In this exclusive interview for The Impact Lawyers, we get to know Andrea Bozza better, as he talks about sports law, the day-to-day life of a football lawyer and and a look back over his professional career 

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Andrea Bozza: ‘A sports lawyer is first and foremost a lawyer. If he has a passion for sport, it's just a plus’

Andrea Bozza has been a lawyer specialising in sports law for more than 10 years. Born and raised in Lecce, a city in the South of Italy, Bozza always had a clear vocation in life: to do justice and to protect especially the most vulnerable, as he saw first-hand the criminality so typical of a region like Puglia. But his dream took a detour and became another one, which he is now living.

Now Head of Football at Deloitte Italy, based in Milan, he is also a member of the Executive Committee of the International Association of Football Lawyers (AIAF), co-director of the Master of Football Law at ITTI Sports Institute and adjunct professor of Sports Law at IE Law School.

Busy on an office day - so characteristic of a hard worker and passionate about law - but with a smile from ear to ear, from his office at Deloitte Italy, Andrea Bozza welcomes us via video call.

The Impact Lawyers (TIL): Why did you decide to study law and dedicate yourself to it professionally?

Andrea Bozza (A.B.): I had this vocation because, having grown up in a major city in southern Italy, I was able to observe first-hand the crucial importance of legality in contexts where it can sometimes be threatened or underestimated. This led me to study law in the hope of being able to actively contribute to justice and the promotion of an equitable legal system.

My dream has always been to be able to use my knowledge to ensure that the law is a protection for all, especially the most vulnerable. So initially my dream was to go into criminal law but life takes many twists and turns and I ended up in the world of sport.

TIL: How did you end up working in sports law when criminal law was your dream?

A.B.: I ended up in sports law after a very long transition, 10 years, from law studies to antitrust law. Today, what fascinates me most about sports law is its dynamic and multidisciplinary nature. The world of sport is constantly evolving and with it all the legal challenges that surround it. I am excited about the possibility of working in a field where legal, economic, social, ethical and other aspects are intertwined and interconnected.

Sports law is a branch of law that offers the opportunity to deal with complex issues such as the regulation of player transfers, the protection of athletes' rights, contract management, television rights, the fight against doping, ... I find it stimulating that every legal decision in the world of sport can have a direct impact, not only on athletes or clubs, but also on the integrity and credibility of sport competitions globally.

Working in this field means being constantly updated and always facing new challenges, keeping the passion alive, looking for new legal solutions. And well, I think the sum of all this is what I am passionate about.

TIL: What skills stand out in a lawyer specialising in this branch of law?

A.B.: A sports lawyer is first and foremost a lawyer. If he has a passion for sport, it is a plus, but if he doesn't, it doesn't matter, because being a good lawyer you can be a perfect sports lawyer as long as the dynamics of the industry are well understood. So I would say: the capacity for critical analysis, a deep and extensive legal knowledge - given the multidisciplinary nature of the subject -, negotiation, a lot of flexibility, a lot of sacrifice, a lot of adaptability - because the law does not stop and neither does sport.

I would also highlight the ability to resolve conflicts, because I believe that the skill of a lawyer in sports law is to resolve effectively, and whenever possible, to avoid legal proceedings; good communication, both verbal and written, which is an important tool for dealing with clients, courts, sports bodies, etc.; a strategic vision to know a little about what the new challenges of this profession and the legal world of sport are going to be. And then the plus that we were talking about before, that you like sport.

TIL: What is the day-to-day life of the Head of Football at Deloitte Italy like?

A.B.: There is no fixed day to day. Every day is different. The only thing that is the same is the desire you have and the motivation to face that new day. It's a very nomadic day, because you always have to be close to your clients or to problems or opportunities, so my activity is not very fixed, it's dynamic and varies a lot. The position of Head of Football at Deloitte Legal Italia is a combination of law and ‘architecture’, designing legal solutions to business problems.

TIL: You are also a member of the executive committee of the International Association of Football Lawyers. Why do you think such an association is important?

A.B.: This association encompasses all football players, so every lawyer has a client and every client is a stakeholder and has a position within the industry. We have the whole of football from the lawyers' point of view. We have institutions, referees, club lawyers, athlete lawyers, agent lawyers, trademark lawyers, court lawyers, ... there is everything. I think the primary mission of the AIAF is exactly that: to represent a little bit all the interests of the football lawyers' category and above all to improve the football sport legal system and, as far as possible, to improve the rules.

TIL: What projects would you highlight from the AIAF?

A.B.: I would highlight three: the workshop with FIFA; the organisation of our annual congress, which is also a fundamental project, because it is one of the few occasions when we meet, talk, meet more people, exchange ideas; and, the Master in Football Law with ITTI Sports Institute; after an internal debate we realised that it is crucial to support the colleagues who will come after us and that is why it is perhaps the most important project.

TIL: The Master's you are talking about was inaugurated very recently, how was the experience as co-director of it?

A.B.: It is a full-time job, but I would say it is the most sublime thing for a professional. Just today I am celebrating the presentation of an award for excellence as a teacher, an award given to you by your students. For a lawyer the best award comes from the client and his colleagues, for a teacher from the students. And, for me, the main motivation is to give back what this profession has given me, with a more focused approach to the generations of those who will come after me. And I apply this as a teacher every day.

TIL: What makes this Master's different from other similar ones?

A.B.: There is a wide variety of training on offer, however, we wanted to have a programme with a specialisation towards a specific industry, which is football.

In this profession you can be a lawyer for a thousand things and within sports law you can be another thousand. That is why it is focused on a specific sport, football, where students can decide to specialise.

I think that more than a master's degree we are creating a school of law with a vital part, which we call horizontal, which is institutional foundations, and vertical which is the connection between sports law, the football industry and other areas such as tax, IP, corporate...and this broadens the panorama of our students.

TIL: What advice would you give to the students who are currently training in the ITTI Master in Football?

A.B.: Just one: work (smiles)!

TIL: Is there a teacher from the course who has left a mark on you?

A.B.: I have a very nice memory of a professor of competition law in the first LLM I did at The London School of Economics called Giorgio Monti. I learned with him in a real classroom. The books are there and the cases are there too, so what is the point of a class where they tell you something that is already in a book? In his classes we debated and talked.

Also my partner, Pierfilippo Capello, is a great teacher and I would have loved to be his student.

TIL: To get to know you more personally, Andrea, what is your favourite book?

A.B.: There are many, but there is a Spanish one that I particularly like: The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruíz Zafón. There is a phrase from the book that marked me: ‘coincidences are the scars of destiny’.

TIL: Your favourite film?

A.B.: The Great Beauty.

TIL: A dream destination?

A.B.: Always the next one.

TIL: A football player?

A.B.: Easy. Roberto Baggio on the pitch, but, above all, off the pitch.

TIL: Nerazzurri or rossoneri?

A.B.: I'm going to disappoint you, but as I'm from the South of Italy, neither. My homeland is Puglia and my city is Lecce. So, neither Milan nor Inter, just Lecce!