Sports Sponsorship and Management Principles

Legal Issues and Risk Management

• Sport and the law involve legal advice, autonomy within the law, and legal structures for memberships and contracts.
• Sport dispute resolution and threats to integrity, including doping and match-fixing, are crucial legal aspects.
• Autonomy of sport is the freedom of national and international sport organizations to determine internal matters. This is often interpreted within Swiss law contexts, regarding IOC, WADA, and CAS.
• The IOC Olympic Charter (2020) acknowledges sport's function within society, advocating for political neutrality, autonomous decision-making, and good governance principles within sport management.
• Sport must comply with general law, especially concerning anti-discrimination. German and Swiss laws contrast with US contexts in this area. Cases, like the Blake Leeper situation, highlight challenges in managing these limitations and ensuring fairness.
• Blake Leeper, an American 400-metre runner with a congenital limb defect, used specialized prostheses. The IAAF Competition Rules (2018-2019) prohibited the use of mechanical aids that provided a competitive advantage. CAS declared the rule indirectly discriminatory.

Contracts, Memberships, and Legal Sport Structures

• Sport contracts operate on a contractual basis where parties have agreements with each other.
• Members can be both individuals and organizations.
• Contracts, memberships, and related structures contain elements of legality.
• Indirect control through contracts and agreements is an aspect of contracts in sport contexts.
• Key aspects of contracts include offer, acceptance, and consideration.
• Federated models (European system) feature a pyramid structure, from grassroots to professional levels––similar to the European model.
• Privatized or American models are typically closed systems with no direct connection between the club/university levels and their professional counterparts. There is a clear lack of connection between recreational sport and professional.

Sport Dispute Resolution

• Internal tribunals assist with resolving disputes and addressing disciplinary matters, unethical conduct, and field-play decisions in relation to sports.
• Arbitration is a procedure where disagreements are settled by a judge, whose decision cannot be challenged.
• Mediation involves a third party facilitating discussion and consensus building––sometimes even between non-sport legal entities.
• Sport-specific dispute resolution processes, along with standards of natural justice, including access to impartial tribunals, principles of equality, and the right to a fair hearing.

Threats to Sport Integrity

• Doping represents an integrity threat focused on performance enhancements.
• Match-fixing is a serious concern. It manipulates or alters the outcome of a sporting event for personal gain.
• The Council of Europe Convention on the Manipulation of Games focuses on addressing all forms of manipulation/corruption in sports at a global level.

Sport Governance

• Governance encompasses policy and direction and power, as well as the processes and procedures to make daily decisions in organizations.
• Distinction of corporate vs nonprofit governance
• Is there a sport governance theory?
• Governance structural elements
• Board-staff relationships
• Principles of good governance for organizations
• Board performance
• Drivers of change in governance
• Ethics

Sport Management and Administration

• Sport management is the significant, professional and organized industry.
• Operational aspect of the industry, as well as its global reach, with considerations like the Olympics and FIFA, are important components.
• The sports industry has a variety of organizations working to bring sport into a wider society, including public, non-profit, and professional sectors.
• Unique features of sports contexts, from irrational passions to anti-competitive behavior, play a role in the structure of the industry.
• Sport involves multiple sectors.
• There's an ongoing, significant need for effective leadership in sports.

Non-profit Sport

• Non-profit organizations are significantly involved in sport, acting outside direct financial profit motives, often serving the public good and community goals.
• Non-profit sectors work within their communities.
• Volunteer management, finding volunteers, board members and funding are important components
• Government intervention.
• Sport governance.
• The nature of sport, the environment, and various cultural sub-groups are all necessary to make an organization effective.
• Sport is used for development––in particular for marginalized or underprivileged persons/ communities.

Professional Sport

• Professional sports are typically seen, by the general public, as the highest form of play.
• Professional sports have a unique economic value proposition.
• It is a global business with multi-billion dollar revenue streams
• Leagues, ownership structures, and athlete management are essential elements of their operation.
• Professional sports leagues can be seen in multiple tiers (major leagues vs developing leagues or minor leagues).
• The success of professional sports leagues relies on strategic decisions and quality, such as athlete management.
• The unique nature of the sport product, from the tangible aspect of equipment/ apparel to the diverse approaches to sponsorship and brand reputation, create an inherent need for understanding and analysis.

Sport Organizational Culture

• Culture in sports organizations is defined by shared values, beliefs, and attitudes that shape behaviors.
• The relevance of culture in sport organizations and culture impacting individuals and groups are important to consider.
• Sport culture varies across organizations, but there are some universal constants.
• Diagnosing sport organizational culture is necessary to identify issues/areas needing repair and building/ fostering a healthy organizational culture.

Organizational Design

• Organizational structure outlines the organization's roles, responsibilities, and information flow to effectively run sporting organizations.
• There's a balance needed between formalization (policies, procedures) and innovation.
• The purpose of the organization, such as achieving a goal, determines the structure.
• Six Dimensions include: work specialization, departmentalization, chain of command, span of control, centralization, and formalisation. Common structural models include simple, bureaucratic, matrix, and team structures that should reflect and adjust according to the organization's goals and the environment.
• Understanding the strategic goals and structure and organization/ structure of a sport organization is essential for success. The environment and stakeholders impact the structure.