The Ukrainian Bar Association together with the Ukrainian Football Association invite you to the First Sports Law Forum, an event dedicated to the intersection of the world of sports and law. From real cases to heated discussions on legal regulation under martial law, e-sports, doping, arbitration and labour disputes in sports — this event will become a platform for experience exchange, discussions and professional networking.

Date of the event: 18 September 2025. 

Venue: Football House, 7a Laboratornyi lane, Kyiv / online (Zoom).

Football tournament as part of the First Sports Law Forum!

Football and law — two powerful forces coming together at our Forum!
As part of the event, a friendly football tournament will be held between teams formed by Forum participants. You can register your own team (8+ players), or we’ll help form mixed teams from individual participants.

What awaits participants:

• Tournament draw – Find out who your opponent is live during the Forum!
  The draw will be conducted by Andriy Shevchenko, President of the Ukrainian Association of Football (UAF)!

• Training sessions and matches will take place on professional UAF pitches.

• A team contact person will receive all organizational details in advance
  (draw results, training and tournament times and locations).

You can register your football team or individual player via this LINK.

Participation in a football tournament is not only a great opportunity for teamwork and informal communication, but also a way to maintain physical activity and take care of your health in a dynamic professional environment.

PROGRAM*

09:30-10:00 Participant registration. Welcome coffee

10:00-10:20 Opening remarks

Mykola Stetsenko, President of the Ukrainian Bar Association, Managing Partner at AVELLUM

Vadym Guttsait, President of the NOC of Ukraine

Olga Kostyshyna, Counsel at LCF Law Group, Head of International Arbitration Practice

Yevhenіі Promskyi, Chairman of the UBA Sports Law Committee, attorney at law at ARES Law Firm

10:20-11:50 Session 1. Sports law in Ukraine — knocked down or knocked out?

Moderator: 

Ganna Gnizdovska, PhD in Law, Attorney at Law, Managing Partner at Juris Ferrum, Deputy Head of the Appeals Commission of the National Anti-Doping Agency, Member of the Dispute Resolution Chamber of the Ukrainian Football Association of Ukrainetarima

Focus areas:

• Sports law and sanctions: what does the Tymoshchuk case teach us?
• Are esportsmen slaves to contracts? Directions for further legal regulation of esports in Ukraine 
• Doping in sports: will WADA ban Redbull and Adderall? 
• New opportunities for the commercialisation of sport
• Military risks in sport: the possibility of reservations from mobilisation, border crossing by athletes, change of citizenship
• Legal regulation of labour relations between an athlete and a sports federation, length of service and social guarantees: is sport a labour activity?; opportunities for sports federations to provide guarantees?; state guarantees for the protection of athletes in Ukraine?; possible solutions to problems and ensuring the rights and freedoms of athletes in sports?
• Intermediary activities

Experts:

Maria Deli, CAS arbitrator in doping cases

Sergiy Koval, owner of ProFile Agency, sports manager

Yuriy Maksymenko, Head of the Legal Department at the Ministry of Youth and Sports of Ukraine

Mykhailo Goncharenko, Partner at Sergiy Lysenko & Partners Law Firm, lawyer, specialist in sports law

11:50-12:05 Draw for the football tournament among law firms

12:05-12:35 Coffee break 

12:35-14:05 Session 2. Disputes in sports: fair/foul play  

Moderator: 

Olga Kostyshyna, Counsel at LCF Law Group, Head of International Arbitration Practice

Focus areas:

• Court of Arbitration for Sport under the NOC: prospects and challenges
• Played, won and disappeared: the most brutal life-ban cases in the history of sport. Unlearned lessons for Ukraine
• Ukrainian cases in CAS: precedents that affect the future
• Esports vs. Arbitration: can arbitration cope with new challenges of the industry?

Experts:

Oleksandr Volkov, Partner at Asters

Andriy Shabelnikov, Managing Partner Evrika Law, Deputy Chairman of the Appeals Committee of the Football Association of Ukraine

14:05-14:25 Mini-interview “Referee vs. Arbitrator: who dictates the rules of the game in the fight for justice?”

Tatyana Slipachuk, arbitrator, special counsel at Sayenko Kharenko

14:25-15:30 Reception. Networking

*The event program is in the process of formation and may be changed or supplemented

We are grateful for their support in organizing the event:

Co-organiser:

Ukrainian Football Association

General Partner:

LCF Law Group

Partner:

JURIS FERRUM LF

Session Partners:

ARES Law Firm

Sergiy Lysenko & Partners Law Firm

Registration is required to participate in the event.

A 10% corporate discount is available for registrations of three or more participants from the same company. To take advantage of this offer, please contact our coordinator.

Dear UBA members, in order to apply the price determined for members of the Association, we ask you to log in to the website before registering for the event.

Participation is considered confirmed after payment of the registration fee.

The organizers reserve the right to close registration when the maximum number of participants is reached.

For additional information about the event, participation as a speaker, and partnership opportunities, contact the event coordinator at tel.: +38 (044) 492-88-48, +38 (063) 792-30-99 (calls via WhatsApp, Telegram, Viber) or email: tosaulenko@uba.ua. Contact person — Tetiana Osaulenko.

For media accreditation, please e-mail: pr@uba.ua. Contact person — Daria Sydorchuk.