Sports
For us, sporting success is as much about good coaching, sound preparation and intelligent strategy as it is about medals, trophies and beating the competition.
The business of winning
We advise a range of sporting clubs, professional athletes and governing bodies on complex legal and regulatory issues which can affect sporting success, with a particular expertise in football, rugby, cricket and boxing.
We act for Cardiff City FC, Pontypool Rugby, Glamorgan Cricket Club, Welsh Prem teams and Wales’ regional rugby teams, and frequently represent URC and English Premiership players and coaches.
We are appointed to the UK Anti-Doping and the Gambling Commission legal panels, and we have links to UK and international governing bodies.
Expertise
- Commercial agreements for professional sports teams and athletes
- Transfer agreements and contracts
- Player and club disputes
- Sponsorship deals, image rights and intellectual property
- Regulatory issues and disciplinary hearings
- Media and reputation management
- Exit negotiations
- Sports immigration
- Stadium and ticketing
- Sporting premises
Football law capabilities
We advise football clubs on the full spectrum of regulatory, contractual and disciplinary matters, both domestically and internationally, acting for clubs, players and agents. Our work spans all levels of the football pyramid, from the Cymru Premier through to the English Premier League, EFL Championship and League One.
We work on:
- Compliance with FIFA, FA, EFL and FAW rules, as well as domestic Cymru Premier regulations.
- Financial Fair Play, including disputes, compliance assessments and appeals before the Club Financial Reporting Unit.
- Visa and work permit applications for players.
- Advising on safeguarding and welfare compliance and related investigations.
- EFL and FAW league arbitrations.
- Dispute management and litigation/Appeals of regulatory decisions.
- Validity and enforceability of transfer agreements, including complex cross-border transactions.
- Disputes on international transfers, including proceedings before the Swiss Federal Tribunal arising out of a contested transfer agreement.
- Image rights agreements and associated commercial agreements.
- Manager and coaching staff contracts.
- Release clauses and loan arrangements.
- Image rights structures, sponsorship and commercial exploitation.
- Appeals against red cards, misconduct proceedings and fixture-related disputes.
- Abandoned matches, including those caused by weather or other exceptional circumstances.
- Anti-doping investigations.
- Acting for both clubs and agents.
- Providing discrete advisory support to agents on complex contractual and procedural matters.
- Dual representation and conflict of interest issues.
- ‘Fit and proper persons’ tests.
- Shareholders agreements.
- Dispute management and litigation.
- FA(W) and league arbitrations.
Our recent work
- We acted for Cardiff City FC in their acquisition of Aaron Ramsey
- We advise Cardiff City FC in its dispute against FC Nantes, in which Cardiff seeks reparation for the prejudice suffered as a result of FC Nantes hiring banned agent Willie McKay to oversee the transfer of Emiliano Sala and the organisation of the fatal flight
- We represented Pontypridd United in a Disciplinary Hearing when the Club faced a 141 points deduction for player contract breaches. In an unprecedented decision, the club was sanctioned with a 6-point deduction, the remainder 135 points sought by the FAW being suspended
Meet the team
With a background in sports and connections with governing bodies, our Sports team has the specialist expertise and experience you need to get into a winning position.
FAW Best Practice - Rules & Regulations
Following a sharp increase in Clubs being penalised for breaches of FAW Regulations, we held a football conference where clubs gained insights from legal professionals specialising in sports law and connected with other clubs and professionals in the football community.
