Sports Law, Sports Policies and Sports Diplomacy Centre

By the decision of the Senate of the University of Rijeka in March 2021, the Sports Law, Sports Policies and Sports Diplomacy Centre was established at the Faculty of Law.

The role of the Centre is to establish strong international connections with other centres from the countries of the European Union and the rest of the world. The focus is on the contribution to the development of scientific and professional projects, studies, analysis, expertise for the economy and public sector, organizing domestic and international scientific and professional conferences, and the organization and implementation of professional lifelong learning and training and possible postgraduate studies.

The importance of the Centre is reflected in its contribution into achieving the strategic goals of the University of Rijeka and the Faculty of Law, especially in increasing international cooperation and visibility of Faculty and of the University in the field of sports law research, sports policy, and especially sports diplomacy, connecting scientific activity with the economy and the social community and further improvement in the field in which the Faculty of Law has become internationally recognized.

An important factor that guarantee the said Centre will achieve the set goals are the foreign and domestic members of the Centre. We should highlight Professor Richard Parrish (UK) and Professor Carmen Perez Gonzalez (Spain), advisers to the European Commission, the UN and its home governments; Professor Stuart Murray (Australia) author of the world's first sports diplomacy strategy; Dr. Simon Rofe (UK) and Dr. Borja Garcia Garcia (UK) who are the greatest experts in sports diplomacy and politics in sports in Europe; Professor Jack Anderson (Australia) a distinguished CAS arbitrator; Professor An Vermeersch (Belgium) who has been an advisor to the Belgian Government for many years, Dr. McArdle (UK) as one of the leading legal experts and at the end the importance of Mr. Julien Zylberstein, Director of UEFA, should be emphasized too. Regarding the external members of the Center coming from the Republic of Croatia, special focus should be given to Ms. Biserka Verbek (Assistant Secretary General of the Croatian Olympic Committee for Legal Affairs and Member of the Legal Affairs Committee of the European Olympic Committees), Mr. Vladimir Iveta (CFF Secretary and Member UEFA Legal Commission), Mr. Gordan Kožulj (esteemed athlete, world record holder and member of the National Sports Council of the Republic of Croatia), Mr. Domagoj Vučkov (Judge of the County Court in Rijeka, long-term football referee with the FIFA label and a member of various commissions and bodies for referees at the CFF) and Professor Marinko Lazzarich (University of Rijeka, Faculty of Teacher Education).

With the establishment of the Centre, the Faculty of Law will continue its activities even more strongly. Namely, every two years, the Faculty organizes the international scientific event Rijeka Days of Sports Law, which in 2021, with the establishment of the Centre, as a weekly event grew into the 5th Rijeka Sports Law, Sports Policies and Sports Diplomacy Days.

Centre Members

Activities of the Centre

Conferences, Summer Schools:

- 5th Rijeka Sports Law, Sports Policies and Sports Diplomacy Days (5. riječki dan sportskog prava, politika u sportu i sportske diplomacije), Rijeka, 14.-19.06.2021.:

•    15th Sport&EU Conference, 14-17/06/2021 (University of Rijeka, Faculty of Law, online)

•    EU Sports Law, Policy and Diplomacy Rijeka Summer School, 18-19/06/2021

- Students Sports Law Conference (Edge Hill University, Centre for Sports Law Research and University of Rijeka, Faculty of Law Sports Law, Sports Policies and Sports Diplomacy Centre), Online, 14/12/2021

Books and Articles:

15th Sport&EU Conference – Book of Proceedings (Eds Smokvina V., Parrish, R., Garcia Garcia B., Lindholm, J., McArdle, D., Cattaneo, A.), University of Rijeka, Faculty of Law, Rijeka, 2021

Smokvina V., Ribarić Smokvina, P., Professional Sport in the Republic of Croatia During the Covid-19 Crisis – From a Threat to an Opportunity for a Better Status of Professional Athletes, (In Croatian: Profesionalni sport u Republici Hrvatskoj za vrijeme Covid-19 krize, od prijetnje do prilike za bolji status profesionalnih sportaša), Pravni vjesnik, Vol. 37, No 2, 2021, pp 137-165

Parrish R., Duval A., Mitevska S., Perez-Gonzalez C., Smokvina V., Sonntag A., Zintz T., Cattaneo A., Promoting a Strategic Approach to EU Sport Diplomacy, Faculty of Law in Rijeka, European Commission Representation in the Republic of Croatia, Rijeka - Zagreb, 2022.