Interview with a sports lawyer. Part 5. Cristián Mir Díaz

Today we have a conversation with the international sports lawyer from Chile, a candidate to the Master's degree in International Sports Law at Universidad Europea in Madrid – Cristián Mir Díaz (Linkedin).

– Hello, Cristián! Could you tell us please about your background?

– Good evening to everyone, thanks for the invitation and hope all of you are safe under these extraordinary circumstances. I am fully passionate about sport and have always been curious about Sport Governance & Structure. Once ended my bachelor's, I join a law firm and while was working there I enroll myself in a sports regulation diplomat course degree of Universidad Católica in Santiago de Chile. That was my first approach with sports law and management realizing there was a huge camp to expand and develop to improve the standard of the industry which is still very low in Chile at least. After that, I worked for a Sports Non-Profit Organization (“Ganamos Todos Foundation”) managed by former Chilean Football Federation President Harold Mayne Nicholls where I gained lots of experience and then decided my next step was to step in an International Master to expand my knowledge, scope, and network. Currently, I am working in the Chilean Sports Ministry as an International Relationship Council.

– You are candidate to the Masters's degree at Universidad Europea in Madrid, right? Why did you choose this particular branch of law and program?

– I really wanted to use my legal formation to fully contribute to the sports industry. After lots of research, investigation, and inquiries, I found there’s plenty of room for improvement from a sports law perspective. Being a multidisciplinary branch requires a permanent upgrade and legal criteria and that is what I love the most. Nowadays it is full of managers, stakeholders, organizers, and many others, but there is still a lack of legal professionals to solve their legal problems and that is the direction I am heading. That is why I have decided to join an International Sports Law program and not another one. 

– Please, tell us about the enrollment process.

– Not a big deal. You evidence your interest through their website, fill a form and they contact you immediately. Then you have an interview, provide more information and then you receive the confirmation. In my personal case, the hardest decision was to realize which country, city, university, and program suited me better to gather information from Chile which is literally at the corner of the world.

– What is the structure of the program?

– The introduction module is with a general overview of the industry, structure, stakeholders involved, etc. Then you get deep into each area of sports law by 3-4 classes each: structure, organization, dispute resolution mechanism, CAS, Swiss law, procedures, appeal´s, CAS, IOC, arbitration, case law study, FIFA´s regulation, WADA´s code, general autonomy of sports bodies, domestic regulation, the interaction between stakeholders, doping, match-fixing, wagering, financial fair play, technology, big data, and many other issues. After the theoretical component which lasts approx. 6 months you start the practical regime which involves moot courts (defense and litigation simulation in real cases) and the thesis design and presentation. I liked this part because it requires you to apply all the contents and demands teamwork and special abilities. My thesis was about a topic I find highly interesting and unexplored as it is the so-called sport successor concept in bankruptcy proceedings of football clubs.

– Could you enumerate the advantages and disadvantages of the Universidad Europea Master's program?

– For me, being in Madrid with my native language in a quite similar cultural environment was an advantage without a doubt. Universidad Europea has quite good networks and contact which its absolutely crucial in this regard. I like the international scope it has with students from many countries, especially from Latin-American. They have excellent lectures which are really involved in the sports law field and also the partnership with Real Madrid. Like all the other programs it has, on the other hand, disadvantages, and I would have expected a different treatment for students in the COVID crisis.

– Who is your favorite speaker from the Universidad Europea and why?

– Enric Ripoll of Ruiz Huerta Crespo and Lucas Ferrer of Pinto Ruiz del Valle. Both are fully prepared, fluent in many languages, interesting, and conducted each class masterfully taking the attention of all the students with no effort. Also, Swiss Marc Cavaliero which introduced me to the topic of my thesis.

– Is it possible to find a job only as a sports lawyer in Chile, or should it always be parallel with other branches of law? Generally, is it easy to find a job in a sports law firm?

– Not at all. The industry here it is smaller than could be Argentina, Colombia, or Brazil in terms of volume and audience it is a disadvantage, but has other advantages. Traditionally legal issues have been dealt with by legal common firms advisory but each time – following the sports industry expansion – more specializations it is required. Sometimes it is hard to apply all the international content which is designed from a European perspective which stands on a completely different reality than Latin America. Despite the current crisis, we are looking forward to sports reactivation which will be determinant in social welfare afterward and we need to be ready for that moment because it´s going to be – and it is being – a demanding, but interesting work.

– You have work experience both in law firm and in public institution – you work at Ministry of sports of Chile. Could you compare these two different types of work? What do you like more?

–  At this moment I am fully focused on my work dealing now with borders restriction for many of our athletes, updating MOU´s, and progressive returning to sports under all safety measures. After it, we have medium-long term huge projects as Santiago Panamerican Games 2023 and the challenge of building a powerful but sustainable Chilean jointly (Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay) bid for FIFA world cup 2030. Being independent it allows you to have more autonomy for sure but considering the paralyzation of all activities, I think it is more interesting to approach the sports from a public view than a private one.

– What advice would you share with our readers and young sports lawyers?

– Be patient. I have knocked many, many doors, most of them with no answer. If you are rigorous enough and persistent enough, just rely on your self-confidence and trust and the opportunity its gonna come. You need to create your opportunity. Study as much as you can, read, be informed, and updated. Built relationships rather than contacts and be kind to all the people, you never know who is gonna be in front of you in the future.

– We would like to express appreciation for answering the questions. We wish you to score major successes in the future!

– Thank you and greetings from Chile!