The need for FIFA to ensure that football federations set up National Dispute Resolution Chambers

In January 2024, FIFA announced the introduction of a new regulatory framework for national dispute resolution chambers (NDRC).1 The key objectives of the new framework include “to provide clarity and the necessary legal certainty with regard to jurisdiction, structure, applicable requirements and potential formal and permanent recognition by FIFA of existing NDRCs.” The review of the old framework was undertaken as part of FIFA’s goal2 to modernise the football regulatory framework, in line with its vision to make football truly global and its Strategic Objectives for the Global Game: 2023-20273.

FIFA’s efforts towards achieving the strategic goal of globalising and modernising football’s regulatory framework have been quite evident in recent years. As part of these efforts, the organisation reformed its dispute resolution system by creating the Football Tribunal4 and introducing Mediation5 as a means of resolving football disputes. Furthermore, FIFA opted for the re-regulation of the football agent industry6 through the FIFA Football Agent Regulations7 (even though the full implementation of the football agent regulations has been bogged down by legal challenges in different jurisdictions).8

Despite the obvious efforts by FIFA, this author is of the opinion, and concerned, that a number of FIFA’s member associations are lagging in terms of establishing a standard NDRC to efficiently resolve disputes among football stakeholders; particularly players and clubs, at the national level. A notable example is the absence of an NDRC in Nigeria,9 where the labour rights of domestic footballers suffer, due to the inability of the National Industrial Courts to provide a fast and effective resolutions to labour disputes between clubs and players. This is preciously the reason the reason the NDRC system was established to provide.10

Another example is the Democratic Republic of the Congo, with the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) ruling that its football federation had committed a denial of justice by its failure to adjudicate disputes.11 According to the Legal Director of the worldwide footballers union (FIFPRO) Roy Vermeer, this “denial of justice is a recurring issue faced by too many players in too many national football associations.”12 However, it is worth highlighting that there are examples where even though a domestic tribunal exists, it might not meet the minimum requirements stipulated by FIFA. Examples include the case study of the domestic tribunal of Azerbaijan13 and the case of Ali Rıza and Others v. Turkey.14

In light of FIFA’s recent revision of the NDRC framework, this article outlines the need for further steps to address the failure of some national football federations to establish a standard NDRC and provide access to justice for domestic footballers/coaches in some federations. It also argues that just as FIFA acknowledges its statutory obligation “to provide the necessary institutional means to resolve disputes that may arise between or among football stakeholders”,15 its national member associations also have a corresponding statutory obligation to establish NDRCs to resolve disputes at the national level.

• The role of NDRCs
• Key features of the new regulatory framework for NDRCs
  • Recognition of NDRCs
  • Jurisdiction of NDRCs
  • Finality of decisions
  • NDRC Standard Regulations
  • Amendments to the RSTP concerning NDRCs
• Remaining problems with NDRCs
  • The effects of limiting FIFA’s jurisdiction to international disputes
  • The statutory obligation on football federations to provide institutional means to resolve football disputes
• Moral and legal imperatives for enforcing the establishment of NDRCs

Comments (1)

• Christopher Orumba

  • 13 May 2024 at 22:56
  • #

  This is a wonderful read and it is unfortunate that a talented football country like Nigeria does not take football disputes seriously. Like the author pointed out, some foreign players at the Nigeria premier league easily get justice whilst the home players get nothing. Little wonder why every Nigerian player wants to run out and play outside the country. How then would football develop in such countries?

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