4 December 2023  Paris

Sports are embedded in national cultures and are seen as contributing to social development. In addition, the economic relevance of sports – and of professional sports in particular – has increased substantially in the last decades and is projected to increase further. Although they seem to be like any other market, professional sports have several specificities, such as the special link with social and cultural life, specific economics (including the notion of sports competition and the need for some co-operation between clubs) and a distinctive governance model.

In this context, ensuring economic competition (in addition to sports competition) is paramount to the well-functioning of the industry. Although the discussions on the topic are not new, there has been increased interest in this issue by competition authorities worldwide recently, which suggests that it is timely to revisit the topic.

The OECD held a roundtable in December 2023 to discuss the main competition and regulatory issues currently affecting competition in professional sports. More specifically, the roundtable discussed (i) how to promote greater economic competition in sports events; (ii) competition enforcement cases in the sports sector; and (iii) the sale of sports broadcasting rights.

Some key findings of the discussion were:

• Competition law applies to the professional sports industry, with its specificities considered by competition authorities and courts.
• The design of rules in the sports industry can impact competition, including among clubs and as regards the organisation of sports events and the sports labour market.
• Sports governing bodies and leagues concentrate legislative, executive and judicial powers in the sports sector, which may give them incentives to engage in anti-competitive behaviour against competing leagues or teams and athletes that participate or might participate in a sports competition.

This page contains all related documentation. 

See the full list of best practice roundtables on competition.

Oliver Budzinski Bio  
Professor of Economic Theory (Chair), Ilmenau University of Technology

Moya Dodd Bio   
Partner, Gilbert+Tobin Lawyers, and former vice-captain of the Australian women's football team, the Matildas

Francisco Schertel Mendes Bio 
Member, FIFA Disciplinary Commitee

OECD Background Note | Note de référence de l'OCDE

Detailed Summary of the discussion EN | FR

Executive Summary with key findings EN | FR

Contributions from delegations

Competition issues in labour markets (2019)

Competition and Sports (2010)

Competition Issues related to Sports (1996)

OECD best practice roundtables on competition

More OECD work on competition