Annual Conference

Jason MohammadPresenter

BBC TV and radio presenter Jason Mohammad is one of the most sought-after hosts in the events world. Best known for his role on BBC One’s fast live football scores FINAL SCORE and flagship football show MATCH OF THE DAY and MOTD2 Jason’s professionalism, warmth and humour makes him a massive hit with live audiences. Jason is also a very proud member of the BBC Radio 2 family lining up alongside Zoe Ball, Claudia Winkleman and Dermot O’Leary as one of their famous voices.

Jason presents GOOD MORNING SUNDAY on Radio 2 between 6am and 9am every weekend. The Cardiff-born presenter has also fronted some of the BBC’s biggest television output including the Olympic Games, the Commonwealth Games, FA Cup finals, World Cup finals and the Six Nations.

He’s made films for The One Show and co-presented BBC One’s Crimewatch with Sophie Raworth and Kirsty Young.

Jason works between London, Salford and Cardiff and is a fluent Welsh speaker - appearing regularly on Welsh language television station S4C. He even has time for his own show on BBC Radio Wales - where he fronts a phone in show in the English language.

Jason has travelled the world with the BBC fronting TV coverage from Brazil to the United States to Australia and is equally at home interviewing Hollywood A-listers and music stars as he is chatting to the world’s biggest football names.

Jason co-owns a TV production company and has recently created his own media academy. He’s also a keen filmmaker having made TV documentaries on his faith in Mecca, his upbringing in Wales and historic architecture in Egypt.

Given his unique ability to chair, present and interact, some of the world’s biggest brands have booked Jason for awards and events including HP, UEFA, Mercedes and Maserati.

Maggie AlphonsiSpeaker

Maggie is a former rugby union player who played for Saracens and England before retiring in 2014. She represented her country an impressive 74 times, scored 28 tries, and helped England win a record breaking seven consecutive Six Nations crowns. She was also a crucial member of the team that won the 2014 Rugby World Cup for the first time in 20 years and was part of the team that was crowned the BBC’s Sports Personality Team of the Year.

Since retiring she has commentated on live rugby matches for SKY Sports, BT Sport and the BBC. In 2015 she became the first ever former female player to commentate on men’s international rugby when she was signed up by ITV for the Rugby World Cup, and she continues to work with ITV Sport across their rugby coverage.

In 2016, Maggie made history by becoming the first England Women’s player to be elected as a National Member of the Rugby Football Union’s Council.

Jeffrey KesslerSpeaker

Jeffrey Kessler is Winston’s co-executive chairman and co-chair of the firm’s Sports Law and Competition Law Practices.  Mr. Kessler is one of the most prominent sports and anti-trust lawyers in the U.S. He is regularly engaged as lead counsel on complex, high-profile sports matters and has litigated some of the most famous sports cases in history.

His clients include the NFL Players Association, the National Basketball Players Association, the Overwatch E sports League, Endeavor, the North American Soccer League, the Arena Football League, the Major League Baseball Players Association, the classes of Division I college football and basketball players in the Jenkins and Alston litigations, and the United States Women’s National Soccer Team.

He was named on Law360’s 2018 list of Sports MVPs, named as Best Lawyers’ New York City Sports Law “Lawyer of the Year” 2018, and included as one of Benchmark Litigation’s 2019 Top 100 Trial Lawyers. Mr. Kessler has also been named as one of The 50 Most Influential People in the Sports Business by Street & Smith’s SportsBusiness Journal.

William Bock IIISpeaker

William has been the General Counsel for USADA since 2007 and previously served USADA as outside counsel for seven years. Bill was the lead attorney for USADA in the investigation of the use of performance enhancing drugs by Lance Armstrong and other members of the United States Postal Service Cycling Team.

William was named a 2012 Lawyer of the Year by Law Week Colorado and a Distinguished Barrister by the Indiana Lawyer in 2013 in recognition of his work on the Armstrong case. Bock is a partner at Kroger, Gardis & Regas, LLP in Indianapolis, Indiana, and chairman of its sports law practice group. He has devoted a significant portion of his legal practice to issues involving amateur and professional athletes and has represented numerous elite athletes in matters involving their right to compete in protected competitions, including the Olympic Games.

Jonathan Taylor KCSpeaker

Jonathan is a partner at Bird & Bird LLP and head of its Sports Group. For the past 21 years Jonathan has worked exclusively for sports governing bodies and other clients active in the sports sector, advising them on commercial matters such as the exploitation of broadcasting and sponsorship rights, contentious matters, and in particular regulatory and disciplinary issues including match-sanctioning, match-fixing, and doping issues.

Jonathan is an experienced advocate and was appointed Queen’s Counsel in January 2017. He regularly appears before the Court of Arbitration for Sport in Lausanne, as well as a range of internal sports tribunals.

