Il modello sportivo europeo in cerca d'autore

The article investigates whether a distinctive "European model of sport" truly exists and, if so, what practical and legal content it entails. It reconstructs the model's genealogy from the EU initiatives of the late 1990s, through the introduction of Article 165 TFEU, up to the recent "revival" of the model following the European Super League affair, in which it proved functional to defending the status quo, grounded in the pyramidal structure of European sport, the central role of federations, and a preference for open competitions. The notion of a "European model of sport" is then re-examined by surveying the national contexts of Italy, France, Germany, and the United Kingdom, highlighting differences among national sports-governance systems, any points of convergence emerging from recent reforms, and, finally, considering a possible reframing of the concept that is less rhetorical and nebulous yet more useful.