Stefano Malvestio

Experienced attorney in international sports law, Stefano is International Consultant and Head of Arbitration at Bichara e Motta Advogados, where he is co-responsible for the Sports and Entertainment Law area.

Master (LL.M) in International Sports Law at ISDE in Madrid, arbitrator at the Centro Brasileiro de Mediação e Arbitragem (CBMA), Stefano obtained his law degree magna cum laude in Italy at the prestigious Università degli Studi di Padova.

Stefano acts mainly for international clients, as his practice focuses on dispute resolution before the bodies of FIFA as well as arbitration before the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), having particular expertise in doping, agency, transfer and employment-related disputes. He also advises on a broad range of sports legal issues, such as negotiation and drafting of contracts related to international transfer of players, players’ agency, economic rights and image rights.

Besides having provided legal advice in some of the most important football transactions in recent years, notably including prominent Brazilian football players, Stefano also represented high-level athletes in sports such as tennis, fencing, and race-walking, having acted during the Rio 2016 Olympic Games before the CAS Ad Hoc Division, as well as provided training to the pro bono arbitration counsel programme for the 2016 games along with Bichara e Motta Advogados’ team.

Experienced in dealing with the relevant procedures and regulations of CONMEBOL, UEFA and the AFC (including licensing and disciplinary regulations), Stefano also contributed to the drafting of regulations of different nature for national Football Associations as well as national state laws.

Visiting professor at the “Master in Diritto ed Organizzazione Aziendale dello Sport – Sports Law and Policy Centre ” (Roma), the “Executive Programme in International Sports Law and Justice” (Ravello), the “Football Business Academy – FBA” (Geneva) and the ISDE “Master F.C. Barcelona in Sports Management and Legal Skills” (Barcelona), Stefano also published legal articles in several countries and languages around the world.

Stefano is proudly a pro bono member of the Advisory Board for “Karanba”, a social sport project that since 2006 offers to children and youngsters, mainly coming from disadvantaged areas of the Rio de Janeiro region, the chance to achieve their dreams and goals in life through sports and education.