ISLJ 2008-1-2_Def - TMC Asser Instituut

possibilities of collective bargaining between the employers andemployees in the football sector under the umbrella of the EuropeanCommission. He suggested that the Social Dialogue could deal withissues such as the transfer system, match calendar, nationality quotasor player release for national team duty. The debates identified twoproblems for the Social Dialogue to work effectively. First, the representativenessof the social partners, especially in the employers’ side(who represents the employers? Is it clubs, leagues, federations?).Second, the extent to which social dialogue could be used to regulateon issues beyond its remit without giving due consideration to thirdparties (e.g. doping regulations, match calendar or release of playersto national teams).It was evident in the discussions that the study of sport and sportpolicy in the European Union needs to deal necessarily with a multiplicityof actors and venues. This is due to the very own nature ofsport and the EU as multilevel, international and multidimensionalsystems of governance. So far, much of the academic research hasfocused in the EU level. In this regard, Borja García (LoughboroughUniversity, UK) considered the evolution of the relationship betweenUEFA and the European institutions from confrontation in the 1990sto co-operation for the good of the game nowadays. García argued thatthe involvement o the EU in sport represents both a challenge and anopportunity for sport governing bodies. The EU has facilitated thetransformation of the traditional vertical channels of authority in thegovernance of football, but it is also providing tools for UEFA tomanage the new demands of stakeholders in the regulation of thegame.Simona Kustec-Lipicer (University of Ljubljana, Slovenia) complementedthe Brussels-centric focus of the workshop with her paper onmulti-level governance and the Slovenian contribution to theEuropean Commission White Paper on Sport. Despite the interventionof EU institutions, sport remains a competence of MemberStates and, as such, research needs to deal with systematic comparisonnot only across countries, but also among different sports, as well asin relation to supranational levels and their policy processes.It is necessary not to treat sport as a single homogeneous entity. Tothat extent, despite being relatively football-centric, the workshopprovided a wide range of views clearly stressing both the differencesand the interconnections of the professional and grassroots levels.James O’Gorman (Staffordshire University, UK) explored the possibleover regulation of grassroots football by the English FA. The solidarityprinciple between professional and grassroots sport, which is supposedto underpin the European Model of Sport, was identified asanother challenge for sport governance and public policies.One of the most interesting points of the workshop was the contributionof football supporters’ organisations, which tend to be sidelinedin these debates. Dave Boyle (Supporters Direct) and StevenPowell (Football Supporters Federation of England and Wales) contemplatedthe growth of EU policy on sport as an opportunity forsupporters to become increasingly involved in debates surroundingthe future of professional football. It remains to be seen, though, thefeasibility of extending this participation throughout Europe as theengagement of civil society differs quite a lot across the continent andfootball is another example of this.The conclusions of the workshop illustrate the maturity of sport asa research area within European and even international studies.Richard Parrish (Edge Hill University, UK) highlighted the seriousnessof the academic work and the advance of the discipline. Thestudy of sport and the EU has gone from a mere recompilation of EUsport-related decisions to open debates about governance, regulation,civil society participation or europeanisation. During the workshop,delegates stressed the need for further and comprehensive research inthis area. Both academics and practitioners agreed that the governanceof sport in Europe is becoming a crowded and complicatedenvironment, in which rigorous research is needed to inform policychoices, which often seem to be taken based on personal beliefs orideology.More information about the workshop can be found atwww.sportandeu.com/workshopBorja GarcíaLoughborough University, United Kingdom❖speakers:International Sports Law SeminarMonday 21 April 2008, kick-off: 14.00 hours“Webster, DRC and CAS: A New Bosman?”Prof. Frank Hendrickx, Universities of Leuven and TilburgMr Frans de Weger, De Vos attorneys at law, AmsterdamDr Steven Jellinghaus, De Voort Hermes De Bont attorneys at law, TilburgPresentation ofThe Jurisprudence of the FIFA Dispute Resolution Chamber,T.M.C. Asser Press, The Hague 2008moderators: Dr Robert Siekmann, ASSER International Sports Law Centre, The HagueDr Stefaan van den Bogaert, University of Maastrichtvenue:T.M.C. Asser Instituut, R.J. Schimmelpennincklaan 20-22, The Hague, The Netherlands116 2008/1-2CONFERENCES