The First Global Athens Negotiations Tournament
Something genuinely special is launching this year in the world of negotiation education.
After eight years as a highly regarded national competition in Greece, the Athens Negotiations Tournament (ANT) is stepping onto the global stage for the very first time. And this isn’t just another academic exercise... it is a bold, immersive event designed to change how students experience negotiation.
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The Move from National Success to a Global Stage
For nearly a decade, ANT has helped Greek students develop real commercial negotiation capability through live, face-to-face competition. Winning teams have gone on to represent Greece at major international negotiation challenges, consistently performing at a very high level.
In 2026, that experience is being opened up to the world.
The first World Athens Negotiations Tournament will take place on 2–3 May, combining rigorous business negotiations with an unforgettable setting:
- Day One: Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Centre, Athens
- Day Two: Negotiations aboard a cruise ship, with finals held on Hydra Island
The Driving Force Behind ANT: Evita Psoni & Prof. Ilias Kapoutsis
At the heart of this competition are Evita Psoni and Prof. Ilias Kapoutsis whose energy and credibility are hard to miss.
The Athens Negotiations Tournament was founded by Ilias Kapoutsis, Associate Professor of Management at the Athens University of Economics and Business (AUEB).
Professor Kapoutsis’ academic work focuses on management, organisational behaviour, leadership, and negotiation. Alongside his research and teaching, he has been a strong advocate for giving students opportunities to apply negotiation concepts in realistic, high-pressure environments rather than limiting learning to the classroom.
Evita is:
- A PhD candidate at the Athens University of Economics and Business
- A long-standing organiser of the Athens Negotiations Tournament
- A recent second-place finisher at an international negotiation challenge for professionals
What makes Evita stand out is not just academic depth, but her commitment to practice. She teaches negotiation, competes in negotiation, and now designs environments where students must use negotiation skills rather than merely describe them.
Their philosophy is simple and powerful:
"...negotiation theory only becomes valuable when students are forced to act on it."
Why Competitions Like ANT Make a Real Difference
Negotiation competitions matter... not because they crown winners, but because they accelerate learning in ways classrooms alone cannot.
1) Skills Become Behaviour
Students must:
- Ask for priorities rather than assume them
- Make trade-offs consciously (not accidentally)
- Handle silence, pressure, rejection, and uncertainty in real time
These are not abstract ideas. They are observable behaviours, repeated again and again.
2) Confidence Comes from Exposure
Negotiating with unfamiliar teams from other countries quickly strips away over-reliance on scripts. Students learn to think, listen, adapt, and recover... fast.
3) Careers Are Shaped Early
Students who experience this level of practice speak differently in interviews, prepare differently for assessments, and enter roles in law, consulting, procurement, sales, and management with a practical edge.
Employers notice the difference between someone who has studied negotiation and someone who has negotiated.
A Global Community, Not Just a Competition
One of the most exciting aspects of this first global ANT is what it represents beyond the event itself.
It connects universities, student negotiation clubs, academics, and practitioners.... building relationships and practice opportunities that can continue long after the event ends.
Why This Launch Matters
The launch of the World Athens Negotiations Tournament signals something important:
Negotiation education is moving away from passive learning and towards structured, repeated practice.
Students are no longer being asked, “Do you understand negotiation?” They are being asked, “Can you do it.... under pressure?”
ANT is helping to lead that shift.
Want Some EXTRA Practice ... JOIN The Club
For students serious about developing skills that genuinely influence careers then negotiation, decision-making, communication and judgement mean opportunities like the World Athens Negotiations Tournament are rare and valuable.
This first global edition is not just an event. It is a statement about how negotiation should be learned.
And we, at The Negotiation Club, truly believe it’s one worth paying attention to.
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