Sports Law Arbitration Academy
A ten-module curriculum built to the standard of the programmes that already exist in this field — FIFA’s own Diploma in Football Law and the CAS Summer Academy, both taught by working practitioners and arbitrators rather than published as free reading. This page sets out the full outline. The teaching itself — the actual lessons, materials, and worked examples — is reserved for enrolled participants.
Built with reference to the structure of FIFA’s Diploma in Football Law (five modules, application-gated, taught across five countries) and the CAS Summer Academy (taught directly by CAS arbitrators and counsel) — the two most credible existing programmes in this specific field.
Enrollment
Full module content — lessons, worked examples, and materials — is available to enrolled participants only. To enquire about enrollment, email us directly.
info@legalifyattorneys.com →Module 1Introduction to Sports Law›
Module 1
Introduction to Sports Law
- What actually makes sports law a distinct field, and why it sits inside a private regulatory system alongside ordinary national law
- The governance pyramid: FIFA, confederations (CAF), national associations (NFF), leagues and clubs
- Lex sportiva: how CAS’s own case law builds a body of principle beyond the written regulations
- Why private arbitration, not national courts, resolves almost every serious sports dispute
- The African layer: how CAF sits between FIFA and the NFF in practice
- Mapping a dispute to the right forum before doing anything else
Module 2Football Regulatory Structure›
Module 2
Football Regulatory Structure
- The FIFA Statutes and how authority actually flows from them to every other regulation
- The Regulations on the Status and Transfer of Players (RSTP) as the central operating document
- The FIFA Disciplinary Code and how sanctions are actually structured
- CAF’s parallel statutory framework and how it interacts with FIFA’s
- Where national association rules (NFF) fit within this structure
- Reading a regulation correctly: mandatory minimums, discretion, and probationary suspension under Article 27
Module 3The FIFA Football Tribunal›
Module 3
The FIFA Football Tribunal
- The three chambers explained: Dispute Resolution Chamber, Players’ Status Chamber, Agents Chamber
- Jurisdiction: what makes a dispute genuinely ‘international’ for DRC purposes
- National dispute resolution chambers (NDRCs) and when they must be used first
- Filing a claim: procedure, timelines, and evidentiary standards
- How the Tribunal’s decisions differ from a CAS award, and what appealing one actually involves
Module 4The Court of Arbitration for Sport›
Module 4
The Court of Arbitration for Sport
- Ordinary Arbitration versus Appeals Arbitration versus the Anti-Doping Division
- How arbitrators are selected and, where necessary, challenged
- The 21-day appeal window, and where a shorter competition-specific deadline can apply instead
- Evidence, hearings, and how a CAS appeal actually functions as a full rehearing
- Costs, legal aid, and practical ways to reduce arbitration expense
- Enforcement, and the narrow grounds for Swiss Federal Tribunal review
Module 5Player Contracts›
Module 5
Player Contracts
- Just cause: the standard, and how CAS panels have actually applied it in real disputes
- Potestative clauses and why one-sided termination rights get struck down
- Net-pay obligations, permissible deductions, and unlawful ones
- The protected period and additional compensation for early breach
- Mitigation: how a player’s or coach’s subsequent earnings affect compensation
- Loan agreements, minimum contract duration, and registration periods
Module 6Football Agents›
Module 6
Football Agents
- The FIFA Football Agent Regulations (FFAR) and the shift from the earlier intermediary system
- Licensing: the application process and the FIFA Football Agent Exam
- Conflicts of interest and the restrictions on dual representation
- How agent disputes are actually resolved in the Agents Chamber
- Commission structures and what makes an agency agreement enforceable
Module 7Transfer Regulations›
Module 7
Transfer Regulations
- The international transfer system and the role of the International Transfer Certificate
- Training compensation: who is owed what, and when it’s triggered
- The solidarity mechanism and how the 5% is actually calculated and distributed
- The FIFA Clearing House and how it changed enforcement of these payments
- Third-party ownership: why it’s prohibited, and what that means in practice
- Protection of minors under RSTP Article 19 and its narrow exceptions
Module 8Sports Arbitration›
Module 8
Sports Arbitration
- Building on Module 4: drafting an effective statement of appeal
- Evidence strategy specific to employment and disciplinary disputes
- How costs awards actually get apportioned in practice, based on real cases
- Interim and provisional measures: when a stay of execution is realistically available
- Working with, or against, a sole arbitrator versus a three-member panel
Module 9Sports Governance›
Module 9
Sports Governance
- CAF’s Disciplinary Board and Appeal Board: how the two-tier process actually works
- Due process and the right to be heard in disciplinary proceedings
- Strict liability for supporter conduct, and how it’s applied to African clubs and federations
- Ethics and integrity: the FIFA Code of Ethics and match-manipulation enforcement
- The NFF’s own domestic disciplinary process and where it sits relative to CAF and FIFA
Module 10Sports Commercialisation›
Module 10
Sports Commercialisation
- Sponsorship structuring and the clauses that actually get litigated
- Image rights, athlete endorsements, and morality clause drafting
- Broadcasting rights: centralised versus individual sale, and territorial licensing
- Club investment and multi-club ownership restrictions
- Sports-tech partnerships and athlete data ownership