Course 2020-2021 a.y.

1        - Introduction to the course and general definition of Sports Law.
 

        - Key aspects of Sports Law;

        - From «fair play» to sports regulations;

        - Origins and definition of Sports Law;

        - International aspects and «Lex Sportiva»;

        - Sports Law vs. Ordinary Law: interaction between the two systems;

        - Main sources of Sports Law: EU law and the impact on sports activities in Europe;

        - The EU Model of sport.

2        The «specificity of sport»
- The EU and the sports system;

- Social and economic impact on sport;

- Background of article 165 TFEU: the White Paper on Sports, the European Dimension in Sport and the development of the principle of specificity of Sport;

- Article 165 of TFEU;

- Case study: «Walrave-Koch», «Bosman» and «Meca-Medina»;

3        Sports Justice I

- Controversial aspects;

- The specificity of Sport and the special needs of the sport system;

- Definition of Sports Justice;

- Sports Justice vs. Ordinary Justice;

- Major players and role of the ECJ

4   Sports Justice: CAS case study   

- Doping and commercial cases

5       Sports Justice II

- Arbitration and mediation;

- The Court of Arbitration for Sport: overview and available procedures

6 Intellectual Property and sports: general overview.

- IP and sports;

- IP categories;

- The Olympic Rings and the IOC TOP Programme;

- Legal protection;

- WIPO and sport-related IP.

7 Intellectual Property and sports II.

- Commercial value of IP in sports;

- Exploitation of IP rights: licensing and broadcasting activities and introduction to image rights: main legal issues;

- Case study: the FA’s licensing system, UEFA’s system and an overview of the US system;

8 Contracts – Part I
- General overview.

- Importance of contracts’ negotiations in sports;

- Definitions and conditions for validity;

- Main categories of sports contracts;

9 Contracts – Part II – Endorsement Agreement

- Endorsement agreement: analysis and practical issues.

- Exclusivity terms;

- Economic terms;
- Moral clauses;
- Right of first refusal;

- Termination and consequences;
- Confidentiality and privacy terms: GDPR;

- Litigation and case study: Federer/Nike

10 Contracts – Part III – Sponsorship and other Sports contracts
 

- Sponsorship and supply agreement.
- Representation agreement.
- Sports event agreement. Overview of the impact of the pandemic crisis on sports events and the contractual clause of force majeure
- Media coverage agreement. 

- Image rights agreements   
- Case study: MasterCard and FIFA

11 Assignment I

12 Principles of tax law in sports
- The OECD Taxation Model and article 17

13 Article 24-bis of the Italian TUIR
 

- Application to athletes

14 Tax optimisation vs. tax evasion
 

- Tax planning, tax optimisation and risks of tax evasion

- Image rights structures ;

- Challenge by tax authorities ;

- UK’s « non-dom » regime ;

- Italy, Switzerland and Monaco

15 Wealth Management in sports : legal issues

- Definition of Wealth Management;

- Various areas of a Wealth Management plan: asset protection, trust and foundations, risk management, estate and succession planning;

- Family Office services;

16 Wealth Management of sports institutions - Differences from individuals’ Wealth Management;

- UEFA's Financial Fair Play;

- Criteria for organizing a successful sport event;

- Sport and philanthropy: legal and tax issues

17 FIFA Regulations : RSTP

- FIFA and its continental agencies;

- FIFA Regulations;

- FIFA RSTP;

- Article 19 and players of minor age;

- Case study.

18 FIFA Transfer System

19 FIFA Dispute Resolution

20 ASSIGMENT II

21 Anti-doping regulations

- World Anti Doping Agency (WADA) and its role;

-  WADA Code: definitions and anti-doping rules’ violation, testing procedures, sanctions;

- The biological passport;

22 Controversial aspects of sport

- Equality and diversity;

- Racism and discrimination;

- Privacy;

- Ambush marketing

23 New trends of sports

- Electric sports;

- E-sports

24 Final exam

• Defining the fundamentals of the international sports law system.
• Recognizing the major standards in drafting and evaluating sports contracts.
• Illustrating the impact of intellectual property rights on sports management.

• Assessing the legal issues involved in sports management.
• Interpreting and drawing up sports contracts.
• Evaluating the legal risk of some controversial sports practices.

• Online lectures
• Guest speaker's talks (in class or in distance)
• Case studies /Incidents (traditional, online)
• Group assignments

• Guest speakers intervene during classes to deliver a talk on their own field of ex.
• Case studies are illustrated and discussed in class.
• Group assignments consist in drawing up a memorandum supported by a PWP presentation.

• Class participation and group assignments are purported to verify the skills and abilities to assess the legal issues involved in sports management, to interpret and draw up sports contracts, to evaluate the legal risk of some controversial sports practices.
• The general exam is purported to verify the knowledge of the fundamentals of the international sports system, of the major standards in drawing up and evaluating sports contracts, of the impact of intellectual property rights on sports management.

Non-attending students must take a general exam, consisting of multiple choice questions and open ended questions. The general exam is purported to assess the knowledge of the fundamentals of the international sports system, of the major standards in drawing up and evaluating sports contracts, of the impact of intellectual property rights on sports management.

For the fundamentals of legal systems, refer to P. Sirena, Introduction to Private Law, 3rd edn, il Mulino, 2021. 

Further teaching material for attending students are circulated in class.

For the fundamentals of legal systems, refer to P. Sirena, Introduction to Private Law, 3rd edn, il Mulino, 2021.

Further teaching material for non-attending students are available on the Bboard platform.