Super League versus UEFA: Oliver Budzinski on Governance in European Football

Oliver Budzinski was in high demand as an expert for sports economics...

Oliver Budzinski (Economic Theory Group, TU Ilmenau) was in high demand as an expert for sports economics and governance recently. The ongoing case European Super League versus UEFA Champions League - currently pending before the European Court of Justice - fuels a vital discussion on sports governance and competition in sports markets. On Friday, Concurrences organized a conference on "The Future of Sport Governance in Europe: The Times They Are A-Changing'" in Brussels where Professor Budzinski was invited to speak on the panel "Turning the Page for European Sport: How to Secure that European Sport Benefits from the highest Ethical, Legal and Regulatory Standards?" together with Antonius Manders (Member of the European Parliament), Stephen Weatherill (Professor of Law, Oxford University), and Romain Bouniol (Professor of Law, Perpignan University). More than 100 on-site and further 200 on-line participants provided for a lively and fruitful discussion with the panelists, excellently moderated by Carmen Perales.

In a timely coincidence, just days before this event, the new book "EU Sports Antitrust Law and Governance: The Next Frontier?" (edited by Jacob Kornbeck) was published. Oliver Budzinski and Arne Feddersen (University of Southern Denmark, Campus Esbjerg) contributed the chapter "Should Organizing Premier-Level European Football Be a Monopoly? And Who Should Run It? – An Economists’ Perspective" (pp. 85-101), in which they de-construct the realm of necessary monopoly (power) in sports governance, opening perspectives for open markets and fair competition in commercial sports.