Sports Law Degrees, Courses and Programs

Sports law brings together contract and employment law, intellectual property, governance, anti-doping, safeguarding, disciplinary procedures and international arbitration in sport. Programs include LLM and master’s degrees, postgraduate certificates and diplomas, specialist concentrations in law degrees and short professional courses.

Study in this area does not by itself qualify someone to practise law. Becoming a lawyer or solicitor depends on a country’s own legal-qualification route and admission to the profession; sports law programs usually assume or build on a prior law qualification, though some are open to non-lawyers working in sport.

Each listing states the intended audience and entry requirements, and links to the relevant professional requirements page where we have found one.

Typical topics: Sports contracts and employment, Governance and regulation, Anti-doping and integrity, Dispute resolution and arbitration, Intellectual property, Safeguarding law.

Also called: Sport law, Sportrecht, Droit du sport, Derecho deportivo. These names lead to this one page.

Admission to practise law is separate and country-specific. A sports law course does not qualify someone as a lawyer.

Each program below states its intended audience, whether prior professional registration is required, and links to current official requirements where we found them.

• CAS en droit du sport (University of Neuchâtel, Faculty of Law (sports law programmes)): Bachelor or Master in law or equivalent, plus sufficient professional experience in sport; other candidates may be admitted by decision of the dean.
• Máster Universitario en Derecho Deportivo (Universidad Europea de Madrid): Official university degree giving access to a master (RD 861/2010); the programme is aimed at law graduates.
• Master of Law, orientation droit du sport (University of Neuchâtel, Faculty of Law (sports law programmes)): Holders of a Bachelor of Law from a Swiss law faculty or an equivalent title are admitted without additional conditions; other degrees may require supplementary study.
• DAS en droit du sport (University of Neuchâtel, Faculty of Law (sports law programmes)): Bachelor or Master in law or equivalent, plus sufficient professional experience in sport; other candidates may be admitted by decision of the dean.
• LLM International Sports Law (The University of Law): 2:2 or above from a UK Bachelor's degree, or equivalent qualifications.