France has introduced new rules that significantly strengthen the review of investments in professional sports companies.
The reform comes from Law No. 2026-725 of August 3, 2026, concerning the organization, management, and financing of professional sport. The law was definitively adopted by Parliament in July before being promulgated in August.
One of the main changes concerns the way potential investors in professional sports clubs are examined. Under the new framework, regulators can look not only at the club being acquired, but also at the investor’s financial history, existing sports investments, and wider portfolio.
A New Focus on the Investor
Previously, financial and regulatory reviews focused heavily on the sports company itself and the proposed transaction.
The new framework gives federation-level control bodies, including the DNCG in professional football, a more formal role in examining the investor behind a transaction.
The review can consider:
- The investor’s financial results over the previous five years
- Its existing interests in sports companies in the same discipline
- The financial history of other sports companies it controls or significantly influences
- The financial condition of the target club
- Risks to sporting uncertainty
This means that an investor’s own background can become an important part of the approval process.
The Five-Year Financial Track Record
One of the most notable changes is the introduction of a five-year financial review of the prospective investor.
The regulatory body can examine the investor’s financial results over the previous five years. Where relevant, it can also consider the financial performance of sports companies in the same discipline that the investor has controlled or significantly influenced.
The objective is to provide regulators with a broader picture of the investor’s financial capacity and history before a transaction moves forward.
What Happens After a Transaction Is Notified?
Under the strengthened framework, a notified transaction must in principle be reviewed within three months.
Depending on the findings, the transaction can be:
- Approved
- Approved subject to conditions or reservations
- Suspended for additional checks
- Rejected
The review period can be extended by up to another three months when further investigation is required.
This creates a more structured process for sports acquisitions and shareholder changes.
Rejection Can Affect the Entire Deal
A rejection can have significant commercial consequences.
According to Hogan Lovells, if a transaction is rejected and the parties nevertheless complete it, the sports company can face sanctions, potentially including a ban on promotion, relegation, or exclusion from competitions.
This makes regulatory approval an important element of transaction planning rather than a separate issue dealt with only after negotiations have progressed.
Multi-Club Ownership Under Greater Scrutiny
The reform also pays particular attention to multi-club ownership.
French law already restricts situations where the same private person can exercise exclusive control, joint control, or significant influence over several French sports companies in the same discipline.
The new law strengthens the consequences for certain breaches. According to the legislation, a legal entity can face a financial penalty of up to 2% of worldwide turnover, together with exclusion from competitions organized by the relevant federation for as long as the breach continues.
International Multi-Club Structures
International ownership structures are treated differently.
France has not introduced a general ban preventing an investor from owning or influencing a French club while also holding interests in clubs abroad.
Instead, when an investor has control, joint control, or significant influence over a French sports company and one or more foreign sports companies in the same discipline, this structure must be considered when assessing the potential risk to sporting uncertainty.
This means international multi-club ownership can remain possible, but the investor’s wider portfolio can now form part of the regulatory assessment.
Why Is Sporting Uncertainty Important?
Professional sports competitions are designed around competition between clubs that should be able to compete under defined sporting rules.
The new framework requires regulators to consider whether a proposed ownership structure could create risks for the integrity or uncertainty of sporting competition.
This is particularly relevant when the same investor has interests in multiple teams competing in the same sport.
The Financial Condition of the Club Still Matters
Although the investor is now examined more closely, the financial condition of the sports company remains an important part of the review.
Regulators can assess the impact of the transaction on the club’s financial position and, where appropriate, whether the proposed transaction provides sufficient guarantees to improve or restore its financial situation.
The reform therefore combines investor due diligence with continued financial oversight of professional clubs.
Transactions Can Become Public
Another important change concerns transparency.
Once the review process is opened, the relevant federation must publish the identities of the sports company and prospective investor. The outcome of the review is also made public, while confidential information remains protected.
This changes the confidentiality dynamics of sports investment transactions.
Supporters’ associations and relevant local authorities may also be able to request a hearing, subject to implementing rules.
Impact on Investors
The new rules mean that investors may need to prepare more extensive documentation before attempting to acquire a professional sports company.
An investment structure can now raise questions about:
- Financial history
- Shareholdings
- Governance rights
- Existing sports investments
- Other clubs controlled or influenced by the investor
- Financing arrangements
- Regulatory approval timelines
Hogan Lovells notes that regulatory analysis should therefore be integrated into the transaction from the beginning rather than treated as a separate compliance step.
Impact on Football Clubs
The reform is particularly relevant to professional football.
France’s government has said that the legislation is intended to strengthen financial management and address issues surrounding multi-ownership, while also modernizing the governance and financing of professional sport.
The law also creates broader changes for French professional football, including reforms concerning club organization and audiovisual rights.
New Powers for Financial Control Bodies
The reform establishes a strengthened framework for financial control within professional sport.
Article L.133-1 of the French Sports Code formalizes the review of acquisitions, disposals, and shareholder changes and sets out the factors that control bodies must examine.
The DNCG, which plays a central role in French professional football’s financial oversight, is therefore operating within a broader legal framework.
The Reform Goes Beyond Investment
The August 2026 law is not limited to club acquisitions.
According to the French Ministry of Sports, the reform also addresses:
- Governance of professional sport
- Prevention of conflicts of interest
- Financial-management controls
- Women’s professional sport
- Football governance
- Protection of sports broadcasting rights
- Measures against sports-content piracy
The ministry described the law as a broader reform of the organization and financing of professional sport in France.
A New Approach to Sports Investment
The new rules effectively create a two-way due-diligence process.
The investor examines the club before investing, while the regulator examines the investor before allowing the transaction to proceed.
This can affect the timing, financing, documentation, and public communication surrounding a sports acquisition.
For large investment funds and international ownership groups, the process may require greater preparation before a transaction is announced or finalized.
What Investors Need to Watch
Under the new framework, investors considering a French professional sports acquisition may need to pay particular attention to:
| Area | What Is Reviewed |
|---|---|
| Financial history | Five years of financial results |
| Existing holdings | Investments in sports companies |
| Multi-club ownership | Interests in clubs in the same discipline |
| Target club | Financial position |
| Competition | Potential sporting uncertainty |
| Financing | Evidence of financial capacity |
| Timing | Regulatory review period |
| Publicity | Publication of investor and transaction details |
The exact procedural requirements can also depend on federation and league rules and future implementing measures.
What Happens Next?
The new legal framework is already in force, but some practical aspects of the process are still being developed through federation and league rules and implementing decrees.
Future transactions involving French professional sports companies will provide more examples of how the new review system operates in practice.
Regulators, clubs, investors, and advisers will therefore be watching the first major transactions under the new framework closely.
Conclusion
France has introduced a stronger regulatory framework for investment in professional sports through Law No. 2026-725 of August 3, 2026.
The new rules give bodies such as the DNCG a broader role in reviewing investors, including their five-year financial record, existing sports holdings, and international multi-club interests.
Transactions can generally be reviewed within three months, with the possibility of an additional three-month period when further checks are required. The results can also become public.
The reform is part of a wider modernization of French professional sport covering governance, financial control, football organization, women’s sport, broadcasting rights, and anti-piracy measures.
For investors and professional clubs, the new framework makes regulatory review an important part of the structure and execution of sports investment transactions.