Sports law advice for individuals

Our expert team of sports lawyers specialises in supporting talented individuals of all disciplines across the sports industry. From athletes, players, and coaches to managers, club backroom staff, and members of their families, we are equipped to deal with any legal issues that may arise throughout their careers or personal lives.

Expert legal services for sports professionals

Many of our dedicated lawyers have gained direct experience of the sector by working within leading sporting bodies and organisations or advising extensively at club or regulatory level. This very specific knowledge gives a unique insight into the industry and enables us to provide clear, commercially realistic and practical legal advice to sporting individuals on a wide variety of situations and scenarios.

As sports professionals can now reach global audiences through technology and social media, public interest is often focused as much on their personal brand and lifestyle as on sporting performance. This has resulted in a shift of power from clubs and federations towards the individuals themselves. It is therefore imperative that the best legal advice is obtained, to protect not only career contracts and relationships, but also the sports professional’s entire lifestyle and image, together with that of their family.

Our comprehensive range of services for athletes and sports professionals includes employment, immigration, family, matrimonial and private family issues, safeguarding matters, private client (including tax and estate planning), personal injury, property transactions, commercial contracts and disputes, sponsorship deals, brand protection, reputation management, media law, image rights, and fraud and tax investigations. We are one of the few legal firms that can fully support international non-domiciled athletes and players coming into the UK who need specific and complex wealth management and tax planning.

Penningtons Manches Cooper undertake every aspect of sports law… and have a wealth of experience in all aspects of sports litigation.

Our clients cover a diverse cross-section of the sports world, from Premier League footballers and club owners, professional rugby players, motorsports drivers, e-sports competitors, and tennis players to Team GB Olympic and Paralympic athletes, football managers, agents, and other international sportspersons. We understand the distinctive challenges that they face and offer a carefully tailored response.

As a member of the Sports Resolutions panel, we regularly assist individuals in arbitrations and disciplinary hearings. We also work closely with the League Managers Association (LMA), advising its individual members on employment and complex contractual disputes, reputational management, and insolvency matters. Lawyers in the team are also members of Women in Sports Law, a non-profit association that unites women who specialise in sports law, and the GB Snowsport Selection Appeals Panel pool of lawyers. Our lawyers are ranked individually and as a team by the leading legal directories which praise their ‘real depth of knowledge’ and ‘commercially astute’ approach.

How we help our clients

Brand management, commercial, advertising and sponsorship contracts

Data protection, privacy, reputation management and social media advice

Employment contracts, discrimination and maternity/parental leave

Immigration issues and visa applications

Family and matrimonial matters, including international movement of children and financial disputes

Surrogacy and fertility law

Personal injury and medical negligence claims

Private wealth management, tax planning and disputes, wills and probate

Real estate advice, including property investment, development and litigation

Useful resources

Sports podcast series: Fair Play

Recent work highlights

Tennis player global brand protection

Assisting a leading female British tennis player and her team on implementing a global brand protection and enforcement programme across multiple continents following her Grand Slam tournament success.

Paralympic Games classification appeal

Advising on a dispute concerning a female swimmer’s classification to compete in the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games, which significantly affected her eligibility to take part in her selected events.

Football manager contract termination dispute

Representing a high-profile Spanish football manager, offering legal advice on a dispute with his former UK Premier League football club over the termination of his contract.

Family and matrimonial affairs for footballer

Advising a topflight footballer on the breakdown of his marriage, including the financial implications of separation and the subsequent establishment of arrangements for the care of his children.

Damage from racing yacht collision

Advising the owner of a racing yacht, as experts in the sailing rules, in relation to a serious collision with a much larger yacht that caused considerable damage during a race.

Para-athlete appeal against deselection

Advising an international para-athlete on the grounds of appeal against their deselection from World Class Programme funding as a result of their recent performances, as they had previously been misdiagnosed.

Great litigators, strategically astute, technically strong and commercial.

An impressive team in sport.

I like the way they have more capacity for larger cases and that they have some good international connections as well. A good, strong multidisciplinary team.

Penningtons is a very strong sporting team – real depth of knowledge in manager disputes and football arbitration in particular. Very personable and commercially astute team too.