THE MECHANISMS OF MANAGING AND SAFEGUARDING A SPORTS PERSON WELFARE IN CONTRACT NEGOTIATION AND IMPL

Sport’s law is a genre of legal doctrine that is aimed at governing the various facets of a sportsperson involvement in their trade. It is the laws, regulations, and judicial decisions that govern sports and athletes.

This is in consideration of the various stakeholders in a sports person life and the various levels of interactions, expectations as between the parties etc for smooth productive relationships.

In Kenya there is no one specific Act that governs sports. However a sports person legal recourse, can be had in various disciplines to include, Contract Law, Employment Act, Agency, Tort, Anti-trust etc

Sports law can be divided into three areas.

Amateur Sports

This is regarded as avocation, where the sports person (athlete) does it, not for wage, but for recreation or to represent an affiliated group. The Athletic activities are often organized and managed by individual groups that establish rules for eligibility and competition, and courts are often unwilling to interfere with the actions of these groups as long as their rules are reasonably applied. Such groups are Universities, colleges, Primary schools etc.

Professional Sports

The contractual relationship is governed by basic contract principles. Wher teams or leagues are concerned, the most important relationship is that of the TEAM OWNER and INDIVIDUAL PLAYER, and these types of relationships are managed with Standard player’s contracts as applied to manage teams or leagues etc

The model contract can be modified to accommodate the special needs and talents of individual players. With the increase in salaries in professional sports, most players are now represented by agents. Typically, this relationship is governed by a Standard Representation Contract which defines the duties and compensation of the agent.

In an attempt to regulate agent activities, many countries require agents to register with some type of administrative agency. In Kenya with the rising of doping allegations and indictments against national athletes, the government is pushing for such regulations that can be used to hold agents, coaches and players accountable within the trade.

International Sports

These include the Olympics, World Athletics competition, Diamond League etc. Individual Athletes as well as teams representing nations can and do appear for such competitions and there are bodies that govern the running and governance of such.

In Kenya there is an organization called the CENTRE FOR SPORTS LAW based in Nairobi that seeks to setup Sport Law governance in Kenya.

Why does and Athlete require the services of a sports Lawyer?

• To negotiate and draft contracts that are in the best interest of the Athlete

• To partake litigation or arbitration of breached contracts or rights under Intellectual Property rights especially Image Rights etc.

• To offer advisory services in other related realms of an Athletes quality of life such as Financial management trainings, PR consultancy, etc.

• Act as liaison for Athlete’s divergent interests.

At Martha Waweru & Co. Advocates, we are adept at providing strategic legal advice on a wide range of issues, including: constitutions, governance and legal structures, contracts, sponsorship, event management, selection, and disputes management.

We rely on the following principles in order to be able to offer the best service;-

• Personalized service. We do not offer generic solutions. We are firm believers of the unique needs of each of our clientele and we tailor our services to match.

• We create relationships and not contracts. We have a flexible approach to our client needs and employ active listening techniques.

• We seek advice and consult widely with Sports Industry Gurus.

• We invest in extensive research and base our recommendations on the very best practices of the industry worldwide.