On 24 and 25 September, Torre del Mar, in Vélez-Málaga, hosted the 9th AJFV-Unicaja ‘Law & Sport’ Legal Conference, an initiative that brought together professionals and specialists to analyse various legal issues relating to sport, ranging from sponsorship and professional activity to equality, doping and criminal case law.
Organised by the Francisco de Vitoria Judicial Association (AJFV, Asociación Judicial Francisco de Vitoria), with the support of Unicaja, the conference reached its ninth edition with a programme designed to examine sport from various legal perspectives and to create a space for professionals to meet, learn and debate. The initiative took place under the slogan ‘Two days. A different way of talking about law’.
The event provided an opportunity to explore the relationship between sport and the law in greater depth through topics such as sports sponsorship and the legal and employment framework for professional athletes, the inclusion and visibility of women’s and Paralympic sport, the relationship between the public and private sectors in sport, federation licences, anti-doping legislation and criminal case law relating to football.
With its support for the conference, Unicaja reaffirms its commitment to sport and to initiatives that help generate knowledge and create spaces for dialogue around an activity of growing social and economic significance. This support also forms part of the organisation’s connection with sport and its backing for initiatives that promote its values and foster the exchange of knowledge.
“Sport today presents an increasingly broad and complex reality, in which economic, social, labour and legal aspects converge, requiring forums for analysis and reflection such as this conference,” said Ángel Luis Siles, head of Advisory Services, Dispute Resolution, Property and Corporate Affairs.
In this regard, he added that, “for Unicaja, it is a pleasure to collaborate once again this year with the Francisco de Vitoria Judicial Association on an initiative that fosters the exchange of knowledge and dialogue amongst professionals and which, furthermore, allows us to continue supporting sport and those who contribute to its development”.
An analysis of sport from a legal perspective
The 9th AJFV-Unicaja Legal Conference began on Thursday, 24 September. On the first day, a presentation was given on sports sponsorship and the legal employment framework for professional sportspersons, with Ángel Luis Siles, head of Advisory Services, Dispute Resolution, Property and Corporate Affairs at Unicaja, participating on behalf of Unicaja.
The day continued with a session on the inclusion and visibility of women’s sport and Paralympic sport, led by Elena García-Antón, lecturer in State Ecclesiastical Law in the Department of Public Law II at Rey Juan Carlos University.
On Friday 25, the conference resumed with a presentation on the distinction between the public and private spheres in Law 39/2022 of 30 December on Sport, as well as on the specific provisions relating to sporting disciplines and federation licences, delivered by Sandra Cebrián, a specialist in sports law.
Carlos Peralta, Director-General of the Spanish Commission for the Fight against Doping in Sport (CELAD), addressed the legal framework of anti-doping legislation in 2022.
The programme concluded with a session on football at the Place de la Ville in Paris and criminal case law relating to football matters, delivered by Antonio del Moral, a judge of the Second Chamber of the Supreme Court.
