The Ankura Sports practice held its third Sports Governance, Compliance, and Investigations Conference at the Olympic Museum in Lausanne on 29 January 2025. The event was preceded by two workshops, held on 28 January.
This invitation-only event built on the successful Ankura Sports conferences of prior years, in collaboration with LawInSport. The conference brought together 80+ representatives from across sport, law, insurance, and finance, as well as many international federations including FIFA, UEFA, the FIA, the IOC, and the ITA. The conference was structured with a dynamic mix of panel discussions, workshops, and interviews.
Some of the key insights from the conference are as follows:
Crisis Management Workshop
Jonny Gray, Ankura Sports co-lead, ran a crisis management workshop on the prior afternoon, assisted by Duncan Fraser of Howden Insurers, Jamie Fenton of Schillings Communications, and Hannah Kent of Onside Law. Attendees all participated, playing the roles of a Secretary General and General Counsel of a medium-sized international sports federation facing a major reputational crisis. Building on sessions from prior years, the exercise brought home to many attendees the need to routinely exercise how their organisations would manage a Top 10 risk register exposure by taking a multidisciplinary approach. Attendees also learnt that prior identification of an internal crisis management committee and pre-selection of external expert partners is essential. The first time this group meets should not be in a live situation! Finally, some were surprised to learn that well-aligned insurance cover can absorb the costs of complex investigations as well as those of external legal and crisis communications.
Preparing To Give Evidence at CAS
Jon Brown, Ankura Sports Advisory co-lead, built on his 2024 session on Demystifying the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) with a workshop aiming to help attendees understand and prepare to give evidence in disciplinary or arbitration proceedings (for example before CAS). Assisted by CAS arbitrator, Benoît Pasquier of Charles Russell Speechley and experienced highly experienced sports lawyer, Jaime Cambreleng Contreras of Cavaliero & Cambreleng, CAS expert witness Jon Brown introduced a scenario around a doping case. Several volunteers were then cross-examined playing the witness, regulator, and appellant roles. A key takeaway was the need to thoroughly prepare to give evidence at CAS by being master of the facts and well-rehearsed in how to respond to likely questions.
Breakaway Leagues to Multi-Sport Ownership
The main conference started with a panel discussion moderated by Ankura Managing Director, Felix Vetter on “Navigating New Frontiers: From Breakaway Leagues to Multi-Sport Ownership the Emerging Jurisdictional and Financial Challenges in Sports Competitions.” Jason Shardlow-Wrest of Linklaters, Nick de Marco KC of Blackstone Chambers, Abi Ijasanmi of African Sports Investor and formerly COO of the Confederation of Africa Football (CAF), and Jeremy Conrad-Pickles of the International Skating Union made for a lively and expert panel who surveyed recent legal outcomes and dynamics challenging the hegemony of the IOC model. The conclusions were that International Federations can no longer afford to be reactive. The panel highlighted:
- The critical role of competition law in shaping league structures;
- The need for transparent rule-making processes;
- The benefits and risks of multi-club ownership models; and
- Importance of ownership transparency and governance framework.
They concluded that sports organisations need to: (a) adapt to evolving legal and commercial realities ensuring their constitutions and regulations adapt with the times, (b) reassess their place in the changing sports ecosystem and (c) see this as an opportunity for innovation, not just a threat.
Due Diligence & Managing Third-Party Risk in Sport
Jon Brown gave a fascinating presentation on “Getting it wrong: Managing Third-Party Risk in Sport” exploring why sport continues to get itself into avoidable situations with third parties, from shady crypto companies to aligning with brands that have troubling but discoverable ESG records. Jon stressed that regulators are increasingly focusing on sport to clean up the sector. The new EU Anti-Money laundering framework includes sports clubs as "obliged entities" and English clubs face additional challenges with the new Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act (ECCTA). Key takeaways were pausing to do proper due diligence and asking a few key questions, such as: Why does this company want to sponsor us? Does this align with our brand and values? And how will athletes and fans react?
