Sports Law

Legal advice for clubs, athletes, coaches, federations, agents, sponsors and investors

Sport today is a global and commercial industry where significant assets, strong interests and complex regulations intersect. Whether you are an athlete, coach, club, sports federation, agent, sponsor or investor, legal issues can have a major impact both in sporting and financial terms.

Svensson Nøkleby has one of Norway’s most experienced teams specialising in sports law. We assist stakeholders at all levels of sport, from grassroots sport and talent development to professional elite sport and international ventures.

Our lawyers combine in-depth knowledge of the sport-specific regulations with broad expertise in employment law, contract law, company law, tax and duties, dispute resolution and commercial agreements. This enables us to handle both the sporting and commercial aspects of a case.

Among other things, we assist with:

player and coach contracts
transfer agreements and international transfers
sponsorship and partnership agreements
agent agreements
image rights and commercial rights
disputes and disciplinary matters
doping cases
tax and duties
investments and ownership structures in sport
cases before sports governing bodies, arbitration tribunals and ordinary courts

Legal advice throughout the entire sports value chain
- Assist all key players in sport:
  
  For clubs and federations
  
  Clubs and federations must navigate a comprehensive regulatory framework and increasingly complex commercial agreements. We assist with everything from contracts and governance issues to dispute resolution, sponsorship negotiations and international transfers
  
  For athletes and coaches
  We help athletes and coaches with contract negotiations, career choices, sponsorship agreements, commercial rights and conflict resolution. Our aim is to secure favourable agreements and protect our clients’ interests both on and off the sporting arena.
  
  For agents
  Player agents and representatives face an increasingly stringent international regulatory framework. We assist with agency agreements, regulatory matters, international transfers, disputes and negotiations.
  
  For sponsors and commercial partners
  Sport is an attractive platform for brand building and commercial investment. We assist sponsors and partners with contract drafting, rights clearance, marketing and risk assessments.
  
  For investors
  Investing in sport requires an understanding of legal, regulatory and commercial matters. We assist investors with due diligence, ownership structures, contracts, transactions and regulatory issues.
One of Norway’s leading specialist teams in sports law
- Svensson Nøkleby’s sports group is led by lawyer Erik Flågan, one of Norway’s most experienced lawyers in sports law. With more than 25 years’ experience in Norwegian and international sport, he has advised some of Norway’s most high-profile athletes, coaches and clubs.
  
  Flågan has litigated a number of cases before the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) and specialises in:
  
  • player and coach contracts
  • international transfers
  • image rights and commercial rights
  • doping cases
  • disputes before sporting governing bodies
  • arbitration and court proceedings
  
  Leading expertise in sports regulations
  
  Partner Ronny van der Meij is Chair of the Norwegian Sports Law Association and has been practising sports law since 2009.
  
  He holds an LL.M. in International Sports Law from the Instituto Superior de Derecho y Economía in Madrid and advises, amongst others, federations, clubs, players and players’ agents.
  
  Van der Meij specialises in:
  
  • player and coach contracts
  • agent agreements
  • player transfers and international negotiations
  • disputes before sports arbitration bodies
  • proceedings before ordinary courts
  
  His master’s thesis, “Players’ agents and the regulatory framework on corruption in international sports law”, was awarded The International Legal Award by the Inter-American Bar Association (FIA).
Experience with sports organisations
- Solicitor Ellen Christina Xylander Skaug has experience of sports organisations and their regulatory frameworks.
  She has previously worked at:
  
  • the legal secretariat of the Norwegian Sports Confederation and Olympic and Paralympic Committee (NIF)
  • the legal secretariat of the Norwegian Football Association’s Appeals Committee
  
  This experience provides particular insight into the internal regulations and dispute resolution systems within the sports sector.
  
  Hege Mortensen
  
  In addition to her legal experience, lawyer Hege Mortensen has a strong and long-standing commitment to sport – both locally and nationally – where she has held a number of important positions of trust.
  Previous positions of trust in sport:
  
  • Member of the Legal and Disciplinary Committee of the Norwegian Ski Federation
  • Chair of the orienteering group, Konnerud IL
  • Chair of the Ethics Committee, Norwegian Ski Federation
  • Member of the Election Committee, Norwegian Ski Federation
  • Deputy Chair, Buskerud Ski District
  
  This experience gives her a solid understanding of the sport’s internal regulations, decision-making processes and organisational structure – and further strengthens SN’s overall expertise in sports law.
Tax and duties in sport
- Sports activities often raise complex issues relating to tax and duties, particularly in professional sport and in the context of international activities.
  
  Our tax and duties team regularly assists organisations in the sports sector.
  
  Partner Odd Hylland and solicitor Anne Taran Tjølsen have experience in areas including:
  
  • tax liability for athletes and clubs
  • employer obligations and player contracts
  • VAT in the sports sector
  
  structuring commercial partnerships
Sports Law Norway – international cases
- Sport is becoming increasingly global. Our solicitors therefore also assist in cases with international elements, including those relating to:
  
  • international transfers
  • CAS cases
  • international contracts
  • commercial rights in international sport