Sarah Solémalé is a sports lawyer and governance expert from Paris, focusing on football diplomacy.

Since 2013, Sarah has worked at Fédération Internationale Football Association (FIFA) in Zurich. She started in the Players’ Status Department as Legal Counsel in charge of transfers of players and contractual disputes between football stakeholders. As a litigator, she also represented FIFA before the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS). Since 2018, Sarah has been in charge of governance-related matters, often acting on the African continent to ensure the implementation of sound governance principles for the betterment of the governance structure of FIFA member associations. She also observes elections of FIFA member associations on the African continent and deals with crisis management in the relevant associations.

In this context, Sarah has joined the executive master in sports governance (MESGO, 2020-2022 edition) – delivered by UEFA Academy and CDES – to explore ways of anticipating key challenges and exploiting current and future dynamics on the African continent. In particular, her thesis deals with football diplomacy in Africa and analyses the relationship between FIFA, its African member associations and respective governments to ensure a better collaboration.

Sarah is also lecturing in several sports law programs in Europe, Africa and the Caribbean. Sarah is also active in several associations promoting women in sports.