CROATIA Law and Practice Contributed by: Lovro Badžim, Badžim Law Practice
also regulate disciplinary matters, licensing, and eli - gibility through their internal rules. In practice, disputes most often concern unpaid remu - neration, unlawful contractual clauses, and termina - tion of contracts. Clauses forcing athletes to accept renewals, allowing unilateral extensions, or threatening suspension for refusal, are expressly void. Collective bargaining is largely absent from Croatian sport, so most disputes are resolved individually through courts or arbitration – particularly outside men’s professional football, where civil law contracts remain common and often blur the line with employment relationships. 7.3 Free Movement of Athletes In Croatia, sports federations are generally free to reg - ulate the participation of foreign athletes in domestic competitions. The Sports Act grants federations broad autonomy to set eligibility rules, including limits on for - eign players, provided immigration and employment rules are respected. In practice, many federations – especially in football and basketball – set caps on the number of foreign players a club may register or field. This autonomy is limited by EU law. Restrictions based on nationality cannot be applied to EU citizens in breach of the free movement of workers, as estab - lished in the Bosman case. As a result, limits on EU players are likely unlawful, while restrictions on non- EU athletes are generally permitted, subject to anti- discrimination principles. Separately, foreign athletes must comply with resi - dence and work rules. EU and Swiss nationals face minimal formalities, while athletes from third coun - tries typically require residence and work permits, with some procedural flexibility in specific sporting contexts. 8. Women’s Sport 8.1 Development and Growth of Women’s Sport Croatian female athletes have long been successful in individual sports such as athletics, skiing, tennis, row - ing, and combat sports, while women’s team sports – particularly handball, volleyball, and basketball –
maintain stable national leagues and regular partici - pation in European competitions. In recent years, visibility has improved gradually. Public and commercial broadcasters now more con - sistently cover major international women’s events, and domestic federations, together with the Croatian Olympic Committee, have launched initiatives aimed at promoting female athletes and gender equality in sport. Hosting international women’s competitions, such as world-level indoor hockey events, has also helped boost local interest and attendance. Commercially, women’s sport in Croatia is still devel - oping. Media rights are usually bundled with men’s competitions rather than sold separately, and spon - sorship deals tend to be modest and often linked to broader federation partnerships rather than individual leagues or clubs. However, audience engagement – especially through digital platforms and social media – has increased, and global trends in women’s sport are beginning to influence domestic strategies. Overall, women’s sport in Croatia is moving forward in terms of participation, performance, and recognition, but its growth remains largely institution-driven rather than market-led. The main trend is gradual profes - sionalisation and improved visibility, with unbundled rights, larger sponsorships, and higher attendances still representing the next stage of development rather than the current norm. 8.2 Organisations and Initiatives to Promote Women’s Sport Women’s sport development in Croatia is largely driv - en by co-ordinated institutional and EU-funded initia - tives rather than commercial leagues. At the centre of these efforts is the Croatian Olympic Committee, which has made gender equality a strategic priority and actively supports programmes aimed at visibility, leadership, and governance. One of the most visible initiatives is Voice of Women in Sport, run with the national media regulator to improve how female athletes are represented in the media and to increase coverage of women’s competitions. Along - side this, EU-funded projects such as Women4Sport and SCORE focus on empowering women off the field
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