France Update: COMMERCIAL COMPANIES CREATED BY PROFESSIONAL SPORTS LEAGUES: A SECOND DECREE ADOPTED IN APPLICATION OF THE LAW OF 2 MARCH 2022

Article 51 of the law aimed at democratizing sport in France of 2 March 2022 amending Article L. 333-1 of the Sports Code, now authorizes under certain conditions professional sports leagues to create a commercial company for the marketing and management of the exploitation rights of the sporting events or competitions they organize.

The new decree n ° 2022-747 of April 28, 2022 of April 28, 2022 published in the Official Journal of April 29 aims to determine the categories of natural and legal persons, under French or foreign law, who can not hold a stake in the capital, nor voting rights within this commercial company.

Under the new article R. 333-3-1 of the Code of Sport, the following persons and entities may not hold a stake in the capital or voting rights in the commercial company:

• the sports associations and societies of the discipline concerned;
• natural and legal persons who control within the meaning of Article L.233-3 of the Commercial Code exclusively or jointly a sports company or who are likely to exercise a significant influence over it within the meaning of Article L.233-17-2 of the Commercial Code;
• the directors and employees of sports associations and sports societies in the discipline concerned;
• professional athletes, professional coaches and sports directors of the sports discipline concerned;
• persons exercising or having a mandate to exercise the activity of sports agent as defined in Article L. 222-7 of the Code of Sport;
• professional organisations of athletes, referees, coaches, sports associations and societies as well as their managers and employees;
• sports betting operators holding the authorisation provided for in article 21 of law no 2010-476 of 12 may 2010 on the opening up to competition and regulation of the online gambling sector or the exclusive rights to organise and operate sports betting games provided for in article 137 of law no 2019-486 of 22 may 2019 on the growth and transformation of companies;
• natural and legal persons who are granted exploitation rights marketed and managed by the commercial company, as well as natural or legal persons who control them exclusively or jointly within the meaning of Article L233-3 of the French Commercial Code or who are likely to exercise a significant influence over them within the meaning of Article L.233-17-2 of the French Commercial Code;
• natural and legal persons established in a State or territory considered non-cooperative within the meaning of Article 238-0 A of the General Tax Code;
• legal persons controlled exclusively or jointly within the meaning of Article L. 233-3 of the Commercial Code by a natural or legal person established in a State or territory considered non-cooperative pursuant to Article 238-0 A of the General Tax Code, or which exercise significant influence over these legal persons, within the meaning of Article L. 233-17-2 of the French Commercial Code.

By Jean-Baptiste-Guillot and Virginie Molho, France, a Transatlantic Law International Affiliated Firm.  

For further information or for any assistance please contact france@transatlanticlaw.com

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