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 Angelo Rigopoulos is another FIFA Master alumni with an outstanding career in sports. The Italian-Greek lawyer – currently the Head of National Associations Governance at UEFA - has been in love with the game of football from as early as he can remember, but it was an unfortunate event that actually steered his professional career towards the sports arena. “I started being interested in football from a professional point of view when I suffered a knee injury that did not allow me to continue playing football. As I was studying law at that time, I decided to focus on Sports Law in order to be able to help football players. This led me to founding a private sport law consultancy firm in 2007, aimed at advising football clubs and young athletes on labour contracts”, Angelo recalls. After a couple of years, he entered the 10th edition of the FIFA Master in 2009 – and graduated in July 2010. At graduation day, he received an invitation from Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) to work as a lawyer in FIFA’s Players’ Status Department, in Zurich, in order to deal with transfer related and employment related disputes (i.e. clubs vs clubs, players’ vs clubs) of an European dimension. He continues: “After having spent almost 3 years in this position, I moved to UEFA’s headquarters in Nyon and joined the Sports Legal Services unit, within the legal division working as legal counsel for all regulatory and statutory matters. In February 2017, I was promoted to Head of National Associations Governance within the National Associations Division”.

Angelo believes that doing the FIFA Master was the right decision, and very much worthwhile. He explains: “I had a clear plan before entering the FIFA Master. A specific timeline of what I wanted to achieve within a specific period of time. Considering that I got a job the same day of the graduation, I would say the plan was well executed!”

Read more about Angelo and his career in this exclusive interview.

FMA Quarterly: What is your job like, as Head of National Associations Governance at UEFA?

Angelo Rigopoulos: My unit (National Associations Governance) is responsible for dealing with all matters relating to governance within all of UEFA’s National Associations (NAs). In particular, we provide assistance with internal affairs and review – in cooperation with the legal division – the statutes of the NAs. In addition, we also deal with all governance related matters and assist on problems within the NAs, especially in cases of undue state/political/governmental interference in football affairs. Furthermore, I am the administrator of the UEFA National Associations Committee, which reports directly to the UEFA Executive Committee. Another interesting project in which I am heavily involved in is the implementation at national level of the Autonomous Agreement on minimum requirements for standard professional football player contracts as agreed in 2012 by UEFA, ECA, EPFL and FIFPro Division Europe. Finally, on a yearly basis, my unit is also responsible for the distribution of solidarity payments to the NAs from UEFA Club Competitions.

FMAQ: What is the thing that you love about your job? And what is its biggest challenge?

AR: I love everything! From the days when you struggle to find a solution to a problem affecting one of our National Associations to the day when you are sitting in the stands to watch the UEFA Champions League final! The biggest challenge is, probably, similar for all those who love their jobs: finding the right balance between professional and private life.

FMAQ: How important was the FIFA Master for your career?

AR: I think the FIFA Master was key in my career since it gave me the opportunity to come closer to the football industry, which was ultimately my aim.

FMAQ: Are you still in touch with classmates or other alumni? How important is that network for you?

AR: The FIFA Master Network is very important. Of course I’m in touch with classmates and other alumni; it is also normal that with some you have only business relations, whereas with some others you establish true and long-lasting friendships. No matter what, if you are working in the sports industry, you will always find FIFA Master alumni around the world in front
of you!

SHORT PROFILE

Angelo Rigopoulos, Italian and Greek

Head of National Associations Governance at UEFA

34 years old, married

FIFA Master Class: 2010 

Favourite sport: Football, what else?

Favourite team: prefer not to disclose

Favourite sport’s personality: prefer not to disclose

Favourite sport’s moment: prefer not to disclose.