New law regulating sport in Spain

Automatic summary, not yet reviewed

1. It recognizes sport and physical activity as an essential activity and establishes that everyone has the right to practice them freely and voluntarily.
2. Sports federations and professional leagues must guarantee equality between women and men: equal prizes and economic conditions, annual equality reports, protocols against harassment, and work-life balance plans with protection during maternity and breastfeeding.
3. Sports modalities for people with disabilities will be integrated into Spanish sports federations when this has already happened in the corresponding international federation, with guaranteed representation in their governing bodies.
4. It defines who is a professional athlete, non-professional athlete, competition athlete, elite (alto nivel) athlete and high-performance athlete, and sets out their rights and duties. Elite athlete status is kept for five years after retirement (seven for Olympic and Paralympic medalists).
5. Clubs are no longer required to become public limited sports companies (sociedades anónimas deportivas) to take part in professional competitions: they may do so as sports clubs, although they must set requirements such as guarantees for their boards in their bylaws.
6. Federations and professional leagues are subject to more economic and transparency oversight: mandatory audits, economic control committees, good governance codes, and publication on their websites of budgets, pay and contracts.
7. It sets up a sanctioning regime with very serious, serious and minor offenses, with fines of up to €450,000 for entities in professional competitions, and regulates the Administrative Sports Tribunal (Tribunal Administrativo del DeporteTribunal Administrativo del Deporte Body that rules, as the final administrative instance, on certain sports disputes and sanctions.) as the body that rules as the final administrative instance.
8. The Government must submit, within six months, a bill regulating the professions of sport, and the rights of athletes will be developed through an Athletes' Statute (Estatuto del Deportista).

Who it affects

• People who play sports: Their right to practice sports is recognized, along with a list of rights and duties, with special protection for minors, women and people with disabilities.
• Professional and elite athletes: They have specific labor, tax and education rights, and keep elite status for several years after retiring.
• Sports federations and professional leagues: They must meet equality, transparency, economic control and good governance obligations, with sanctions if they fail.
• Clubs in professional competitions: They can be clubs or public limited sports companies, and are subject to controls on shareholdings, audits and solvency.
• Fans and members: They gain participation channels, such as electing independent directors in public limited sports companies.

Words worth knowing

Federación deportiva española (Spanish sports federation)

Private nonprofit entity that organizes and regulates a sport throughout Spain.

Sociedad anónima deportiva (SAD)

A corporation with a special legal form designed to take part in professional sports competitions.

Licencia federativa (federation license)

Authorization issued by a federation to take part in official competitions.

Consejo Superior de Deportes

Public body that manages the Spanish State's sports policy.

Tribunal Administrativo del Deporte

Body that rules, as the final administrative instance, on certain sports disputes and sanctions.

It summarizes the law as published in the BOE. It is written by artificial intelligence and may contain mistakes: the official text is what counts. Read the official text · How we make summaries