Sports Law & Sponsoring
Athletes and sports officials can only realize their full potential in their profession or vocation if they can focus on it fully. In order to enable athletes and sports officials to focus fully on sporting success, we advise and represent athletes, sports federations and clubs (both amateur sports clubs and top-level competitive sports clubs) in all legal matters affecting them.
Our lawyers dealing with sports law look back on a career in professional sports themselves or hold positions in associations and association arbitration tribunals.
Philipp Frenzl was himself a professional soccer player and founded the sports consulting platform www.gooodsports.at, while
Dr. Clemens Völkl
is a member of the permanent neutral arbitration panel of the Austrian Football League.
Review and drafting of sponsorship and advertising contracts
Our support is aimed at professionalizing sports marketing and sponsorship at all levels. We therefore support top athletes, associations or sports clubs in the planning and implementation of their sponsorship strategy, for example with the
- Review and drafting of sponsorship and marketing agreements
- Protection and enforcement of exploitation rights
- Representation in contentious matters in arbitration and court proceedings
In the past we have, among other things
- Advise sports federations on the allocation of sports licensing rights
- advised on the award of sports broadcasting rights for TV companies
- Advising and assisting top athletes in concluding sponsorship agreements
- Sponsorship and advertising contracts created
Award of sports licensing rights
Sports licensing rights or TV rights are increasingly becoming the most important source of income for sports associations or sports clubs. These are usually marketed centrally rather than decentrally. Our consulting services include the accompaniment and support of sports associations and clubs, in particular with regard to the
- Central marketing
- Review and preparation of license agreements
- Award of sports licensing rights
- Award of sports broadcasting rights or audiovisual rights, TV rights, television rights, marketing and exploitation rights
- Granting of (territorial) exclusive licenses
In the past we have, among other things
- License agreements created
- Advise sports federations on the allocation of sports licensing rights
- Advising sports federations on the allocation of sports broadcasting rights or audiovisual rights for TV companies
- Advising and assisting top athletes in concluding sponsorship agreements
- Advising sports federations on the Europe-wide granting of exclusive licenses for the exploitation rights relating to the collection and exploitation of betting data
Optimal contracts for athletes and sportsmen
Already at the beginning of their career, young athletes are confronted with contracts in which they commit themselves to a club, transfer rights and enter into comprehensive legal relationships for a longer period of time. On the way to becoming a “professional”, the number and, above all, the importance of the legal issues with which athletes have to “grapple” increases. This involves a wide range of issues.
We advise and represent athletes and sportspersons on a long-term basis, from the beginning of their sporting career to their transition into successful entrepreneurship. Consulting is valuable and important at all stages:
- What to do if a club is no longer satisfied with the performance of its athlete/athletes?
- What to do if an athlete is not satisfied with the performance of the club or manager/advisor?
- What to do if there is a conflict or the athlete wants to leave the club?
- What does a prolonged, possibly career-ending injury mean from a legal perspective?
- Who is allowed to use protected material of the athlete (e.g. image material) under which conditions?
- What is meant by the “right to employment” enjoyed by highly qualified professional footballers?
We are happy to provide athletes with professional legal support so that they can concentrate on what is essential for them – the sport.
In the past we have, among other things
- advise several active and former professional football players such as Herbert Gager, Veli Kavlak, Christopher Drazan, Yusuf Demir and Florian Sturm
- Reviewed and drafted player contracts and conducted negotiations for the athletes & sportsmen with the clubs.
- Player consulting and mediation contracts reviewed and prepared
- Advises and accompanies professional footballers in the event of a club change or player transfer
- Professional footballer accompanied in building the “career after career” iZm establishment of companies and registration of a trade
- Advise top athletes on the conclusion of sponsorship agreements (e.g. on liability issues or application for pensions)
- in case of sports accidents (e.g. liability issues or application for pensions)
- Accompanied (former) top athletes in applying for a disability pension as a result of an occupational accident (accident during training and/or match).
In cooperation with gooodsports
Defense of athletes and sportsmen in case of threatened punishment
It sometimes happens that sportsmen and athletes go overboard in the heat of the moment. As a consequence, there is a threat of penalties being imposed by association bodies, administrative authorities or (in the worst case) criminal courts. The following examples illustrate the problem:
- Wearing sports equipment that violates association guidelines or club requirements.
- Incorrect information in the taxation of income
- Doping in sport
- Involvement in betting fraud
- Bodily injury inside or outside the sports facility
These and other tricky situations can not only slow athletes down on their way to athletic success, but throw them completely off track. To avert such negative consequences, athletes should consult with their legal counsel as early and openly as possible. We offer a trustworthy and professional basis for this and ensure that athletes find their way back to the path of success.
In the past we have, among other things
- Footballers in criminal proceedings, for example. represented in criminal proceedings for bodily injury(ies) (in the course of a duel) at a soccer match
- Advises and accompanies athletes in the enforcement of their claims
- Accompanied athletes as victims of crime in the enforcement of their claims
- represented in Austria’s largest sports betting fraud trial – on media report
Clubs and associations in the field of sports
Sports associations and clubs (both grassroots sports clubs at the amateur level and competitive sports clubs at the elite level) form the backbone of the Austrian sports world. In carrying out their duties in the service of sport, they are confronted with a number of legal issues from a wide range of fields:
- Which legal form is the right one for the specific organization?
- How is the organization structured (management, supervision, decision-making, etc.) and what do its statutes specifically look like?
- What is the legal relationship with the organization’s officials, members and employees?
- How can the organization finance itself cost-effectively (e.g., membership dues, donations, grants, etc.)?
- Is there an organization-internal statute law and how is it enforced?
Since sports associations and clubs organize sports activities for a large number of people and guide them in an orderly manner, a solid design of their legal basis and legal relationships is of very special importance.
In the past we have, among other things
- Advise sports federations on the allocation of sports licensing rights
- advised on the award of sports broadcasting rights for TV companies
- Sports club bylaws reviewed and created
- Management and supervisory boards of sports associations advise
- Provides opinions on compliance issues, sports law issues or marketing and exploitation rights
- advising sports federations and clubs on all other legal issues