Global Champions League 2016 gets the go ahead.

Another success for the seemingly unstoppable Jan Tops in his role as manager and creator of the Longines Global Champions Tour.
A disagreement with FEI, who had up until now blocked the launch of a new and innovative tournament planned by Tops, the Global Champions League, has in fact ended in defeat for the former in a Brussels courtroom and victory for the latter.
FEI had attempted to the defend their “exclusivity clause“ by preventing riders and horses from competing in events not approved by the international governing body. For this reason plans to launch the Global Champions League were put on ice, apart from a small taste for fans at the Valkenswaard leg of the Global Champions Tour- thanks to a decision taken by the Belgium Competition Authority.
The victory for Tops paves the way for the ambitious and exciting Global Champions League and affiliated sponsors have been invited to register their teams for the tournament with Global Champions League action set to be added and take place alongside the Longines Global Champions Tour calendar.
To read more, please see here: http://www.globalchampionstour.com/Equestrian World/2015/1419/brussels-court-of-appeal-rules-in-favour-of-freedom-of-choice-for-riders-enabling-launch-of-global-champions-league-in-2016/
photo: Stefano Grasso/ LGCT