Our series of articles on sports entities’ compliance published on iusport.com

Between May and July 2026, IUSPORT published a series of articles on compliance in sports entities, focusing on professional and semi-professional football. The articles were written by José Páez and Vicente Boquera, partner and associate, respectively, at PZCR Legal, SLP.

The series aims to provide a practical and structured overview of how clubs, sports public limited companies (SADs) and youth academies should address their main compliance risks, combining a legal perspective with the operational realities of sports organisations.

The series consists of the following five articles:

Compliance in Professional and Semi-Professional Football: Evolution, Foundations and Specific Risks

This article examines the evolution of sports compliance within the broader framework of corporate compliance, explaining what distinguishes it in a sector exposed to particular risks such as match-fixing, betting, the presence of minors in youth academies, and the extensive use of health and performance data.

Design and Implementation of Compliance Systems in Football Clubs and SADs

This article focuses on how to develop and implement a compliance system that is genuinely useful and proportionate to each entity’s competitive level, organisational structure and risk profile. It explains the key components of the model
–including the compliance manual, risk map, key policies, registers and traceability systems– and the principles on which it should be based to prevent it from becoming a mere formality.

Sports Integrity and the Prevention of Match-Fixing

This article addresses one of football’s main sector-specific risks: the loss of integrity in competition. It analyses the applicable regulatory framework
–including FIFA and UEFA regulations, criminal legislation on sports corruption, and Spanish gambling regulations– as well as the main categories of risk and the best practices that clubs can adopt, ranging from training and betting prohibitions to internal controls and specialised whistleblowing channels.

Data Protection, Minors and Health in Football

This article focuses on one of the most sensitive areas of sports compliance: the processing of particularly sensitive personal data in an environment involving minors, professional athletes and coaching staff. It addresses the risks arising from the extensive use of medical, biometric and performance data, the applicable legal framework
–including the GDPR and Spanish data protection legislation– and the measures that should be implemented.

Governance, Compliance Culture and the Responsibility of Management Bodies

This article analyses the role of governing bodies and senior management, highlighting their importance in ensuring the effective operation of the compliance system. It explains how a culture of compliance is built from the top down –through example, training, communication and oversight– and which mechanisms, including audits, periodic reviews and reporting systems, are essential to ensuring that the model functions effectively and enables potential deficiencies to be identified in a timely manner.

You can access the full series of articles here.