Professor Juan de Dios CRESPO PÉREZ

This Practice Note contains a table providing a comparative overview of the principal dispute resolution routes in international and selected domestic football systems. It identifies the relevant forum, applicable procedural framework, principal categories of disputes, routes of appeal or challenge, and key enforcement and strategic considerations. The applicable rules and deadlines should be checked in each case, particularly where multiple sporting, arbitral, regulatory or court-based routes may overlap. This Practice Note refers to rules and regulations of relevant sporting bodies. The relevant rules and regulations can be accessed using the following websites:•Court of Arbitration for Sport Code•CONMEBOL Regulations•Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) documents•Real Federación Española de Fútbol (RFEF) Código Disciplinario (Disciplinary Code)•The Football Association (FA) documents•Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) documentsWhen does the forum have jurisdiction?Arbitral forum and applicable rulesJurisdictional and procedural issuesTypical categories of disputes Appeal routesEnforcement considerationsPractical and strategic considerationsFIFA— Mandatory

IntroductionRegulating the sport and resolving the disputes that arise in the midst of it have become an essential component of modern football governance. The sport has evolved throughout its history, shifting from a mere competitive athletic activity to a global phenomenon, acquiring a level of legal, economic, social and organisational complexity that never ceases to surprise.The professionalisation and commercialisation of the product have called for greater involvement and cooperation between all parties of the ecosystem. Thus, the role of supranational bodies that oversee the state of football and delineate the course of action to be followed.FIFA acts as the pinnacle of the football pyramid, as within FIFA, we can find all the Confederations that include the totality of the National Football Associations of each country.As we know, the Union Européenne de Football Association (or UEFA as it is widely referred to), is the governing body of football in the Old Continent. It is formed by the merging