On 26 September 2025, the Portuguese Competition Authority (AdC) opened administrative offence proceedings on the basis of indications of potential restrictive practices of competition in the sports sector, concerning the sport of padel.
The investigation carried out by the AdC identified a set of competition law concerns relating to the conduct of the Portuguese Padel Federation (FPP) in the areas of padel coach training and the hiring of padel instructors, as well as the organisation of events in this sport.
Given that access to the profession of padel coach depends on the completion of specific training provided by various responsible entities, including the FPP itself, the AdC considered, on a preliminary basis, that the Federation’s conduct with regard to the coaching module may give rise to restrictive effects on competition in this market.
As regards the hiring of instructors, the need was identified to clarify the removal of potential barriers to entry into the market.
In parallel, considering that the development of the sport depends on the organisation of different types of competitive events – which vary according to their target participants – the AdC found that certain conduct by the FPP, concerning the authorisation, scheduling and promotion of such initiatives, could be liable to create obstacles to the organisation of both social and official events by third-party entities.
Considering it appropriate in the circumstances of the case, on 11 November 2025 the AdC notified the FPP of its Preliminary Assessment of the Facts, pursuant to Article 23(2) of Law No. 19/2012 of 8 May, as amended by Law No. 17/2022 of 17 August (the Competition Act), thereby giving the undertaking concerned the opportunity to submit commitments capable of eliminating the effects on competition of the practices at issue.
With a view to addressing the competition concerns identified by the AdC, on 23 December 2025 the FPP submitted a set of commitments intended to safeguard the proper functioning of the markets for padel coach training, the hiring of padel instructors and the organisation of padel sporting events. These commitments may be summarised as follows:

i) the creation, within a maximum period of 30 (thirty) days following the adoption of the AdC’s decision, of a dedicated section on the FPP website concerning the coaching module, setting out the rules for enrolment in the coaching module provided by the FPP (including non-discrimination of trainees on the basis of origin), the applicable fee, as well as the regulations or documentation of the International Padel Federation (FIP) establishing the rules that training providers must comply with in order to be authorised to deliver this module;

ii) the inclusion of a non-exclusivity clause in the service provision contracts for training services entered into by the FPP;

iii) the revision of the FPP’s prior opinion request form concerning the organisation of social padel events, so as to explicitly reflect the freedom for any entity to organise such events, without scheduling restrictions, and the possibility for any athlete to participate, regardless of whether or not they are affiliated with the FPP;

iv) the adoption of objective and non-discriminatory criteria with regard to the organisation of official competitions, in particular as regards scheduling, promotion and the allocation of points for the National Ranking, as well as the absence of restrictions on the participation of any athletes;

v) the provision to the AdC, in 2026 and 2027, of information indicating the location on the official website of content evidencing the FPP’s promotional efforts relating to all competitions included in the official calendar, namely the publication on that page of promotional posters made available by organisers, as well as information on participants, results and any other information that organisers consider relevant to publish.

Pursuant to Article 23(1) of the Competition Act, the AdC may accept commitments proposed by the undertakings concerned where these are deemed adequate to eliminate the effects on competition arising from the practices at issue, and close the proceedings subject to the imposition of conditions.
For that purpose, and in accordance with Article 23(4) of the Competition Act, the commitments submitted by the FPP are hereby subject to public consultation. Any interested third parties may submit observations to the AdC on the proposed commitments within 20 (twenty) working days from the date of this publication, indicating the reference “PRC/2025/9 – public consultation”, either by email to consultapublica@concorrencia.pt or by post to Avenida de Berna, No. 19, 1050-037 Lisbon.
Observations must identify the interested party, including its postal address, email address and telephone numbers, and, where applicable, be accompanied by a non-confidential version and a reasoned request for confidential treatment, failing which they may be made public (see Annex II, available on the AdC’s website, which contains instructions on the identification of confidential information).
The full version of the document may be consulted bellow.