Littleton is delighted to announce the winners of our 2025 Sports Law Essay Competition.
This year’s Competition invited essays on the following title: “I have already made clear my conviction that the precious and unparalleled role that football clubs play in their communities justifies regulation. Fans should be listened to, and they deserve protection from the occasionally bad, if generally well-intentioned, stewardship of owners and management who take ill-considered risks and lose control of their finances—the overwhelming reason why clubs fail and falter.”
Is there a place for the statutory Independent Football Regulator in governing club finances or are the present regulations set by the Premier League and English Football League sufficient?
The Competition winners were as follows:
First Place: Illia Malanchuk, University of Glasgow
Second Place: Ben Gill, University of Glasgow
Third Place: Tom Feeney, Queen’s University Belfast
The Littleton Sports Law Group, many of whom were involved in the judging of the Competition, were impressed with the extremely high standard of this year’s entries. The winning essays can be found below. Littleton would like to thank all entrants for their efforts and offers its congratulations to the winners.
The Littleton Sports Law Essay Competition remains unique at the London Bar, and continues to attract exceptional essays from university students, LPC and Bar students and trainee solicitors. Littleton leads in the field of sports law and regulation, and was recently named “Sports Law Chambers of the Year”. For more information on Littleton’s Sports Law Group, click here.
First Place Essay 2025
Second Place Essay 2025
Third Place Essay 2025
