Webinar - Paradigm shift: Sports law in the age of business and human rights

Join LawInSport on Wednesday, 2nd May, for a webinar roundtable on developments in the application of international human rights law within sport. Recent human rights commitments by sports governing bodies are the latest progression of the 2011 United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (UNGPs), the standard which also guided the development of the 2017 Universal Declaration of Player Rights. These developments mark a paradigm shift with far-reaching implications for sports governing bodies, athletes, commercial partners, governments and lawyers.

The webinar will feature an interactive discussion on the implementation of this emerging field of law and practice, building on two recent LawinSport articles: "A guide to the World Players Association’s Universal Declaration of Player Rights" by Matthew Kaiser and “Sport’s human rights requirements: an opportunity and challenge for sports lawyers as well as sports governing bodies” by Brendan Schwab.


Speakers

• Brendan Schwab, Executive Director, World Players Association, UNI Global Union
• Gigi Alford, Head of Sport and Human Rights, World Players Association, UNI Global Union (also, Coordinator of the Sport & Rights Alliance)
• Matthew D. Kaiser, Associate at Global Sports Advocates 
• Sean Cottrell (Chair), CEO, LawInSport

REGISTRATION

The webinar will take place on the 2nd May 2018 during two sessions to accommodate time zones: 2pm GMT/4pm CET. To sign-up click here.

About the Speakers

Brendan Schwab, Executive Director, World Players Association, UNI Global Union 

The World Players Association unites 85,000 players across professional sport through more than 100 player associations in over 60 countries.

Its Executive Director Brendan Schwab brings expertise in organising, labour and human rights law, collective bargaining and dispute resolution, particularly in professional team sports, after 25 years in leading major player associations and representing elite athletes in Australia and around the world.

Before assuming his current position in July 2015, Brendan played an instrumental role for FIFPro, the world footballers association, in supporting players throughout the world. He served FIFPro as a board member, Vice President and as Chair of FIFPro Asia/Oceania. He acted as a judge of the FIFA Dispute Resolution Chamber and, as a member of the FIFA Players’ Status Committee, helped drive FIFA’s ban of the third-party ownership of players.

Brendan co-founded and led the Australian Athletes’ Alliance, which represents eight player associations and over 3,500 athletes in sports such as Australian rules, basketball, rugby union, rugby league, cricket, netball, horse racing and football. He also co-founded Professional Footballers Australia (PFA), serving as Chief Executive and General Counsel while advancing its profession and the reform of the Australian football industry. This saw the creation of a new professional league, Australia’s engagement with Asia and the creation of programs to support the holistic development of players during and after their athletic careers.

He holds a Bachelor of Laws and a Master of Business Administration.

Gigi Alford, Head of Sport and Human Rights, World Players Association, UNI Global Union (also, Coordinator of the Sport & Rights Alliance)

Ginous “Gigi” Alford leads the Sport and Human Rights work at World Players Association, an autonomous sector of UNI Global Union based in Nyon, Switzerland, representing more than 85,000 professional athletes across 15+ sports in over 60 countries.  She also coordinates the Sport & Rights Alliance, a global coalition of leading NGOs, sports organizations, and trade unions partnering to embed human rights in world sport. Previously, Ms. Alford served as Special Advisor in the U.S. State Department’s Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor, where she was the driving force behind the inaugural Sporting Chance Forum.  She began her career as a sports journalist, first with the San Francisco Chronicle and then the San Diego Union-Tribune. Her dissertation for Oxford University’s Master of Studies in International Human Rights Law was a legal analysis of FIFA’s responsibilities to respect human rights under the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights.

Twitter: @gigialford

Matthew D. Kaiser, Associate at Global Sports Advocates 

Matthew D. Kaiser is an associate at Global Sports Advocates and has worked with and represented athletes in a variety of legal issues from challenging disciplinary sanctions and doping violations to protecting athletes’ intellectual property rights.

Sean Cottrell (Chair), CEO, LawInSport

Sean is the founder and CEO of LawInSport. Founded in 2010, LawInSport has become the "go to sports law website" for sports lawyers and sports executives across the world.

Sean works with lawyers and law firms to create targeted and accessible legal content, develop marketing strategies and provide training on digital media. Sean is a visiting lecturer of sports business and sports ethics at Ithica College and Syracuse University London campuses.

Sean has written articles and produced podcasts and videos on the regulation of boxing, match-fixing, doping, sports governance, third party ownership in football, sports sponsorship and social media.

Before founding LawInSport.com Sean studied sport science and law after working in the legal sector for 15 years in finance and marketing. Sean has worked for some of leading international law firms including DLA Piper, Simmons & Simmons, CMS Cameron McKenna and SJ Berwin. His passions are law, sport, marketing, education, technology and charity.