Sports contracts
The conclusion and negotiation of sports employment contracts, sports training contracts and player loan agreements is subject to a specific legal regime, with limits on duration, formal requirements and termination rules that differ from the ordinary employment regime. The sports employment contract has, as a rule, a maximum limit of five sports seasons, reduced to three where the practitioner is a minor; the sports training contract has a maximum limit of three seasons, always expiring at the end of the season in which the trainee turns 18; and the trial period, where there is one, may not exceed 15 days in contracts of less than two sports seasons, or 30 days in all other cases. We advise players, agents and clubs on negotiating and drafting these contracts. We examine the legal regime for sports contracts in more depth in the article Sports contracts in Portugal – what you need to know.
Football agents
The activity of representing players – carried out by those whom the law designates as sports entrepreneurs, and who are commonly known as agents or intermediaries – is subject to mandatory registration, pursuant to Article 37 of Law No. 54/2017, and to specific limitations on the exercise of the activity, provided for in Article 39 of the same law. The representation or intermediation contract that links the entrepreneur to the player or the club has had, since 2017, its own autonomous legal regime, distinct from the previous framework. We detail the registration requirements and the regime of the representation contract in the article Football agents in Portugal – registration and legal regime.
Advice to clubs
Clubs and sports companies face, in the course of their day-to-day activity, a wide range of legal issues – from the hiring of players and technical staff to the management of disputes with other clubs or agents. We provide ongoing legal advice to clubs and sports companies on all of these matters. We look in more depth at the scope of this advice in the article Legal advice for sports clubs.
Dismissal for just cause
Termination of the sports employment contract on the employer’s initiative, invoking just cause, is subject to a specific regime, with significant consequences for both the club and the player. One of the most distinctive aspects of this regime, even outside cases of just cause, is the exclusion of the sports practitioner’s right to reinstatement: the law establishes a duty to pay compensation, calculated on the basis of the remuneration that would have been due to the player until the end of the contract, but does not recognise a right to return to the team. We support clubs and players in dismissal-for-just-cause proceedings and in the resulting compensation consequences. We detail this regime in the article Dismissal for just cause in sport – what you need to know.
Debt collection in sport
Non-performance of monetary obligations between clubs, players and agents – unpaid wages, unpaid commissions, or amounts owed for transfers – gives rise to collection proceedings with particularities of their own in this sector, which may involve both the ordinary courts and the dispute resolution bodies of the sports federations. We examine in more depth the routes available for debt collection in sport in the article Debt collection in sport – recovery routes.
About Araújo & Associados
Established in 1980, with offices in Porto and Lisbon, Araújo & Associados provides legal advice to clients from more than 31 countries, in Portuguese, English, French, German and Spanish, supporting players, agents, clubs and sports companies in Portugal and abroad.
Frequently asked questions about sports law in Portugal
Does a sports employment contract have the same maximum duration as an ordinary employment contract?
No. The employment contract of the sports practitioner is subject to a maximum limit of five sports seasons, reduced to three where the practitioner is a minor, pursuant to Article 6 of Law No. 54/2017 – a regime distinct from that applicable to ordinary employment contracts.
Can anyone work as a players' agent in Portugal?
No. The activity of representing players, legally designated as the activity of sports entrepreneur, is subject to mandatory registration and to specific limitations laid down in Articles 36 to 39 of Law No. 54/2017.
If a club terminates a player's contract early, without just cause, can the player demand to be reinstated in the team?
No. The law establishes only a duty to pay compensation in favour of the player, calculated on the basis of the remuneration that would have been due to him until the end of the contract, but does not recognise a right to reinstatement in the team.
Can a player with unpaid wages only go to the ordinary courts to claim payment?
Not necessarily. Depending on the specific situation, dispute resolution routes before bodies of the sports federations may also be available, alongside or as an alternative to the ordinary courts.
From what point can a minor enter into a sports training contract?
The law does not require a specific level of schooling, only a minimum age requirement, the sports training contract always expiring at the end of the season in which the trainee turns 18, pursuant to Article 30 of Law No. 54/2017.
Contact us
For more information on sports law, or to book a legal consultation, you can contact us through our Porto or Lisbon offices, by telephone, email or via the form on the website. We provide legal advice in Portuguese, English, French, German and Spanish.