Modern Sports Law: A Textbook

This up-to-date book provides an account of how the law influences the operation, administration, and playing of modern sports. Although the book focuses on legal doctrine, it has been written bearing in mind sports' historical, cultural, social, and economic context, including the drama and color of sports' major events and leading personalities. And although it is inevitably very much concerned with elite professional sports, it is not dominated by them, seeking to cover the widest possible range of sports, from professional to amateur. Initially, the book addresses practical issues, such as the structures of national and international sports, and examines the evolution of the body of law known as 'sports law.' Thereafter, three main themes are identified: regulatory, participatory, and financial aspects of modern sports. The regulatory theme is dealt with in chapters considering the manner in which decisions of sports governing bodies may be challenged in the ordinary courts and the development of alternative dispute resolution mechanisms in sports. The participatory theme includes the legal regulation of doping and violence in sports, as well as the broader topic of tortious liability for sporting injuries. The financial theme, reflecting the enhanced commercialization of sports at all levels, is developed in chapters concerning issues in applied contract and employment law for players, and legal matters surrounding the organization of major sports events. The conclusion summarizes modern sports' experience of EU law, pointing the way to the future direction of sports law. While the book is aimed primarily at students and is designed to cover fundamental and topical areas of sports law, it should also prove of wider interest to practitioners, sports administrators, and governing bodies. Though focused primarily on UK law, it will also appeal to readers in the US, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand.