Majority of CAS cases related to football in 2025

Football disputes accounted for 77 per cent of cases registered at the Court of Arbitration for Sport in 2025, underlining the sport’s continued dominance of global sports arbitration, according to FIFA’s latest ‘CAS & Football Annual Report.'FIFA said the publication – its fourth annual edition covering the period from 1 January to 31 December 2025 – sets out both FIFA’s own litigation activity at CAS and a wider snapshot of football’s footprint across the tribunal’s overall caseload.The report said: “In 2025, football disputes once again accounted for most of the cases registered at CAS (77%), thereby maintaining a dominant share of the overall caseload.”FIFA also disclosed that CAS notified it of 346 appeals against FIFA decisions during 2025, up from 326 the previous year. The report said FIFA bodies issued more than 35,000 decisions during the year and that “approximately less than 1%” were appealed to CAS.It added that FIFA was involved in 150 of the 346 CAS appeal proceedings, with the remaining cases largely made up of what the report described as “horizontal” contractual disputes between clubs, players, coaches and agents that originated from the FIFA Football Tribunal, where FIFA acts as the adjudicating authority rather than a party with a direct legal interest.The report said: “Out of 346 appeals filed against FIFA decisions in 2025, FIFA participated in 43% (150) of the proceedings.”FIFA said 153 CAS awards or orders in which it was a party were notified during 2025. Of 73 awards on the merits in cases involving FIFA, the report said 59 – or 81 per cent – upheld FIFA’s decisions either entirely or with minor amendments. It said eight cases annulled the appealed decision or referred the matter back to the relevant FIFA body, while six decisions declared the appeal inadmissible.The report also reiterated CAS’s role within FIFA’s governance framework, stating: “Pursuant to article 49 of the FIFA Statutes, CAS remains the competent authority to review and adjudicate on appeals filed against final decisions rendered by FIFA bodies.”FIFA said the annual report includes summaries of leading cases from 2025 and an overview of significant case law from CAS and the Swiss Federal Tribunal, alongside updates on FIFA’s legal resources and football-related jurisprudence tools.