INTRODUCTION Contributed by: Jamie Singer and Flora Peel, Onside Law
cancellation due to a pandemic. Their acumen ensured the protection of their financial position, despite cancellation (and in turn protected the share of profits which England’s tennis associa - tion, the Lawn Tennis Association (LTA), relies upon). Going forward, insurance will be a key consideration for legal and finance directors, although the increased premiums will reduce the pool of event organisers who can even con - sider it. Freedom of Goods and Services In Europe, COVID-19 is not the only major event that sport has had to navigate in the last few years. In December 2020, the European Union Withdrawal Act was passed by the UK Parlia - ment and the UK left the EU on 1 January 2021. An immediate impact has been felt with regard to the transfer of professional athlete contracts, particularly in football. The fundamental princi - ple of the free movement of goods and services within EU countries was critical to the opera - tion of the football transfer system, as well as to many other sports. Those systems are having to adapt to the new reality and it will be interesting to see how they fare.
Since early 2022, we have been seeing the dev - astating consequences of the war in Ukraine also affecting sport. Initially, this led to many fed - erations banning Russian and Belarusian teams from competition and withdrawing hosting rights – also affecting individual athletes across the world in all disciplines of sport. Already, Rus - sia has launched numerous appeals at the CAS, which will have the difficult task of putting emo - tion aside to consider the legality of actions taken under the relevant constitutions and rules of participation. The Future Awaits... The events of the last few years have seen and will continue to see significant additions to the Lex Sportiva. It appears that 2025 will see sport continue to grow at rapid speeds, with fans keener than ever to experience the passion, atmosphere and excitement that sport has to offer. As lawyers supporting this industry, we hope this guide assists in navigating the chal - lenges ahead.
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