Sport

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Our team is widely recognised as one of the UK's leading sports law practices, acting for the biggest names in the industry - at home and overseas.

The team has unrivalled depth in the sports industry and operates from all of our six UK offices. We have built a strong reputation based on providing clients with a wealth of experience and a personal and engaging approach.

We are one of the few truly international sports legal teams based in the UK, with an unrivalled network of overseas firms that we collaborate with.

Being renowned for working to our clients' needs is something we are proud of. We ensure you receive the necessary legal support and advice to focus on your objectives, without the distraction of legal issues.

Our lawyers

Our experts have developed a deep understanding of your sector so you can feel safe in the knowledge of having specialists in your corner.

Our experience

We have decades of experience advising on sports matters. Uniquely, we cover all relevant industry disciplines, including:

  • Commercial agreements (including media, sponsorship and image rights)
  • Disciplinary
  • Employment (including discrimination claims and settlement agreements)
  • eSports
  • Finance, insolvency and restructuring
  • Football regulations
  • Immigration for sport professionals
  • Landmark doping cases
  • Leading work in discrimination in sport
  • National women's sports
  • Players' contracts and transfers
  • Private client/tax
  • Reputation management
  • Sports arbitration (domestic and international) and litigation
  • Sports stadia construction and real estate
  • Sports technology

We build strong, long-term relationships with our clients by providing free education, be it online, through blogs and articles or through the regular seminars we host on sports and legal issues. 

Aside from offering focussed legal expertise, our sports lawyers have genuine in-depth knowledge of the sports industry. Many of our team members have held senior sports roles as directors, trustees, arbitrators, in-house counsel or are former professional athletes. The team is often invited to speak at conferences, lectures and events.

Our clients

Key clients include:

  • Three Premier League clubs
  • 12+ Football League clubs
  • Players' unions: The PFA, Rugby Players' Association
  • Governing bodies: Super League Europe, British Cycling, England Golf
  • Agencies: Infront Sports & Media, New Era
  • Athletes: Premier League stars (home and abroad), professional golfers, Olympic athletes and teams
  • Arbitration bodies' panels: CAS, Sports Resolutions, SAAC, NADP, The FA

Legal resources you may find useful

We are the exclusively appointed law firm to advise on a wide range of issues for England Golf (and all of its affiliated golf clubs), which includes us running a legal helpline. The helpline enables all 1900 affiliated golf clubs to be able to call us for up to an hours’ free legal advice, at preferential rates.

You might be interested in Reevaldo, an innovative project about a fictional footballer, explaining to you how key areas of the football industry actually work.

Our sports law blog reveals our latest thinking on today's big sports issues.

You can follow us on Twitter, @MRsportslaw, where we frequently share our recent advice on sports law.

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