Contemporary Issues in Sports Law and Practice, 2010

Many thanks to De Montfort University (DMU) and the British Association for Sport and the Law (BASL)  for hosting what was once again a very enjoyable afternoon of speakers. The half-day conference heard from five speakers exploring very diverse, but equally key topics:

• Karen Moorhouse (RFL) discussed the Rugby Football League’s renewable three-year Club Licensing scheme and how this differed from a more American-style franchise system. The talk explored all aspects of this scheme from an overview of the current system and the criteria employed to define the applicable standards, to how the RFL had anticipated any potential challenges (both legal and fanbase). The proof of the pudding will really come in the next licensing round though when at least one Super League club will not have its current licensed renewed….
• Alistair Maclean (The FA Group) gave an overview of the FA Group’s commercial rights. This was a very informative (and colourful) presentation and provided a thorough explanation of the new commercial strategy (FA Partner Programme 2010-14), blending a comprehensive whistle-stop tour through the FA Rights Inventory with commentary on the practicalities underpinning each branded item.
• The blog’s very own, Jon Heshka (Thompson Rivers University, Canada) presented a paper on regulating ‘Technological Doping’ in sport. Jon outlined the key issues and controversies facing sport stemming from the current unprincipled approach to technology before analysing what options regulators and governing bodies could take. In particular, the talk debated the use of the WADA criteria for chemical enhancement and Jon posited whether the solution really lay in our definition of what were the essential characteristics of sport.
• Christopher Stoner QC (Serie Court Chambers) provided a (much-needed) insight into Paralympic Disability Classification. The talk briefly covered all aspects of classification from a historical introduction to the current criteria for assessment, protests and appeals. What became particularly evident at the end of the talk was that while the current classification system has been in operation for a number of years, it is still evolving and being refined. It will be interesting to see what changes (if any) are made to protests ahead of the forthcoming 2012 Paralympics…
• Ian Lynam (Partner, Charles Russell LLP) evaluated the use of player quotas in UK Sport, in particular, whether leagues could implement caps on the numbers of ‘foreign’ players. Essentially there were two key elements to this presentation, Direct Discrimination (as epitomised by the recently dropped FIFA 6+5 rule) and Indirect Discrimination (as seen in UEFA’s ‘Homegrown Player’ rule. Ian then rounded the event off with practical advice to any governing bodies wishing to implement such a rule.

The date for next year’s Contemporary Issues Event has now been set for 4^th November 2011, information on how to book will follow nearer the time.