Emilio García Silvero
Chief Legal and Compliance Ocer
FIFA
Welcome to the FIFA Legal Journal, a new legal publication from FIFA that
aims to mark a turning point in the way football law is studied, understood, and
applied. This initiative, led by FIFA’s Legal and Compliance Division, is part of
a broader eort to promote transparency, legal training, access to knowledge,
and institutional strengthening in sport.
In an increasingly interconnected and complex environment, where
legal decisions directly aect the integrity of competitions, players’ rights,
and fairness between clubs and federations, legal knowledge is no longer a
technical resource reserved for the few. Rather, it has become an essential
pillar for ensuring governance, sporting justice, and the sustainable
development of global football.
Why a legal journal specifically about football? Because modern football
can no longer be understood or managed without a solid, transparent,
and constantly evolving legal framework. Player transfers, contracts,
dispute resolution systems, sport discipline, governance mechanisms, and
compliance principles, all of these elements are regulated by legal rules that
require interpretation, analysis, and debate. And for that debate to be of
high-quality, pluralistic, and accessible, an institutional reference tool was
needed. That tool is the FIFA Legal Journal.
INTRODUCTION
8
Nº 1/2026, pp. 7-8FIFA® Legal Journal
This publication has a clear mission: to bring football law closer to
the global community, share specialized knowledge, encourage critical
reflection, and strengthen the principles of legality, integrity, and fairness in
sport. Because sharing knowledge also means sharing responsibility. And
an informed football community is a community that is better prepared to
defend its rights, assume its duties, and build a fairer game.
The FIFA Legal Journal is an open-access publication, edited twice a year,
with an approach that combines academic depth with a practical perspective.
The journal is underpinned by essential values: editorial independence,
academic rigor, diversity of perspectives, ethical commitment, conceptual
clarity, and a pedagogical vocation.
Our objectives are multiple and complementary. First, to create a stable
and rigorous channel for specialized legal analysis in sport. Second, to
actively contribute to the dissemination of a culture of legality, transparency,
ethics, and good governance. Third, to strengthen FIFA’s institutional role as
a driver of global standards in sports law. And finally, to facilitate access to
quality legal content for a truly international audience.
In addition, the FIFA Legal Journal is part of a broader FIFA strategy
aimed at strengthening the legal capacity of sports institutions, improving
understanding of regulatory processes, enhancing the quality of decision-
making, and ensuring public access to the rules and principles governing
the game. Through its pages, it oers a plural, cross-cutting, and up-to-date
view of the issues that shape the legal agenda of world football.
We hope that you enjoy the first edition of the FIFA Legal Journal.
