Lecturers

Christopher FLANAGAN’s profile

Christopher FLANAGAN

Head of Legal at Future plc. Sports Law Academic, Researcher & Writer

Christopher Flanagan is Head of Legal at Future plc and an internationally recognised academic and PhD by publication in sports law, with a particular focus on the financial regulation of professional football. His career bridges in-house legal leadership and top-level academic research, positioning him as a thought leader in the complexities of club licensing, costs controls, and financial governance in European football.

Academic and Professional Profile

Christopher Flanagan has held senior legal counsel roles for leading companies in the media, entertainment, and sports sectors, notably as Head of Legal at Future plc and Sole Regional Legal Counsel (UK) at TEG Pty Ltd. Parallel to his in-house responsibilities, he serves as Associate Editor of the International Sports Law Journal and has taught and published widely on sports law regulation, with his works referenced in leading journals, textbooks, and at international conferences.

Expertise in Financial Regulation and Club Licensing

Christopher Flanagan is best known for his expertise in the financial regulation of football, club licensing, and the operation of cost controls such as UEFA’s Financial Fair Play (FFP) regime. His seminal articles have critically examined the legal structure and challenges of FFP, the compatibility of these rules with EU law, and their practical effects on football club management. He has dissected UEFA’s break-even requirements and the workings of the Club Financial Control Body, highlighting both regulatory progress and tension with EU competition law.

Licensing and Cost Control Thought Leadership

Through research, publications, and consultancy, Christopher Flanagan has become a leading authority on how club licensing and financial monitoring regimes work to ensure club sustainability and competitive balance in Europe. His work explores both the letter of regulations—such as the evolution of UEFA’s licensing and sanction framework—and broader policy questions about effectiveness, loopholes, and avenues for reform.

Impactful Communicator and Advocate

As a writer and editor, Christopher Flanagan is praised for making complex legal topics accessible to practitioners and fans alike, bolstering understanding of why and how financial governance matters for the future of European football. His balanced and critical insights continue to shape the academic and professional discourse on licensing and costs controls across major football jurisdictions.

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The combination of the best academic professors and renowned active experts in Law, Economics and Geopolitics in sports is the ideal formula for you to be in contact with professional and up-to-date reality.

The pedagogical skills of the lecturers of this program, together with their knowledge and professional profile, are key to their selection in this educational team. And they ensure you the best possible training.

Get to know our Alumni

Sports law has long been part of my practice, but this program allowed me to sharpen my understanding of key areas such as Swiss law, EU law, governance and regulatory change. It also significantly broadened my perspective on the economic and financial dimensions of sport: football finance, club valuation, cost control, insurance, commercial revenues, investment trends and the North American sports model.

The geopolitical dimension particularly resonated with me. It helped me connect sport with influence, strategy and international positioning, especially when reflecting on Morocco’s growing role as a major sporting actor. Beyond the academic content, the program also allowed me to connect with participants who share the same passion for sport, law and business, and to further build a network of professionals driven by the same curiosity and ambition.

What made this experience truly valuable was the quality of the lecturers and the insights shared by club executives, league leaders, footballers, athletes and recognized international experts.

Rarely have I seen a program address so many complex dimensions of professional sport with such clarity, simplicity and relevance. I highly recommend it both for the quality of its teaching and its comprehensive approach to professional sport. Lifetime access to the program and future updates makes it, beyond the certificate itself, a valuable long-term professional resource.

Tsvetan Tanev

Having successfully completed the program, I wanted to share a short message of appreciation. It was an intense, eye-opening and rewarding experience: demanding in the best sense, and consistently thought-provoking. The quality of the lecturers and the depth of the discussions gave me a genuinely new perspective on the law, economics and geopolitics of sport. Thank you for the
opportunity, I'll be following the next editions closely, and I'd recommend it to any football agent willing to earn the trust of players.

As legal counsel at a football club in Spain, I came to HELEGS expecting to sharpen my legal knowledge. I left with something more useful. The program taught me to read the economics and the geopolitics behind the regulations. I no longer walk into board meetings as the person who flags risk, I walk in able to speak the language of sports governance with authority, and to contribute to decisions before they are made. That change in how I'm heard inside the club is what I didn't expect, and what I'd point to first.

Career transition from on-field to off-field professional continues. Insightful couple of months completing Helegs Executive Program in Law, Economics and Geopolitics of Professional Sports. The program provides valuable insights with a comprehensive approach to sports. Inspiring to learn from recognized international experts. Thank you.

I have played professionally and internationally. Coached from youth level through university. Served as an executive. Consulted. Written two graduate theses on football. But until recently, I had never taken a formal course on the sport.

Over the past few months, alongside my professional commitments, I completed HELEGS’ Executive Program in Law, Economics & Geopolitics of Professional Sports.

What drew me to the program was the opportunity to engage with the most current thinking in the areas increasingly shaping modern football: law, economics, and geopolitics. What made the experience exceptional was the quality of the faculty.

Club executives, league leaders, footballers, athletes, academics, and recognized international experts delivered insights with remarkable clarity and relevance. This included Jean-Louis Dupont, whose work on the Bosman case, and more recently the Diarra case, has reshaped the global football landscape; Professor Simon Chadwick, whose work examines the intersection of sport, business, and geopolitics in the twenty-first century; Kieran Maguire, a leading voice in football finance; Javier Tebas Medrano, President of LALIGA; Martyn Ziegler, Chief Sports Reporter for The Times; and many other distinguished professionals from across the sporting world.

A valuable learning experience and a reminder that football, no matter how long you have been part of it, always has another layer to discover.

For anyone working in football, or looking to better understand the forces shaping the future of the game, I would recommend the program. It offers a rare combination of academic depth, practical insight, and access to leaders across the global football ecosystem.

This program provided valuable insights into the legal, economic and geopolitical dimensions of the global sports industry, while offering the opportunity to learn from distinguished experts and connect with professionals from diverse backgrounds. I would like to express my sincere gratitude to the HELEGS team, the program directors, lecturers and fellow participants for an inspiring and enriching experience. I look forward to applying the knowledge I have gained and to continuing to explore the evolving landscape of international sports law and governance.

It has been such a great program to study. The different modules gave me a much better understanding of the global sports world. Not only the law, but how the economics and the politics fit together with it. What I enjoyed most was learning from people who actually work in the industry every day. I could also follow it alongside my job, which mattered a lot to me. I would recommend it to anyone working in sport who wants to master the bigger picture.

The modern sports industry isn't just about what happens on the field; it is a complex web of global regulation, corporate governance, and geopolitical influence. I recently completed the HELEGS Online Executive Program, which involved analyzing 24 modules of real-world case studies designed by industry leaders. From commercial sports frameworks to high-stakes dispute resolution, these masterclasses have significantly sharpened my strategic outlook. I extend my gratitude to the faculty for creating such a comprehensive curriculum. I am ready to apply these advanced strategies to my next project!