Paris Arbitration Week 2025

April 7, 2025 - April 11, 2025

Secretariat is a proud sponsor of the 9th Edition of Paris Arbitration Week.

The Business of Sports: Navigating Investment, Regulation, and Disputes

Tuesday 8 April 2025 | 10:30 to 12:00

Panel hosted by Secretariat

This panel brings together arbitrators, lawyers, and financial experts to examine the evolving landscape of business and disputes across professional sports. Drawing on their experience of working with clients across various sports, industries, and continents, the panelists will provide insights into the intricate financial, commercial, and regulatory matters shaping professional sports.

The discussion will explore the following topics:

Investment strategies: The impact of diverse investment approaches, increasing involvement of private and sovereign funds, and multi-team ownership on team valuations and business strategies.
Financial regulations: A comparison of financial rules across American and European sports leagues—including cost caps, revenue sharing, and ownership structures—and their impact on league growth, financial stability, and competitiveness.
Ownership regulations: The legal and financial criteria for team ownership across sports leagues, drawing parallels to other industries like banking, where stringent vetting processes ensure financial integrity.
Governance: Leadership, oversight, and conflict resolution structures across sports leagues, with comparisons to corporate governance practices in other industries.

Recent trends in sports arbitration: Analyzing recent cases across leagues and how arbitrators are adapting to handle intricate financial, commercial, and regulatory matters. The discussion will also cover the potential impact of Advocate General Tamara Capeta’s opinion in RFC Seraing v. FIFA on sports arbitration.