In 2019, FIFA organised the first ever FIFA Football Law Annual Review (FLAR) in an effort to introduce, on an annual basis, the regulatory work, case law and main decisions of its decision-making and judicial bodies, as well as the main Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) proceedings arising from FIFA’s decisions. The fourth edition of the FLAR was held in Buenos Aires, Argentina, on 10 and 11 March 2022, and brought together legal experts and football stakeholders from all around the world. The two-day event, which was streamed live on FIFA.com, triggered open discussions on the development of regulations and legal decisions in various fields of FIFA’s activity. “It gives me great pleasure to present FIFA’s work in this area from Buenos Aires, Argentina,” said FIFA Chief Legal and Compliance Officer Emilio Garcia Silvero in his welcome message. “The Covid-19 pandemic made it impossible for us to host this football law conference in person these last two years. It should have taken place in 2020, here in Buenos Aires, but here we are now, in 2022, able to meet up again face to face.”

On the first day of the event, FIFA provided a comprehensive legal and compliance overview of 2021 as well as an outlook for 2022. Its presentations covered a wide range of topics, including the FIFA Football Tribunal – a new milestone in the ongoing reform of the football regulatory framework – recent transfer system agreements, and disciplinary and ethics proceedings, among many other subjects.

Day two of the FLAR featured a round table on minimum labour standards in women’s football, which was moderated by Argentinian Football Association (AFA) Legal Director Andres Paton. Among those taking part was CONMEBOL Deputy General Secretary and Legal Director Monserrat Jimenez.

“The fact that football is becoming more and more accessible now, along with all the publications we have, the inclusion of Spanish, and the hosting of seminars like this here, means that we are consolidating our position in South America, where we have some great law professionals,” said Jimenez in recapping the event. In bringing the conference to a close, Paton said: “It’s sad that this FLAR has to come to an end. On behalf of AFA President [Claudio] Tapia and myself, I have nothing but gratitude to Emilio and the whole FIFA legal team for having chosen us, the AFA and Buenos Aires. I would also like to thank Montserrat for joining us. “For those of us who’ve devoted our time to this profession for many years now and who have links to sport and football law, it’s a dream to have an event like this in South America. It’s something that in the past we’d never have thought about. I hope it’s the first but not the last in South America. There’s nothing better than an FLAR for bringing law and football together.”