Football disputes dominate global sports arbitration, FIFA report reveals

Football accounted for 77% of all cases handled by the Court of Arbitration for Sport in 2025, according to a newly released report by global football governing body FIFA, highlighting the sport’s overwhelming influence on international sports dispute resolution.

The findings were published in the CAS & Football Annual Report 2025, which provides detailed insight into the volume, nature, and legal outcomes of football-related appeals and arbitration cases across the world. The report underscores how football continues to generate the majority of legal disputes in global sports, reflecting both its scale and the complexity of its regulatory ecosystem.

Football dominates arbitration caseload

According to FIFA, 77% of all cases registered with the Court of Arbitration for Sport in 2025 involved football matters. This means that more than three out of every four disputes brought before the world’s highest sports arbitration body were connected to football.

These disputes typically arise from appeals against decisions made by FIFA’s judicial bodies, including disciplinary sanctions, transfer disagreements, contract breaches, eligibility rulings, and regulatory violations. The high proportion of football cases reflects the sport’s vast global network, which includes thousands of clubs, players, agents, and governing institutions operating under FIFA’s legal framework.

The report also includes legal summaries and case analyses drawn from decisions handled by CAS and reviewed by the Swiss Federal Tribunal, Switzerland’s highest court, which has jurisdiction over appeals involving CAS rulings. These insights provide stakeholders with a clearer understanding of evolving legal precedents shaping football governance.

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FIFA President Gianni Infantino has consistently emphasized the importance of strong legal structures to maintain fairness, transparency, and order within the sport, especially as football’s commercial and global reach continues to expand.

CAS plays central role in dispute resolution

Under Article 49 of the FIFA Statutes, CAS is formally recognized as the independent body responsible for reviewing and adjudicating appeals against final decisions issued by FIFA authorities. This gives clubs, players, officials, and other stakeholders access to an impartial system of justice outside FIFA’s internal decision-making structure.

The arbitration body serves as the final checkpoint for resolving disputes, ensuring that decisions affecting careers, finances, and competitions are handled fairly and in line with international legal standards. CAS decisions are binding and enforceable, making it the ultimate authority in sports arbitration.

The dominance of football cases within CAS highlights both the sport’s global scale and the increasing legal sophistication of its operations. As football continues to grow commercially and geographically, disputes related to contracts, transfers, governance, and disciplinary matters are expected to remain a central feature of its ecosystem.

The report reinforces football’s position not only as the world’s most popular sport but also as the most legally active, with its regulatory and commercial complexity driving a steady stream of arbitration cases each year.