DENMARK Law and Practice Contributed by: Frederik Bruhn, Tim Krarup Nielsen, Robert Jønsson and Rasmus Theis Madsen, DAHL Law Firm
2.2 Sponsorship Commercial Use of Sponsorship in Danish Sports Sponsorship plays a significant role in the Danish sports industry, with brands seeking to associate with athletes, clubs, and federations to enhance visibility and market their products. Apparel and sportswear companies such as Nike, Adidas, and Puma actively engage in sponsorship deals to ensure that high-profile athletes use their products. Sponsorship agreements are also prevalent in football, where clubs enter into sig - nificant financial partnerships, including deals with betting companies, technology firms, and financial institutions. Conversely, sports rights-holders seek to attract sponsorship investments by offering exclusiv - ity, branding and networking opportunities, and marketing rights. Sponsorship agreements may include naming rights for stadiums, branding on team jerseys, advertising placements at events and access to player and other commercial rights. The financial growth of Danish sports is largely driven by major brands wishing to secure exclusive sponsorship rights. Key Terms of Sponsorship Agreements A sponsorship agreement should clearly define the rights and obligations of both the sponsor and the sponsored party (typically an athlete or club). In addition to standard contractual pro - visions, sponsorship agreements in Denmark must regulate the following: • limitations on the sponsor’s rights due to legal restrictions or other conditions, such as tour - nament participation rules; • VAT and tax considerations, as certain aspects of sponsorship agreements may be eligible for tax deductions; and • morality clauses.
Morality Clauses With the rise of social media, morality clauses have become increasingly important in spon - sorship agreements. Traditionally, these clauses allow sponsors to terminate agreements if the sponsored athlete or club engages in conduct that may damage the sponsor’s reputation. Conflicting Sponsorship Agreements Sponsorship agreements must take into consid - eration potential conflicts at different levels: • Federations v Clubs: Federations generally hold primary sponsorship rights for tourna - ments, which clubs must respect. Violations, such as conflicting jersey sponsorships in DBU competitions, can lead to sanctions. • Clubs v Players: Athletes often have personal sponsorship deals that may conflict with their club’s commercial agreements. Such conflicts are typically managed contractually, including in DBU’s standard contract and the Football Collective Agreement. • Federations v Players: National team spon - sorships can conflict with individual player endorsements. A notable Danish example occurred once where top badminton play - ers’ sponsorship deals with Kjeldsens But - ter Cookies conflicted with the federation’s agreement with Danisa, which also produces cakes, leading to their temporary exclusion from the national team. To mitigate such conflicts, the DBU and the Players’ Association entered into an agreement regarding exploitation of commercial rights reg - ulating personal and team sponsorship obliga - tions. The agreement was renewed before the 2024 European Championship and sets out sponsorship revenue-sharing arrangements and limitations on the players’ individual endorse - ments conflicting with DBU’s partners.
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