For decades, sports governing bodies have ruled the world of sport with little restraint, making rules as they saw fit. In recent years, however, antitrust law has crashed the party and reigned in sports governance bodies’ power to promote fairness, transparency and accountability also off the pitch. This development can be seen in the EU with the landmark rulings in Superleague, Diarra and others. But also in the US, sports governance has come under increasing antitrust scrutiny, as exemplified by the NCAA judgments. Against this backdrop, the panel will explore not only where we stand from a regulatory perspective, but also what these developments mean for the protagonists of it all – the athletes. How can young athletes make the most of their careers on and off the pitch and what legal challenges do they face?