Sports Law in General

Sports law is an amalgam of laws which impact the sports industry, such as contract law, personal injury law, tort, labour law, agency law and intellectual property.

For example, an athlete relies on contract law for the conclusion of his/her player’s agreement, on intellectual property law to reap the benefits of his brand name, on personal injury law to safeguard his/her financial state in case of injury and so on.

Contract

Evidently, the most well-known and critical area of sports law is contract law. A professional athlete/coach/trainer relies on his/her contract. Thus, such contracts must be drafted meticulously and carefully. The obligations of each party must be clearly defined and above all sports contracts must be enforceable and in accordance with the legal provisions of the Cyprus legal framework.

Sports Law: Personal Injury

Injuries are an inevitable risk in the sports industry. Personal injury law can be used by the injured individual for compensation purposes, or by athletic clubs or other sports entities to take all necessary steps to avoid personal injury liability.

Intellectual Property

Professional sports teams depend on their team branding and merchandizing since trademark-protected material (jerseys, logos, jingles) is what attracts fans. This branding is aided by the international trademark registration system administered by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), which is a Geneva-based specialized agency of the United Nations.

Labour Law

Professional sports teams are employers and their athletes, coaches and supporting personnel are all employees. Thus, both sides should know their respective obligations and rights and fully understand the termination procedures, foreseen compensations, prescribed medical absences and other terms of employment.

Tax Law

Lack of financial knowledge is bound to lead to profit loss. Career athletes, if left unguided, are prone to make poor financial decisions and management of their wealth. The unique financial challenges in the life of a professional athlete, combined with the lack of financial literacy and advice usually lead to poor financial decisions on the part of the athlete which could unfortunately have an adverse lifelong impact. This should be avoided since the career of an athlete is short span (usually 10 to 15 years).

Inevitably considering the above, tax planning is a necessary part of a healthy and successful sports career.

Our Services

Our team has extensive practical experience in various aspects of sports law. In particular, we are fully adept in the following services:

• General Legal Advice on Cyprus sports Law
• Drafting or reviewing of sports contracts
• Intellectual property and copyright protection for athletes
• Representation before the competent authorities such as Cyprus Football Association (CFA), the Sport Supreme Judicial Committee of the Cyprus Sports Organisation (CSO), FIFA judicial bodies, the Judicial Committee of the Cyprus Basketball Federation and the Court of Arbitration for Sports (CAS)
• Tax advisory through our trusted affiliates
• Registration and licensing of corporate entities and clubs.