Experts on sports business and football deliver impactful talks
On Friday, 17 January 2025, a couple of big hitters from the world of football law and governance visited the University of Liverpool Management School (ULMS) to speak to staff, alumni and current students from the Sports Business and Management MSc and Football Industries MBA (FIMBA).
Professor Petros Mavroidis of Columbia Law School and Alex Phillips, FIMBA alumnus and Incoming General Secretary of FIFPro, shared their insights and expertise during a guest speaker session organised by the School’s Centre for Sports Business (CSB).
In his presentation on “Sport and the EU”, Petros provided a fascinating background on how football law and governance in Europe evolved and how the business aspect of the sport is being regulated at the European level.
Petros discussed the jurisdiction of major football governing bodies such as UEFA and FIFA, the critical disputes they faced over the years and how they have changed their regulations and strategies to comply with European law.
He also explained the concept of sport specificity or the application of European laws and rules to sports, including the recent court decisions, developments and consequences that impacted FIFA and UEFA’s power and dominance in the football market.
Sharing his perspective as a football fan and an industry practitioner, Alex spoke of “An Alternative Future for European Football” amid the tensions across many aspects of football within the European context and beyond.
Alex touched on some of the sport’s biggest contemporary issues, including the lack of individuals with solid football backgrounds in leadership positions, revenue and cost mismatch, power imbalances in the regulation of football, the challenges hampering the commercial growth of women’s football, as well as corruption issues around governance and player recruitment.
To improve various elements of the game, he emphasised how a professional review of the actual rules of play can potentially lead to effective playing time.
In addition, Alex raised a few points on how football can be improved and better regulated regionally. This includes organising cross-border competitions to strengthen teams from smaller European nations, appointing more local football experts in governance bodies in regions, such as South Asia, Southeast Asia and East Asia, and creating a dedicated agency to deal with integrity issues at the international level.
Reflecting on the event, Dr Buraimo Babatunde, Senior Lecturer in Sports Management and Economics, said:
“As a law professor, a former member of UEFA’s Club Financial Control Body and a previous arbitrator at the Court of Arbitration for Sport, Petros has extensive knowledge to impart about the evolution of sport within the European context.”
“Alex, who has presented to FIMBA candidates many times over the past years, equally delivered an engaging talk drawing from his decades-long career in sport and football, including UEFA, FIFA, the Asian Football Confederation and Deloitte’s Sports Business group.”
“It was fantastic to welcome Petros and Alex to campus. The combined experience and knowledge between the two presenters are vast, making it such an invaluable learning and networking session for everybody who attended.”
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