Published in LawInSport, 23 October 2020

On 13 October 2020, the High Court of Justice in Trinidad and Tobago issued their decision on a claim filed by the TTFA against FIFA. It ruled, in essence, that the FIFA’s decision to remove the TTFA’s executive board from office and to appoint a normalisation committee to run its affairs was null and void as it was made in bad faith and “for an improper and illegal motive”. This decision was eventually overturned by the Court of Appeal on 23 October 2020. In this decision, the Court of Appeal confirmed that the filings of these proceedings were ultra vires, null and void, confirming the exclusive jurisdiction of the CAS. This note reviews the case and analyses its potential repercussions for sports arbitration more generally.