RBMS – Sociedade de Advogados, SP, RL is pleased to announce that the firm has been ranked “Highly Recommended” in the Sports Law category of the 2026 Leaders League rankings for Portugal. Partner Tiago Rodrigues Bastos has also been individually highlighted by the international directory.

This recognition reflects the depth of experience that RBMS has developed in advising clients across the sports sector and reinforces the firm’s established position in this specialised area of practice.

RBMS provides legal assistance to athletes, coaches, intermediaries, clubs, sports companies and other organisations operating within the sports industry. The firm’s work encompasses sports employment agreements, representation and intermediation arrangements, career-management contracts, sponsorship and merchandising agreements, image rights, transfers of sporting rights, sports-related workplace accidents, as well as litigation and arbitration.

The Leaders League distinction also highlights the work of Tiago Rodrigues Bastos, whose practice covers Sports Law, Criminal Law, Civil Law and Arbitration. In addition to his advisory and contentious work, Tiago serves as an arbitrator at Portugal’s Court of Arbitration for Sport – Tribunal Arbitral do Desporto (TAD). He was reappointed for the Court’s 2023–2027 term, together with RBMS partners José Ricardo Gonçalves and Pedro Faria.

The firm’s involvement in the institutional development of sports law extends beyond this latest individual recognition. José Ricardo Gonçalves was elected Vice-President of TAD's Board of Directors in 2023. TAD is an independent jurisdictional body responsible for resolving disputes arising within, or connected to, Portugal’s sporting legal system.

RBMS lawyers have also earned sustained external recognition for their work in this field. Best Lawyers lists Sports Law among the practices for which the firm’s lawyers have been recognised and records the firm’s presence in its rankings since 2018. José Ricardo Gonçalves has been individually recognised by Best Lawyers since 2018, including in Sports Law, alongside Arbitration and Mediation, Criminal Defense, Labour and Employment Law, and Litigation.

The firm’s recent work has included acting in international sports arbitration proceedings. A published Court of Arbitration for Sport award records an RBMS team comprising Tiago Rodrigues Bastos, José Ricardo Gonçalves, Sérgio Castanheira and David Valente Bastos in proceedings involving the European Table Tennis Union.

Leaders League currently ranks RBMS as Highly Recommended for Sports Law in Portugal and identifies Tiago Rodrigues Bastos among the lawyers associated with the ranking.

RBMS is proud of this recognition, which acknowledges both the collective strength of its Sports Law practice and Tiago Rodrigues Bastos’s longstanding contribution to the field. We thank our clients and peers for their continued confidence in our work.