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Mainstreaming sports law at grassroots football clubs
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The application of sports law at the grassroots level is essential for community based clubs.

Despite its growth around the world, various disciplines of sports have not escaped cases of legal tussles internally or externally. From federations’ wrangles with sponsors, to rival companies fighting to support tournaments, teams and sports bodies with a higher value proposition, athletes fighting doping cases and competing broadcasters seeking court injunctions to win TV rights to air lucrative sporting events, the intervention of sports lawyers has been deemed necessary.

However, it has been perceived that sports lawyers are a preserve of upper echelons of sports while in the grassroots, it’s needed the most.

Due to lack of awareness of transfer issues, community based football clubs have been victims of exploitations by giant football clubs in Kenya and around the world. Cases of larger clubs recruiting talented players without paying development fees always goes unnoticed since owners of such teams - community clubs - lack information on what their entities are entitled to. The enforcement of FIFA /CAF Club licensing rules in Kenya has brought with it a new dimension of legal challenges for the football stakeholders in Kenya. Higher league tier clubs seeking to fulfil the Youth Development criteria will want to give grassroots clubs a raw deal by “adopting” the clubs with no proper contractual arrangements.

Through the Footworks programme, 19 April will witness Inuka Direct, in collaboration with Hoperaisers Football Academy, hold a Sports Law talk to sensitise players and club officials on transfer issues affecting basement football entities such as player development and solidarity fees, and how they can avoid being exploited by clubs seeking to fulfil the Youth Development criteria of the FIFA/CAF Club licensing rules. Renowned sports lawyer Sarah Ochwada will be the speaker. The session will kick off at 10:00 am East African Time at Bega Kwa Bega Hall Nairobi.

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