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.
This page contains all related documentation.
