EU Antitrust Law and Sport Governance The Next Frontier?

This is the first book to examine the significance of European Union antitrust law for the future of sport in Europe. Drawing on multi-disciplinary perspectives from law, economics, sport management and politics, and including case studies about the European Super League (ESL) and the International Skating Union, the book explores key themes in contemporary sport, including governance, ownership and control; the European sport model; the regulatory autonomy of sports organisations; and the relationship between public policy, the law and sport. This is important reading for any advanced student, researcher, policy-maker or practitioner with an interest in sport management, sport law, European law or European politics.

1 Introduction: The slow yet steady rise of EU sports antitrust law (1982–2022) Jacob Kornbeck 2 A motor of change? EU antitrust law and sports governance from Meca-Medina to the European Superleague Ben Van Rompuy 3 The International Skating Union case: On a mission to defend the weaker party? Rusa Agafonova 4 The Superleague concept in European football in the light of EU competition law Dennis Cukurov 5 The application of antitrust legislation by Swiss courts in cases involving international sports governing bodies Margareta Baddeley 6 Should organising premier-level European football be a monopoly? And who should run it? – An economists’perspective Oliver Budzinski and Arne Feddersen 7 On the economic and legal stakes of independent sport leagues: The case of football Mickaël Terrien and Jean-Loup Chappelet 8 Antitrust law, sport and the European social model: An Olympic choice Walter S. Palmer 9 Conclusion: EU antitrust law and the future of the sports pyramid and the ‘one federation’ principle Jacob Kornbeck

Jacob Kornbeck is a Policy Officer in the European Commission and a former member of its Sport Unit (2001-14), where he was involved in the elaboration of the White Paper (COM(2007) 391) and the Communication on Sport (COM(2011) 12). An external Lecturer at the German Sport University in Cologne, Germany (sports management) and the University of Lille, France (sports law), he has published in the fields of sports law and policy, as well as social policy and social work.