The study examines the factors of success and the factors of fragmentation. In doing so, the study aims at reflecting the interviewees' perspectives, in particular in Section 3 and 4. Section 5 critically evaluates some of their statements.

Spanish football may be enjoying one of its most successful eras, but its reputation off the pitch recently suffered a hit. A survey of the accounts of the top football clubs revealed a tale of crippling debts and fiscal miscreants. In April 2012, the Spanish government and the football league...

Media reports and interested stakeholders often suggest that certain types of sports bets would significantly increase the risks of match fixing occurring. These concerns also surface in policy discussions at both the national and European level. Frequently calls are made to prohibit the supply...

One of the most important developments in EC competition policy during 2006 was the Court of First Instance's (CFI) Impala v. Commission judgment annulling the European Commission's approval of the merger between the music units of Sony and Bertelsmann. It harshly criticized the Commission's...

In his opinion in Bosman, Advocate General Lenz called attention to the function of EU competition law to control the private regulatory power of international sports associations. The true potential of EU competition law to protect athletes and other parties against regulatory overreach by...

In its Pechstein ruling, the Oberlandesgericht (OLG) München based itself on German antitrust law to challenge the validity of arbitration clauses in favour of the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), which are commonly used across the sporting world. Interestingly, competition law was used to...

The study's main objectives are to map the legal framework applicable to the origin and ownership of rights to sports events (sports organizers' rights) in the 28 EU Member States; to analyze the nature and scope of sports organizers' rights with regard to licensing practices in the field of the...

Both in the European Union (‘EU’) and the United States (‘US’), antitrust law offers a unique and potentially powerful tool to curb the private regulatory power of sports governing bodies and leagues (‘sports organizations’). The application of antitrust rules and principles to...