Kenya is a sporting nation with an enviable track record of success across several disciplines. At Nzamba Kitonga Advocates LLP we saw the opportunity to develop this practice area in order to address the myriad of legal and commercial issues which arise from modern day sports.

We focus on offering expert legal counsel in a range of legal areas including Sporting and Major Events. We have a dedicated practice designed to support athletes, sports clubs, coaches, agents, sponsors, and schools on legal matters, in order to help them make the best of their talents.

LEGAL SERVICES FOR SPORT ACTIVITIES.

1. Preparation of contracts and their legal analysis

Contracts for professional services, endorsements, appearances, sponsorships, and agreements with clubs, athletes, coaches and agents are all included in this area.

Our Counsel will carry out the following:

• Identify current and potential risks and develop a plan to reduce/eliminate risks.
• Recommend strategies how to avoid traps in negotiation of sports contracts.
• Analyze, review and advice on sport contracts terms and conditions.
• Ensure that sports contracts are in compliance with the law.

2. Registration and enforcement of various IP rights

• The protection of intellectual property is vital to maximizing on the commercial opportunities available to an athlete or sporting organization. We assist in registration of copyrights, image rights, trademarks and other properties which arise in professional sports.
• When planning a major sporting event, special consideration should be given to the relationship with sponsors, including financing terms and transfer of intellectual property rights.
• Negotiation of licensing and distribution rights with broadcasting companies.
• Major Sporting Events attract international sponsors/brands. We assist event organizers in managing the legal relationships across jurisdictions.

3. Conflict resolution

• We provide ADR services in the areas of physical culture, sports, and legal representation in relation to the settlement of sporting disputes.
• We have extensive experience in resolving sports disputes of different complexity.
• We have acted for clients to successfully secure transfer fees, agency fees and development fees. Any club which contributes to a sporting professional’s education and training should get a portion of the fees when signing new contracts.
• Many disputes are surfacing around who should pay whom and how much money should be paid for a player to be transferred to another side. Our team will properly analyze and calculate the compensation payment, which will help to avert or resolve the conflict between clubs.

4. Advice on anti-doping laws

Athletes, teams and coaches may run across the following issues:

• A team or athlete is accused of attempting to use forbidden substances; The inspecting authorities suspect a phony result of a doping test; A prohibited substance or its components were identified in an athlete’s test, whether accidentally or not.

This is not an exhaustive list of circumstances that call for legal counsel. Every party engaged needs to be informed of their rights and options in order to avoid undesirable outcomes, fines, or disqualification.

5. Drafting legal documents related to sports

Our experts have extensive experience in creating the numerous rules and regulations required to incorporate sporting organizations and host various sporting events:

• Club Constitutions
• Regulations and by-laws for federations
• Policy documents for Sports Academies including child protection guidelines
• Disability and Special needs policies
• Training on rights of junior sports and minors
• Sports law workshops for senior professionals on various topical issues.