Paulo Olavo Cunha, head of Corporate & Governance practice group at VdA and Professor at the Faculty of Law of the Portuguese Catholic University, coordinated the committee responsible for drafting the legislation that resulted in Decree-Law nº 10/2013, 25 January, that establishes the legal framework of Sports Companies that intend to participate in professional sports competitions.

With this new legislation, sports clubs intending to participate in professional competitions, starting in 2013/2014 season, will be obliged to adopt the figure of a commercial company either as a public limited liability company or as a single shareholder limited liability company. The aim is to provide a level playing field for all participants at professional competitions, which are thus subject to the same legal framework, including the same applicable Tax. The new legal framework further allows any sports association or individual sportsperson to freely incorporate a sports company.

The work group, led by Paulo Olavo Cunha, a renowned specialist in Corporate Law that has been involved with Sports Law for many years, was composed of acknowledged members of renowned entities such as Portugal's Olimpic Committee, Portugal's Sports Federation, the Portuguese Football Federation, the Cabinet of the Secretary of State for Sports and Youth and the former President of the Portuguese League of Professional Football.