He is co-editor (with Adam Lewis QC) of the leading sports law text, Sport: Law and Practice (Bloomsbury 3rd Edn 2014), and co-author of Challenging Sports Governing Bodies (Bloomsbury 2016). He is also chairman of the World Anti-Doping Agency's Compliance Review Committee.

Paul Darling OBE KCSpeaker

Paul Darling OBE QC has a wide experience of commercial and construction disputes and regulatory issues in the sports and gambling world. Specifically: past Chairman of the Sports Ground Safety Authority, the body sent up to prevent a repetition of Hillsborough, gaining experience of the regulation and governance of football, and of local and national government; conducted many disputes about the construction sports grounds and stadia – football, rugby and horseracing; appeared at many horseracing disciplinary hearings; considerable experience of gambling including regulation and integrity issues, having been member of the board of the Tote and of the Horse Race Betting Levy Board as well as Chairman of the trade association for betting shops; involved in a number of football transfer disputes; represented the Welsh Regions in a dispute with the WRU about media payments.

John HartsonSpeaker

John Hartson is a Welsh former football player who played for Celtic, Arsenal, West Ham United, Wimbledon, Coventry City and West Bromwich Albion. John’s greatest period of success came with Celtic, where he won three Scottish Premiership titles. John moved into the media after hanging up his boots in 2008.

He was diagnosed with testicular cancer in 2009 which led to an emergency surgery when the cancer spread to his lungs and brain. His treatment was a success. He later set up a foundation to raise awareness of the signs and symptoms of testicular cancer.

Soon after coming out of hospital John admitted that he was gambling heavily. He had to overcome his addiction and hasn’t placed a bet for eight years, since attending a Gamblers Anonymous meeting. John Hartson joined BT Sport as a football pundit and co-commentator in August 2016.

Tony Adams MBESpeaker

Tony spent his entire playing career of 22 years as a defender at Arsenal. He is the most successful Arsenal Captain of all time  - winning four top flight division titles, three FA Cups, two Football League Cups, a UEFA Cup Winners' Cup, and three FA Community Shields.

Adams also captained England through the Euro 96 campaign when England reached the semi-finals before losing on penalties to Germany. In total he won 66 caps for his country. In September 2000, as a result of his own experiences with alcoholism, Adams founded the Sporting Chance Clinic. A charity aimed at providing treatment, counselling, education and also gives confidential help & support for current & former professional sportspeople experiencing difficulties with addictive disorders, alcohol, gambling & substance misuse.

Andrew SmithSpeaker

Andrew is a barrister at Matrix Chambers, practising in the fields of employment and discrimination law, sports law and commercial law. He is regularly instructed to act in domestic sports arbitrations and civil proceedings, acting for a wide range of clients including players / athletes, managers, clubs and intermediaries / agents.

Andrew also represents players and other participants in FA disciplinary proceedings. Andrew has considerable experience of arbitral proceedings before the Court of Arbitration for Sport, having been appointed as an ad hoc clerk in several cases before the CAS, including multiple doping appeals relating to the Sochi Winter Olympics.

Andrew also acts as an assistant to the Basketball Arbitral Tribunal, working on contractual and agency disputes in various jurisdictions between basketball players, clubs and agents. Andrew writes widely on the topic of sports law and contributed three chapters to the recently published ‘Football and the Law’ book.

Femina MakkarSpeaker

Femina is Head of Operations at Kick It Out, football’s equality and inclusion organisation. She has over 17 years’ experience in the charity sector – working for marginalised audiences – supporting them to be heard.

Her most exciting work achievements so far have been; delivering the award winning Extra Time programme – a physical activity programme for older people delivered through football; overhauling ‘LEAH’ - a local London based charity supporting marginalised refugee and migrant women and supporting London Borough of Ealing to secure £10m of Sport England funding  for innovative physical activity pilot in Southall.

Femina can also be found volunteering for other charities including the Kingston Red Box project – a national campaign to end period poverty. She is a qualified Pilates teacher and an avid traveller and would love to combine these two passions and travel the world teaching Pilates!

Viv Anderson MBESpeaker

Vivian Anderson, MBE is an English football coach and former player. He played for various clubs in The Football League in the 1970s and 1980s, including Nottingham Forest, Arsenal, Manchester United and Sheffield Wednesday.

Viv became the first black footballer to play to represent England 40 years ago on 29 November 1978. He went to play 30 times for England and lead the way for fellow black footballers hoping to play for their country.

Anderson was inducted into the English Football Hall of Fame in 2004 in recognition of his impact on the English league. He remains a keen supporter of the National Football Museum and regularly attends special events at the museum. He also works as a goodwill ambassador for the Football Association. In January 2000, he was awarded an MBE.