Parliament passes professional sports reform in France

Paris – 21 July 2026: The French Parliament has officially adopted a reform concerning the organization, governance and financing of professional sport. The Senate unanimously approved the compromise text on Tuesday, after the National Assembly had already endorsed it on 20 July. The initiative by senators Laurent Lafon and Michel Savin is primarily intended to address economic and institutional disruptions in professional football.

The core of the law is a new allocation of responsibilities. Sports federations will play a stronger role in overseeing professional leagues in their respective disciplines. In doing so, Parliament is reversing a trend in which commercial structures and leagues have increasingly operated independently in key matters of marketing and governance. In the future, federations will be able to exercise their supervisory responsibilities more effectively.

For football, the law paves the way for a company owned by the clubs. This mechanism is intended to develop the existing organization of professional leagues and place the joint exploitation of audiovisual rights on a more solid footing. The aim is to stabilize the economic value of the leagues while enabling a more balanced distribution of revenue among clubs.

The compromise text also includes provisions against conflicts of interest. Certain management positions in professional sport will no longer be compatible with economic interests or roles at audiovisual companies. The law also strengthens oversight of sports companies, particularly regarding investors holding stakes in multiple clubs. This issue has recently become particularly important in European football.

The remuneration system in leagues and federations is also being adjusted. For the highest salaries in the leagues, the text sets a cap of 450,000 euros. In addition, the activities of player agents will be more tightly regulated, and measures to promote professional women’s sport are also planned. The reform therefore formally applies to all professional sports, but its clear focus is football.

Another part expands the powers of the media regulator Arcom in the fight against the illegal distribution of sports television broadcasts. For leagues and clubs, copyright infringement is seen as an increasingly significant financial risk because it reduces revenue from broadcasting rights. The new tools will help the authority act more quickly against illegal services.

The starting point for the law was the Senate’s 2024 inquiry into the role of investment funds in French football. The inquiry identified shortcomings in transparency, accountability and economic governance. Following Parliament’s decision, the legislative process will proceed. The concrete implementation will depend significantly on how federations, leagues and clubs shape the new scope for action provided by the law.