Sports Law

Sports law refers to a specialized practice which focuses on legal issues pertaining to the sports industry. Whether sports law is an area of law in itself or simply an amalgam of various laws and regulations relating to various issues encountered in the sports industry is still a jurisprudential debate. Employment law, intellectual property law, media law, medical law and bioethics, immigration law, contract law, tort, administrative and constitutional law, criminal law, and even fiscal legislation are all notable areas which the world of sports touches upon continuously. Depending on the status of the sportsperson, the type of sport in question and the jurisdiction/s involved – one can encounter a complex interplay of legal rights and obligations. Moreover, sports law is generally divided into the areas of amateur, professional, and international sports.

Malta enacted the Sports Act (Chapter 455 of the Laws of Malta) in 2009, the purpose of which is to encourage and promote sport, to provide for the establishment of a national sport council to exercise the functions relating to sport currently vested in the Department of Youth and Sport and SportMalta, to provide for the registration of sport organisations, and to establish dispute resolution structures.

Two regulations of paramount importance promulgated under this Act are the: Sport Persons (Registration) Regulations of 2008 and the Anti-Doping Regulations of 2015, both of which were amended in 2016. The Anti-Doping Regulations bring Malta in-line with the World Anti-Doping Agency’s comprehensive ‘World Anti-Doping Code’ and its current ‘Prohibited List’.

Another important law is the relatively recent Prevention of Corruption in Sport Act of 2018 (Chapter 593 of the Laws of Malta), which repealed the 1976 Prevention of Corruption (Players) Act of 1976. The Act deals with corruption-related activities such as manipulation of sports events, as well as establishing the Sports Integrity Unit – a body corporate with a distinct personality possessing various functions relating to integrity and transparency in sports.

Furthermore, in line with the OECD Model Tax Convention on Income and on Capital, Malta allows sportsmen (as is the case with entertainers) to remit or route through Malta income such as royalties and thus benefit from a favourable tax regime.

Lexvirtualis™ offers the following services relating to sports:

• Representation of sportspersons vis-à-vis sports associations and clubs (eg. SportMalta, MFA, MFPA, MBA, etc…)

• Establishing and setting up of sports associations and clubs (drafting of statutes, registration with authorities, legal personality, etc…)

• Immigration, residency and employment of sportspersons

• Compliance

• Intellectual property

• Corporate structure planning and tax planning

• ADR and litigation.