Sports Laws A Business Should Know About

By Author: Priya Sahani
Total Articles: 13
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Sports laws collectively are the regulations that apply to athletes and their respective sports. They lay down their code of conduct and ensure that the spirit of every sport is upheld in good faith. They ambit all the professional and Olympic employees. They also cover matters related to the regulation of youth and amateur sports.

Delving Deep into the Relevant Sports Laws
Businesses in relation to the sports industry must be aware of the laws that check the boxes for being called a sports law. In India, there is no single comprehensive sports law as such. The right to make sports law falls within the concurrent list of the Constitution therefore both the state and the Union have the power to make laws in this regard. However, there are several other Acts and laws which cover the matter relating to sports and therefore fall under the ambit of the sports law.

Indian Contract Act 1872: An agreement enforceable by law is a contract. The contract law is also applicable to any contracts made by businesses with athletes, any sports institution, any organizer of a sporting event and their sponsors etc. This act ...
... covers the parameters which make a contract valid or invalid.

National Anti-Doping Bill 2021: The bill lays down the rules in case any athlete is found guilty of doping, the punishment prescribed in such matters and the basis to determine the seriousness of the matter. The bill also lays down the statutory framework of the National Anti-Doping agency, and the National Dope Testing Laboratory.

Sex Discrimination laws: It is illegal to deny any person the opportunity to become a professional athlete based on their gender. The constitution has given equal rights to both men and women, and to deny such rights to any person is equal to denying them their constitutional rights. This is both illegal and unconstitutional.

Civil and Criminal Procedure Code: There are laws that must be followed by everyone no matter what their profession is. The same goes for athletes as well. If they are found guilty of breach of either procedural code, it shall not only bring legal charges against them but will also very likely end their career as an athlete.

Laws for any unethical or illegal arrangements: Match Fixing is not specifically covered under any law but is unethical and goes against the spirit of sports. Some other activities such as gambling are regulated under the relevant laws.