On July 18, the English Football Association (the “FA”) announced plans for a ‘phased return’ to the pitch. For our American readers, the FA (formed in 1863) is the oldest football association in the world. It is responsible for overseeing all aspects of the amateur and professional game in its territory, which includes England and … Continue Reading
The NBA returned to action in July with teams currently in the process of competing in eight regular season matches before the playoffs commence. COVID-19 The return to action has been full of drama on the court and has been, without a doubt, a success. In the most recent round of COVID testing, all 343 … Continue Reading
Sports Shorts previously commented on the FIFA guidelines that were recently published to address some of the practical issues that arose as a consequence of the COVID-19 crisis. FIFA has now published temporary amendments to its FIFA Regulations on the Status and Transfer of Players (“RSTP“), which are binding. FIFA also published recommendations in response … Continue Reading
With less than one week to go until the Premier League resumes, English football fans are going to have the opportunity to watch every game for the first time ever. On 3 April 2020 UEFA announced that it had accepted a request from the Premier League to suspend the 3pm blackout rule which has prevented … Continue Reading
Since our last article about the challenges faced by the NBA as a result of COVID-19, the NBA’s Board of Governors voted to resume the season on 31 July at Disney World Orlando. The Board of Governors is made up of the owners of each NBA team and voted 29-1 to resume the season. As … Continue Reading
Kawhi Leonard has been in the headlines for all of the right reasons recently. He led the Toronto Raptors to the franchise’s first NBA championship and won the Finals MVP before leaving in free agency to play for the Los Angeles Clippers. Leonard became an internet sensation for his quiet and private demeanour with fans … Continue Reading
The NFL recently introduced new measures to expand what is colloquially known as the “Rooney Rule,” which was instituted to promote and encourage diversity hiring. Named after the late Dan Rooney – former owner of the Pittsburgh Steelers and chairperson of the National Football League’s (“NFL”) diversity committee – the Rooney Rule is a NFL … Continue Reading
Over the course of the last two months professional football across Europe has ground to a halt. In an attempt to lend some shape and certainty to the European football landscape, UEFA announced in April that all its European members had until 25 May to make a decision about their respective leagues. Some leagues have … Continue Reading
On 12 March, the NBA announced its decision to suspend the current season. The COVID-19 crisis was escalating in the USA and a number of NBA stars had tested positive for the virus. It came at an unfortunate time, perhaps the most interesting period of the regular season, as teams battled for top spots and … Continue Reading
On Friday, May 1, 2020, Judge Gary Klausner of the United States District Court for the Central District of California granted partial summary judgment to U.S. Soccer in a pay equity class action lawsuit brought by members of the U.S. women’s national soccer team. In his ruling, Judge Klausner dismissed the U.S. women’s argument that … Continue Reading
On Tuesday, FIFA published a set of guidelines to address some of the practical issues that have arisen as a consequence of the COVID-19 crisis. The key areas of focus were: (1) expiring agreements; (2) frustrated agreements; and (3) registration periods. A number of other issues were also considered in brief. It is important … Continue Reading
Like every other professional sports league, Major League Baseball has been forced to postpone its games due to COVID-19. Rather than beginning the season as scheduled on March 26, MLB franchise owners and the MLB Players Association were busy negotiating player service-time and salary issues, as well as a framework for a hopeful return to … Continue Reading
Italian football Last weekend, four Serie A fixtures were suspended. This weekend, five Serie A fixtures taking place in affected territories in the north of Italy will be played behind closed doors in response to a new decree passed by the Italian government. This will have a direct impact on the clubs’ revenue. Clubs will … Continue Reading
Last year, Sports Shorts reported on the opportunities for football clubs looking to get involved in the world of esports. Recent news indicates that other footballing stakeholders are also alive to these opportunities; earlier this month Real Madrid and Wales star Gareth Bale launched a new esports team called ‘Ellevens Esports’. Bale co-founded the new … Continue Reading
Last year, Sports Shorts reported on proposals for a combined Dutch and Belgian football league – a so-called ‘BeneLiga’. Talks of a merger appear to be gathering pace in the early part of this year, with Inside World Football reporting that a meeting recently took place between the Belgian and Dutch footballing authorities, alongside eleven … Continue Reading
A new and historic agreement has been reached between the Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA) and the Women’s National Basketball Players Association (WNBPA), which includes higher salaries, improved benefits and better work and travel conditions. Following the 2018 season, the WNBPA exercised its option to opt out of the collective bargaining agreement (CBA) with the … Continue Reading
Ajax’s run to the 2019 UEFA Champions’ League semi-final – European football’s premier club-cup competition – provided a welcome dose of nostalgia for those who remember the glory-days of Johan Cruyff in the 1970s and the Champions’ League winning team of 1995. However, in recent years, football clubs with rich histories such as Ajax, Feyenoord, … Continue Reading
Adrian Wojnarowski and Zach Lowe dropped, what is known as a Woj Bomb, last week as they announced that the NBA is in high level discussions with the NBPA (the National Basketball Players Association) and broadcasting partners concerning “sweeping and dramatic changes to the league calendar that include a reseeding of the four conference finalists, … Continue Reading
The pulling power of the Premier League has attracted a portfolio of sponsors targeting global markets. With clubs battling for market share in the Far East and in a unique position to benefit from GDPR, there appears to be only one direction for the value of commercial partnerships. We share our perspectives in this video.… Continue Reading
Although it is trite to say that modern football clubs are very much run as businesses, there is often little consideration paid to the nuts and bolts of how these businesses work. As businesses, football clubs are not immune from the challenge of poor cash flow, which is prevalent across many industries. As such, clubs … Continue Reading
The NBA commenced its new season on 22 October with the battle for Los Angeles, as Kawhi’s Clippers edged the Lakers this time. But, less than three weeks into the new season, attention has turned to off-the-court matters; three NBA players who were active on rosters last season have been suspended for testing positive for … Continue Reading
Sunday saw one of the most anticipated games of the 19/20 Premier League season as Liverpool FC hosted Manchester City at Anfield. Liverpool came away with the three points, however the victory was not without controversy. There were a number of decisions, which left Manchester City fans feeling aggrieved and the general football community becoming … Continue Reading
On 25 October 2019 Mr Justice Teare handed down his judgment in the kit sponsorship dispute between New Balance Athletics (“NB”) v Liverpool Football Club (“LFC”). The dispute concerned whether NB had validly exercised its matching right set out in the contract between the parties entered into on 3 June 2011 (the “NB Agreement”) in … Continue Reading
Liverpool Football Club (“LFC“) have been unsuccessful in their attempts to register two trade marks for the word LIVERPOOL. LFC withdrew both applications after the UK Intellectual Property Office (“IPO”) refused the registration. While the IPO’s decision has not been published, it would seem that the IPO rejected LFC’s applications on the basis that such … Continue Reading
