Long-term contracts in sport: The private foundations of sports law and governance

The workshop proposes to explore the role of long-term contracts in sport and their characteristics through a variety of theoretical and methodological lenses.

04. Dec 2025 09:00 – 04. Dec 2025 17:00 Add to calendar

Lillehammer, Digital

Workshop

Inland School of Business and Social Sciences, University of Inland Norway

Fakkelmannen is Norwegian for the torchbearer is cut out in the forest north of Lillehammer.

Fakkelmannen / the torchbearer is cut out in the forest north of Lillehammer.

Photo: Ole Martin Ringlund / University of Inland Norway

Contracts play a crucial role in the world of sport, particularly long-term contracts. Contractual agreements form the foundation of transnational sports governance, SGBs are all formally the product of a specific time of contract (be it in the form of an association or corporation) often justifying the autonomy of sport and its private governance at a (more or less far) distance from the state.

Moreover, contracts establish long-term commitments between the parties involved, raising a variety of questions regarding the asymmetry in their positions, the scope of party autonomy, contractual mechanisms for addressing uncertainty, and their interaction with domestic and international mandatory regulations, among others. In short, it is impossible to fully understand the operation and limitations of transnational sports law and governance without investigating the many ways in which it is embedded in long-term contracts ruled by a variety of contract laws.

This workshop proposes to explore the role of long-term contracts in sport and their characteristics through a variety of theoretical and methodological lenses.

Program

1. Contractual & Regulatory

Emilie Weible and Marjolaine Viret (University of Lausanne, Switzerland)
On the legal architecture of sport under Swiss law: statutory regulation and quasi-contractual ties
Antti Aine (University of Turku, Finland)
Asymmetrical positions of the parties and legal regulation on long-term contracts in sport.
David Pavot (University of Sherbrooke, Canada).
Private Contract, Public Consequences? States and the World Anti-Doping Code

2. Employment & Football

Deep Ray, Tarsh Khanna and Tarun (Gujarat National Law University, India)
Functional Long-Termism in Indian Football Contracts: The Validity and Consequences of Unilateral Extension Options
Leanne O’Leary (Maynooth University, Ireland)
The Role of CBAs in European Sports Regulation

3. Olympic Games and Mega Sports Events

Mark James and Guy Osborn (Manchester Metropolitan University and University of Westminster, UK)
The unanticipated impacts of increasing the length of OHCs
Daniela Heerdt (Asser Institute)
Exploring the impact of human rights contractual requirements in mega-sporting event governance: case studies from UEFA. FIFA, and the IOC

Keynote

Antoine Duval, Senior Researcher, Asser Institute
Framing contracts as legislation: The CAS and the public/private nature of the SGB’s statutes and regulations

Printable program

Call for paper

We welcome proposals touching on the following issues/case studies:

The concept of time in sport and the definition of ‘long-term’ in sport-related contracts;
The function of long-term contracts in transnational sports governance;
The function of long-term contracts in the operation of private dispute resolution mechanisms (CAS, BAT, FIFA DRC);
The transactional nature of long-term contracts in sport;
The relational nature of long-term contracts in sport;
The conflict between private autonomy and long-term contracts in sport;
The intersection between private and public in the operation of long-term contracts in sport;
Specific contractual arrangements, including:
- Contracts of association and SGBs
- Long-term (labour) contracts with athletes and coaches;
- Contracts related to the organization of mega-sporting events, including host city contracts;
- TV and media long-term contracts;
- Sponsorship agreements;
- and more.