UAE Law and Practice Contributed by: Alain Zahlan de Cayetti and Anna Sedova, De Cayetti Law
been involved in legal proceedings in different jurisdic - tions, including the UAE. 1.4 Disciplinary Framework Disciplinary proceedings may be conducted by any UAE governing bodies for doping, integrity and bet - ting offences, all being regulated by the UAE Sports Law and the rules of UAE NADA and the WADA Code. Detection and reporting of potential violations can accrue from positive doping tests or irregularities in biological passport, for instance, and conducted in or out of competition. Violations can also be reported by suspicious betting patterns or by whistle-blowers. The governing bodies conduct a preliminary review and can order the provisional suspension (if applica - ble) of the interested athletes. Thereafter, investigation and disciplinary hearings are carried out. Disciplinary decisions can be appealed before either the national sports arbitration authorities or the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS). If the nature of the violation is criminal, criminal pro - ceedings can be conducted in parallel. Final decisions are usually published. Merchandising and licensing rights are primarily dealt with by intellectual property law, in particular, trade marks and copyright, under, respectively, Fed - eral Decree-Law No 36 of 2021 on Trademarks and Federal Decree-Law No 38 of 2021 on Copyright and Neighboring Rights. These rules protect club names, logos, team colours and branding, and athlete images. Hospitality and VIP (ie, VIP hospitality packages, cor - porate boxes and suites, etc) commercial rights are governed by commercial contracts between event organisers and hospitality providers, and by other licensing agreements with venues or organisers. Ticketing rights are conducted through official ticket - ing platforms or by authorised ticketing partners. The UAE does not have a specific secondary market for ticket resale. By extension of the provisions of Fed - eral Law No 8 of 2014 on Sports Facilities and Events 2. Commercial Rights 2.1 Sports-Related Rights
Security, penalties, fines and other sanctions can be imposed in the event of illegal ticket sales. Finally, athletes’ image rights for commercial endorsements and advertising campaigns, naming rights, data and digital rights are generally governed by commercial agreements. 2.2 Sponsorship Terms UAE authorities encourage and protect promotion and sponsorship in sport. There are numerous platforms for brand promotion, such as television, billboards and telecommunication providers. Contracts can provide for exclusivity, sponsorship fees, marketing rights, IP use and data protection, which can be entered into within the moral and legal boundaries mentioned in Broadcasters in the UAE monetise sports broadcast - ing rights through a combination of advertising (mainly during live events), subscription services (such as pay- TV, online streaming services and mobile applications) and commercial partnerships. Broadcasting rights are frequently sold on an exclusive basis and on a defined territory. Multi-season packages are also available. For instance, the English Premier League broadcast - ing rights are assigned to beIN Sports, which holds exclusive rights across the region. The UAE Pro League broadcasting rights are assigned to regional/ local networks. Broadcasters usually pay accredita - tion and venue access licences. IP rights in broad - casts concern both broadcasters (ownership of the copyright in the broadcast signal and production) and sports organisers (usually commercial rights). 2.1 Sports-Related Rights . 2.3 Broadcasting Rights On 7 October 2025, the National News reported that “Abu Dhabi has also focused on infrastructure, inno - vation and creative production. The Abu Dhabi Invest - ment Office has nurtured platforms such as Starzplay through incentives and partnerships that encourage content localisation and original programming. Abu Dhabi Media, the emirate’s public broadcaster, holds exclusive regional rights to Italy’s Serie A and other top competitions, while the Yas Creative Hub has become a regional centre for live production and digi - tal storytelling.”
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