CAS appeals against FIFA decisions up 6%
There were 346 appeals filed against decisions made by FIFA bodies at the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) last year, according to a report from football’s governing body.
This represented an increase of 6% compared with 2024, but FIFA pointed out that these appeals accounted for less than 1% of all decisions taken by FIFA bodies last year.
The governing body participated in 43% of the proceedings and was not involved in 57% of cases, according to its CAS & Football Annual Report 2025.
Contractual disputes
The cases not involving FIFA mainly arise from decisions of its Football Tribunal, which concern contractual disputes between clubs, players, coaches, and/or agents, with the governing body acting solely as the adjudicating authority.
The FIFA report says that, in most cases, appeals against Football Tribunal decisions target only the opposing party in the dispute.
Of the 153 proceedings involving FIFA, 80 were concluded through termination orders, awards on costs, or consent awards – often because appeals are withdrawn or the parties reach a settlement.
Upheld decisions top 80%
Of the 73 CAS proceedings that decided on the merits of a FIFA decision, 59 (81%) upheld the governing body’s decision fully or partially, while eight annulled a decision or referred it back to the relevant FIFA body. The remaining cases were deemed inadmissible.
The governing body says that the 81% figure for uphold its decisions is broadly in line with recent years, apart from what it describes a “temporary dip” to 74% in 2024.
The report also cites CAS figures showing that football accounted for 77.5% of all sport-related cases at the Swiss-based court last year.
It shows that, of 555 appeal proceedings arising from decisions made by football institutions (including national and continental bodies, as well as FIFA), more than half (254) were linked to employment disputes, while 128 involved disciplinary proceedings.