Law
Penningtons Manches Cooper
Pinsent Masons
Pirola Pennuto Zei & Associati
Reynolds Porter Chamberlain
Sheridans
SILA Lawyers
Sportlegis
Squire Patton Boggs
Stephenson Harwood LLP
Taylor Wessing
Telles de Abreu E Associados Sociedade de Advogados SP RL
Thackray Williams
Tyr
Vitus Derungs Sports Law
Walker Morris
Withers
Wordley Law

Academic

Birmingham City University
BPP University
Edge Hill University
Erasmus University Rotterdam
UCFB
University of Liverpool Management School
University of York

AGENDA

Day 1 - Monday 20th May

09:00 - 13:30: Registration Opens

09:20 - 10:10: Dispute Resolutions roundtable (Wheatley Room)

10:20 - 11:10: Commercial developments roundtable (Wheatley Room)

11:10 - 12:00: Player contracts, welfare and tax roundtable (Wheatley Room)

Facilitated by:

Mario Tenore, Associate Partner, Pirola Pennuto Zei (Tax Expert)

12:10 - 13:00: Private In-house Counsel and Football Club Representatives roundtable (Wheatley Room)

Alistair Maclean, Founder Practical GC and Former Group Legal Director, The FA & Former Group General Counsel, World Rugby

12:00 - 14:00: Lunch & Networking

14:00 - 15:00: Football Governance Bill & the Independent Regulator for Football

Nick De Marco KC, King's Counsel Barrister, Blackstone Chambers
Sean Jones KC, King's Counsel Barrister, 11KBW
Karandeep Gill, Senior Policy Advisor, Football Regulation, Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS)
Kieran Maguire, Football Finance Lecturer, Award winning Price of Football Podcast Presenter, University of Liverpool Management School

15:05 - 15:55: Current developments impacting players & coaches

Carol Couse, Head of Sports Entertainment and Media, Mills & Reeve LLP
Dr Alex Culvin, Head of Strategy and Research: Women’s Football, FIFPRO
Stella Riberti, Solicitor/Avvocato, Withers
Beryly Lubala, Professional Football Player, Wycombe Wanderers & Founder, BL Ballers
Lindsay Gordon, Director | In-House Lawyer, League Managers Association

15:55 - 16:20: Coffee Break

16:20 - 17:05: Compliance and Risk Management in Clubs

Philip Draper, Senior Governance, Ethics & Compliance Manager & Legal Counsel, Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 Team
Jonny Gray, Senior Managing Director - Sport, Ankura
Abi Ijasanmi, Former Chief Operations Officer, Confederation of African Football

17:10 - 17:50: Dealing with criminal investigations into player & coaches conduct & reputation management

Tom Rudkin, Partner, Farrer & Co LLP
Peter Csemiczky, Partner, Hickman & Rose
Jane Mulcahy KC, Barrister, Blackstone Chambers (moderator)

17:50 - 18:15: Refreshments & Networking

18:15 - 19:00: What does Multi-Club & Multi-Sport Ownership mean for the future of football?

Paolo Lombardi, Founder and Managing Director, Lombardi Associates
Adam Lewis KC, Barrister, Blackstone Chambers
Tom Simpson, Senior Associate, Centrefield
Harriet Leach, Legal Director, Onside Law (moderator)

19:00 - 21:00: Food & Drinks Reception

Day 2 - Tuesday 21st May

08:45 - 09:20: Registration & Networking

09:20 - 10:10: Key cases and update on dispute resolution

Frans de Weger, Partner, BMDW Advocaten, Chairman of the FIFA Dispute Resolution Chamber (DRC) & CAS Arbitrator
Thomas Horton, Barrister, 3 Hare Court

10:15 - 11:00: New trends and developments in the commercial models in football

Chris Duffy, Company Secretary, Head of Legal at Celtic Football
Fiona Green, Founder and CEO, ProDataStack & Winners
Mike Llewellyn, Partner - Sports, Gambling and Commercial, Squire Patton Boggs
Paul Musa, Associate, Onside Law
Sarah Johnson, Associate, Charles Russell Speechlys (moderator)

11:00 - 11:30: Coffee Break

11:30 - 12:05: The growing football landscape in Asia & Middle East

Takuya Yamazaki, Founder and Managing Partner, Field-R Law
Takao Toshishige, Former Regional Director, City Football Group Japan, & Former Executive Vice President, Rakuten
Daniel Geey, Partner, Sheridans

12:05 - 13:00: The life of an in-house football lawyer

Katie Reed, General Counsel, Tottenham Hotspur Football Club
Vicky Wilkes, Head of Legal, Aston Villa Football Club
Rob Hamblin, Associate General Counsel, Chelsea Football Club
James Hill, Legal and Governance Director. Norwich City Football Club
Dan Gorelov, Head of Risk and Operations, QPR (Moderator)

13:00 - Conference Finish

PRIVATE ROUNDTABLES

BOOK TICKETS

Professional Services Lawyers, accountants, tax advisors, consultants, etc - Tier 1	£696
Sports Professional Sport executives & administrators, in-house counsel and agents - Tier 2	£370
Academics & Full Time Students - Tier 3	£300
Former & current elite pro athletes incl. Olympians & Paralympians - Tier 4	FREE *subject to approval

Should you have any issues registering your tickets please email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Member discounts

Institutional Members, Plus Yearly and monthly (with 3 or more months membership) members benefit from a £100 discount on early bird and full price tickets. (Discounts are applied at the time of purchase, provided you are signed into your account).

Discount codes

Attendees purchasing Tier 2, 3 and 4 tickets should email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. to receive a unique code to purchase your preferential ticket.

Group Tickets

If 4 or more colleagues from your organisation would like to attend and benefit from a group discount, please email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Please note, group tickets are designed specifically with the demands of sports organisations and government departments in mind. These tickets allow for people within sports organisations to share and invite colleagues who may otherwise not be able to attend, either due to time or cost restrictions to benefit from the Football Law Conference.

* To qualify for a free ticket as a current or former pro athlete you must not be qualified lawyers or working as sports business professionals. These tickets are subsidised, and therefore are for the benefit of athletes that may not otherwise have the opportunity to attend such events. We hope giving athletes the opportunity to learn, develop and network will benefit them and their sport.