Growth in Women’s Sport
Gabriella Lowe, Head of Women’s Sport and Chief Operating Officer at LawInSport, then discussed Ensuring Sustainable Growth in Women’s Sport: The Role of Financial Regulation and Investment with commercial sports leader Rowena Samarasinhe and Serena Bertinetto of Volleyball World.
A key takeaway was that women’s sport offers high returns on investment, with data showing that every $1 spent by sponsors generates $7 in customer value. This growing commercial viability is evident in major deals, such as the Women’s Super League (WSL) securing a £65 million media rights deal and a £45 million sponsorship with Barclays, marking the largest domestic women’s football deal to date. In volleyball, CVC Capital Partners invested to commercialise media and marketing rights, particularly in gender-balanced markets like the U.S., China, and Italy.
It was interesting to explore the continued financial vulnerability of women’s sport and the pros and cons of taking a different approach to sustaining the growth of women’s sport; for example, by adopting closed leagues and parity models such as those that have underpinned the growth of Major League Soccer.
Additionally, the panel highlighted branding, representation, and media strategies, emphasising how women athletes drive engagement by tackling societal issues like mental health and gender equality. To ensure long-term sustainability, the industry must prioritise strategic investments, regulatory frameworks, and innovative league structures.
Investigations: Balancing Process with Media Dynamics
Charli Curran, Ankura’s safeguarding expert, moderated two sessions; the first, “Investigations: Balancing Process with Media Dynamics” discussed navigating crisis when allegations or details of an investigation are released to the public; a scenario commonly experienced in sport with widespread public engagement and influence. The panel, which included Maria Strauss of Farrer & Co., Jamie Fenton of Schillings Communications and Quinton Newcomb of Fieldfisher explored some of the common challenges and strategies faced when conducting investigations through the lens of the media and the need for the implementation of effective investigation protocols and ensuring there is a balancing of procedural fairness with efficient resolution given the importance to act swiftly.
Tackling Online Abuse in Sport
The second session, “A Level Playing Field: Meaningful Measures to Tackle Online Abuse in Sport” looked at online abuse in sport starting with a powerful interview with Mhairi Maclennan, GB athlete who experienced online abuse following her disclosure of sexual, physical, and emotional abuse against her former coach. Mhairi’s account emphasised the human impact of online abuse and the live risk to athletes, officials, and others representing each sport. Jake Marsh of Signify and Stephan Smith of World Rugby joined the second half of the session which focused on practical measures sport can implement to protect their athletes and officials and the role sport can play in fostering a more positive online culture.
‘Fireside chat’ with Jason Fergusson the Chair of World Snooker (WPBSA) and Director of the World Snooker Tour
Finally, the day concluded with Jonny Gray and Jason Fergusson, Chair of World Snooker (WPBSA) and Director of the World Snooker Tour. Drawing all the threads of the conference together, they discussed some of the opportunities and challenges Jason has faced as the global head of a fast-growing world sport. In particular, they discussed the ‘Chinese Match Fixing Scandal’ which dominated the sport in recent years. Jason talked frankly about crisis management, communications, and stakeholder engagement shedding light on the realities of crisis management and highlighting some very useful lessons for the attendees.
The Ankura Sports practice is very grateful to all delegates for attending this conference. The conference was conducted under the “Chatham House Rule,” hence the takeaways above are those derived by Ankura and cannot be attributed to any individual panellist or attendee. Should readers wish to discuss any of the matters raised at the conference, they should contact sportsadvisory@ankura.com .
Jonny Gray is a Senior Managing Director in Ankura and Sean Cottrell is the CEO of LawInSport.
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© Copyright 2025. The views expressed herein are those of the author(s) and not necessarily the views of Ankura Consulting Group, LLC., its management, its subsidiaries, its affiliates, or its other professionals. Ankura is not a law firm and cannot provide legal advice.
