The idea that there is a “European model of sport”, beyond the disparity of national organizations observed in different countries, was developed in a document published by the European Commission in 1998.[1] This document is to be placed in the stream of reflection resulting from the Bosman ruling rendered in 1995, which had shaken the international sports movement and troubled multiple public sporting authorities. The Bosman ruling of 15 December 1995[2] undoubtedly contributed to liberalizing the exchange of professional players between football clubs by declaring quotas on foreign players per team and the system of transfer indemnities not in conformity with European Law. But it also laid the foundations for consistent case-law, which admits that sporting rules may place limitations on the major freedoms guaranteed by the Treaty, provided that they pursue a legitimate objective and are proportionate. Insofar as the famous ruling handed down by the European Court of Justice questioned the extent of the regulatory power of international sports federations, some also feared that it would undermine the traditional foundations of the organization of the sport in Europe. Hence the feeling that the European sports model needed to be identified to be better defended.