Sport in the Middle East is no longer a peripheral industry. Sovereign wealth funds, private equity, major international federations, and a new generation of commercially sophisticated clubs and academies are operating in a sector that, a decade ago, looked entirely different. The legal questions that come with that transformation are complex, and they are multiplying.

Our Sports Law practice advises the full range of participants in this environment: clubs and federations, investors and sponsors, athletes and agents, broadcasters, event organisers, and the growing number of businesses building commercial operations around sport. We work across the region from our offices in Iraq, the UAE, Oman, and Turkey, and we bring to the sector the same cross-disciplinary approach that defines our work across all practice areas.

On the transactional side, we advise on sponsorship and endorsement arrangements, broadcasting and media rights, facility development and management agreements, and the structuring of sports-related investments and acquisitions. Ownership structures in this sector attract specific regulatory scrutiny across regional jurisdictions, and we help clients navigate those requirements from the outset rather than after the fact.

We advise clubs and governing bodies on governance and compliance -including the requirements of international federations and the rules of bodies such as FIFA, World Athletics, and the IOC- and on the integrity frameworks, anti-doping regulations, and disciplinary processes that sit alongside them. For athletes and their representatives, we handle contracts, transfer arrangements, image rights, and, where necessary, proceedings before the Court of Arbitration for Sport.

When disputes arise, we represent clients before sports arbitration tribunals and national courts. Our litigation practice is one of the most experienced in the region, and we bring that capability directly into the sports context.

The commercial opportunity in regional sport is significant. So is the legal complexity. We help our clients move through both.