News | Sport

Tuesday 10th April 2001

A group of Premier and Nationwide football clubs have taken legal soundings on the way forward in the controversy surrounding the new proposals to replace the current European and International transfer fee system, which FIFA intends to adopt at the beginning of July 2001. The clubs have met with leading lawyers at S J Berwin & Co to discuss the current legal position and what action should be taken.

The proposal, reached as a settlement between the European Commission and Football Authorities in the face of the Commission's opposition to the current system, met with general disapproval from those attending the discussion forum. It was considered unworkable in practice and potentially damaging to UK football.

Tom Usher, a member of S J Berwin's Sports Business Group specialising in EU and competition matters, confirmed that once the proposals are adopted, they are still likely to be challenged both at a national and a European level, and it is far from certain that the proposals will actually be adopted in the near future in the face of such challenges.

The meeting, which followed on from an event on the same subject in September 2000, was attended by representatives of a wide range of Premier League and Nationwide Clubs, including Newcastle United, Manchester City, Norwich City, Peterborough United, Sheffield United, Watford and Barnet, as well as representatives of the Nationwide Conference League and the football press and media. The Clubs expressed a strong interest in attending future meetings on the subject, which will be held following further developments in this area.

S J Berwin is at the forefront of legal developments in the world of football. In addition, its Sports Business Group advises organisations and clubs from across the sporting spectrum including The England and Wales Cricket Board, The British Ski Federation, Radio First and Ondigital, ENIC plc and The Pentland Group, Harlequins and Saracens (Rugby Football), and a range of Premier League and Nationwide Football Clubs. It has most recently represented ENIC on its acquisition of its 29.9 per cent stake in Tottenham Hotspur.