Clifford Chance provides the gamut of sports law services to key clients in the sector, including the French Football Federation, French Tennis Federation and the French Rugby Federation. The team has extensive experience dealing with major sponsorship deals, mergers and acquisitions, IPOs and TV tenders, as well as infrastructure contracts, and construction and financing deals. In addition, the team is involved in high-profile corporate and commercial matters and represents clients in highly sensitive litigation matters, including advising the French Tennis Federation on the sale of the French TV rights to the Roland Garros Grand Slam tournament. The team is jointly led by Yves Wehrli, who isa specialist in corporate law and M&A across the media and sports sectors, and Thibaud d’Alès, who has strong litigation and arbitration expertise in the field of football, and regularly advises the French Football Federation on strategic matters. Gauthier Martin has developed a recognised public law practice for national and international federal sports bodies. Diego De Lammerville , Alexandre Manasterski and Clément Gandibleux are other names to note.

Legal 500 Editorial commentary

Testimonials

Collated independently by Legal 500 research team.

  • 'Perfectly legally qualified, but above all, very oriented in adapting advice to the strategic and economic objectives of the client, creating value by mobilizing all the useful skills within the firm.'

  • 'Gauthier Martin is one of the best specialists in the Paris market in structuring public-private partnerships.'

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Key clients

  • French Football Federation
  • Professional Football League
  • French Tennis Federation
  • French Rugby Federation

Work highlights

  • Advising the French Tennis Federation (FFT) in the context of the sale of the French TV rights of the Roland Garros Grand Slam tournament (Editions 2024 to 2027).
  • Advising LFP Media, the commercial subsidiary of LFP (Ligue de Football Professionnel), jointly controlled by LFP and CVC Partners, in relation to the sale of the broadcasting rights of the Ligue 1 and Ligue 2 championships for the seasons 2024/2025 onwards.
  • Representing the Ligue de Football Professionnel (LFP) in the context of a commercial litigation initiated by Groupe Canal+ in relation to the rescheduling of several football games between December 2018 and March 2019.

Lawyers

Leading associates
Leading associates with regular involvement in their team's key work, and recognition from peers or clients as being ones to watch.
Clément Gandibleux
Clifford Chance
Leading partners
The strongest partners in their field, leading on market-leading deals and endorsed by peers and clients alike.
Yves Wehrli
Clifford Chance
Thibaud d’Alès
Clifford Chance

Practice head

The lawyer(s) leading their teams.

Yves Wehrli, Thibaud d'Alès

Other key lawyers

Gauthier Martin, Diego de Lammerville, Alexandre Manasterski, Clément Gandibleux