eSports is an “attractive” market for sponsors as an alternative to traditional entertainment, said the Heads of Sponsorship and eSports at Movistar Ander Pérez and Guillermo Mañas at the ISDE Webinar, the online talk promoted by the Instituto Superior de Derecho y Economía (ISDE) as part of the ISDE Sports Convention (ISC).

Under the title ‘eSports: No limits to the future’, both experts outlined the prospects of a social phenomenon that last year had a turnover of more than 35 million euros, more than 2.9 million fans, 600 employees and more than 250 professional players in Spain, according to the yearbook published by the Spanish Association of Video Games (AEVI).

“eSports is the final conclusion of something that started 30 years ago, which is gaming. It has evolved over the years and the great revolution is network gaming. This, taken to the extreme, leads to professional gamers, who are the tip of the iceberg. Is it a sport or not? The codes are very similar in terms of commitment, strategy, nutrition, physical and psychological preparation,” said Ander Pérez.

The sports marketing expert, who has worked at Movistar for more than 20 years, compared professional eSports clubs with football clubs. “The players are professionals, but it is entertainment under construction. The sector has to be organised, the teams, the competitions; public institutions are getting involved, but they are not regulating it. Labour protection and the organisation of the event are being regulated,” Perez said.

The Heads of Sponsorship and eSports at Movistar Ander Pérez and Guillermo Mañas will analyse the future and professionalisation of eSports at the next ISDE Webinar, the online talk promoted by the Instituto Superior de Derecho y Economía (ISDE) to be held this Thursday 21st May (20:00) as part of the ISDE Sports Convention (ISC).

Moderated by the Director of Corporate Communication of LaLiga, Carlos Ruiz-Ocaña, the talk entitled ‘eSports: No limits to the future’ will address the connectivity, socialisation and professionalisation of a booming sector, which is attractive to sponsoring brands and which aspires to be included in the Olympic Games in order to achieve greater popular recognition.

Ander Pérez has a degree in Law and a Master’s degree in Commercial and Marketing Management from IE. An expert in Sports Marketing, he has been working at Movistar for more than 20 years. He has been the Head of Sponsorship at the telecommunications company since 2004, a position from which he has been in contact with the main sports in Spain including football, basketball, Formula 1, motorcycling, sailing and, among others, the Olympics. Since 2017, he has also been responsible for the company’s eSports sector.

During his appearance at the ISDE Webinar, included in the ISDE Sports Convention (ISC). Brazilian lawyer Marcos Motta believes that the transfer market for footballers will be “more sophisticated” and “realistic” and invited players and clubs to reach a consensus on the extension of contracts that end on 30th June in order to finish the respective national championships.

“The transfer market is going to change in the coming months, it is going to be more realistic, sophisticated and exceptional. I foresee fewer signings because they are not good for the image of the industry and the transfers will not be sudden,” he said in his talk under the title ‘The challenges of the player transfer system and the role of agents and lawyers in times of COVID-19’.

The founding partner of Bichara e Motta Advogados and professor at ISDE stressed that the relationship between players and clubs “has changed” with the crisis brought about by the pandemic and that, except in the case of big clubs such as Real Madrid, FC Barcelona or Manchester City, “there will be fewer signings” due to the economic consequences of the virus.

Brazilian lawyer Marcos Motta will reflect on the challenges of the transfer system and football agents in the face of coronavirus crisis at the next ISDE Webinar, the online talk promoted by the Instituto Superior de Derecho y Economía (ISDE) to be held on 7 May (20:00). Marcos Motta, international sports lawyer and professor at ISDE, will give a lecture under the title ‘The challenges of the player transfer system and the role of agents and lawyers in times of COVID-19’.

Founding partner of Bichara e Motta Advogados, Marcos Motta holds a Diploma in Contemporary Commercial Law and a Master’s Degree in International Economic Law from the University of Warwick (UK), an Honorary Master’s Degree in International Sports Law from ISDE, as well as a degree in negotiation and leadership from Harvard Law School.

At the webinar of the Instituto Superior de Derecho y Economía (ISDE), LaLiga’s Director of Women’s Football, Pedro Malabia, stated that it would be “rash” to cancel the 2019-20 Primera Iberdrola season due to the COVID-19 health crisis because “there is a lot at stake” and stressed that the deadlines should be exhausted in order “not to put at risk” the viability of the Collective Agreement.

“We all agree that health is the absolute priority, and that the game will only be played when the health authorities decide. But the analysis and decisions are not the same for all divisions. In the Primera Iberdrola the health authorities must wait to make this decision until there is time because there is a lot at stake,” he said in the online talk as part of the ISDE Sports Convention (ISC), the international congress on sports law and industry promoted by ISDE, with the collaboration of LaLiga.

In this sense, the General Director of the Association of Women’s Football Clubs (ACFF), who analysed the main challenges facing women’s football before and after the health and economic crisis caused by the pandemic, estimated that the economic impact would reach 600,000 euros due to the audiovisual rights contract, in addition to the loss of sponsorship and commercial rights for the clubs.

Pedro Malabía will address today, at 8 p.m., the current situation facing Spanish women’s football after the declaration of the state of emergency. The talk will take place within the framework of a webinar organised by the Instituto Superior de Derecho y Economía (ISDE), in collaboration with LaLiga, the Madrid Bar Association and the Madrid Chamber of Commerce, entitled “Women’s football: main challenges before and after COVID-19”.

The online talk, moderated by Irene Aguiar, Assistant Director of Iusport and Legal Advisor specialising in sports law, is part of the activities of the ISDE Sports Convention (ISC), a world leading event that is about to be held as a result of being delayed due to coronavirus.

On this occasion, the Director of Women’s Football will explain the different scenarios that are being considered for a possible resumption of the competition and the consequences that the two-month stoppage has had for the competition.

Lawyer Daniel Cravo, an expert in sports law at the Instituto Superior de Derecho y Economía (ISDE), has warned that neither clubs nor the FIFA can “unilaterally” extend players’ contracts beyond 30th June if the season resumes in the summer due to the coronavirus crisis.

This was stated in the online chat organised by ISDE to analyse the consequences of the COVID-19 crisis on contracts, transfers and signings in international football in view of national and continental competitions, as in the case of La Liga.

“With regard to the extension of contracts, any unilateral measure obviously cannot be imposed, directly or indirectly, by clubs or FIFA,” said Daniel Cravo, a member of the Executive Committee of the International Association of Football Lawyers (AIAF).

Brazilian sports law expert Daniel Cravo will analyse this Thursday (20:00) the consequences of the coronavirus on contracts, transfers and transfers in international football in a free online talk organised by the Instituto Superior de Derecho y Economía (ISDE).

A Senior Partner at Cravo, Pastl y Balbuena, Daniel Cravo is a member of the Executive Committee of the International Association of Football Lawyers (AIAF) and vice-president of the Sports Law Committee of the Federal Council of the Brazilian Bar Association (OAB).

ISDE, in collaboration with LaLiga, the Madrid Bar Association and the Madrid Chamber of Commerce, is organising these meetings as part of the ISDE Sports Convention (ISC) to analyse and discuss issues of interest in the wake of the health and economic crisis caused by the global pandemic of COVID-19.