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Organization and Regulation of the Premier League, NBA and Rugby Union

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Employment and Labour Relations Law in the Premier League, NBA and International Rugby Union

Part of the book series: ASSER International Sports Law Series ((ASSER))

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Abstract

The NBA is a private association of basketball teams that lies outside the pyramid structure of regulation that is typical of sport in the European Union and some Commonwealth countries. The Premier League is a professional domestic football competition that is organized within the parameters of a national federation. The Rugby World Cup is a competition that is organized and promoted by World Rugby, the international federation for rugby union. This chapter describes the entities that are involved in the organization and regulation of each sport and the scope of the business operations in which a professional player provides services. The business requirements of a club, league or federation, the sport’s regulatory framework and the legal and economic context in which a competition is organized can all influence the final employment arrangements of professional athletes.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    The term “Premier League” is used interchangeably to describe the competition and the entity under which the clubs organize collectively.

  2. 2.

    Articles of Association of the Football Association Premier League Ltd (as amended by special resolution passed on 31 May 2007) (FAPL Articles), Article 7.

  3. 3.

    FAPL Articles, Article 7.2.

  4. 4.

    Telephone interview with the Premier League 30 May 2014.

  5. 5.

    FAPL Articles, Article 16.

  6. 6.

    Premier League Rules 2015/2016 (PL Rules), r B.15.

  7. 7.

    Deloitte Sport Business Group 2016, p. 11.

  8. 8.

    Deloitte Sport Business Group 2016, p. 16.

  9. 9.

    PL Rules, r D.16–r D.18.

  10. 10.

    Premier League Press Release, Premier League Awards UK Live Broadcast Rights For 2016/2017 to 2018/19, 18 February 2015 available on the Premier League website at www.premierleague.com.

  11. 11.

    Deloitte Sport Business Group 2016, p. 19.

  12. 12.

    For an economic discussion of these modes of entry into a professional sports league see Noll 2002 and Szymanski and Valletti 2005.

  13. 13.

    Deloitte Sport Business Group 2016, p. 24.

  14. 14.

    See Sect. 8.6.2, infra.

  15. 15.

    See Sect. 8.3, infra.

  16. 16.

    See Sect. 8.7.2, infra.

  17. 17.

    See Sects. 8.5.1 and 8.5.2, infra.

  18. 18.

    The Professional Footballers’ Association, Annual Return for a Trade Union (year ended 30 June 2015), p. 2. Available on the website for the Certification Officer www.certoffice.org.

  19. 19.

    See Sect. 3.2.5.1, infra.

  20. 20.

    See Sect. 3.2.5.1, infra.

  21. 21.

    See Sect. 8.2.1, infra.

  22. 22.

    See The Football Association Ltd Memorandum of Association (adopted by special resolution passed on 29 May 2007) (FA Memorandum) and The Football Association Ltd Articles of Association (adopted by special resolution passed on 29 May 2007 as amended by special resolutions passed on 19 May 2015) (FA Articles). See also R v Football Association, ex parte Football League Ltd [1993] 2 All ER 833 in which the High Court confirmed that the FA is not a public authority or an instrument of executive action.

  23. 23.

    FA Memorandum, cl 3.

  24. 24.

    See The Burns Review (2005) an internal review of governance structures commissioned by the FA; The All-Party Parliamentary Football Group Inquiry into English Football and its Governance (2008–2009); Culture Media and Sport Select Committee Fourth Report of Session 2005–2006 Women’s Football (HC 1357); House of Commons, Culture, Media and Sport Committee, Football Governance, Report of the 7th Session 2010–2012 (29 July 2011); Department For Culture, Media and Sport, Football Governance: Response to the Culture, Media and Sport Committee, HC792-1 (October 2011); House of Commons, Culture, Media and Sport Committee, Football Governance Follow-Up, Fourth Report of Session 2012–2013 (22 January 2013); and the Football Governance Bill 2013.

  25. 25.

    See FA Articles, Article 94 which outlines the FA Board’s powers.

  26. 26.

    The Terms of Reference For the Operation of the Professional Game Board outlined in the FA Handbook Season 2015–2016, pp. 29–35.

  27. 27.

    FA Articles, Articles 36 and 57.

  28. 28.

    FA Articles, Articles 37 and 57.

  29. 29.

    The FA, Report and Financial Statements for the year ended 31 July 2015, p. 29.

  30. 30.

    FA Articles, Article 93.

  31. 31.

    The FA, Report and Financial Statements for the year ended 31 July 2015, p. 37.

  32. 32.

    Ibid.

  33. 33.

    Ibid.

  34. 34.

    UEFA Statutes (March 2016 edition) (UEFA Statutes), Article 23.

  35. 35.

    For rules relating to the composition and procedure of each judicial body, see UEFA Disciplinary Regulations (2014 edition) (UEFA Disciplinary Regulations) and UEFA Procedural Rules Governing the UEFA Club Financial Control Body (2015 edition) (UEFA Procedural Rules).

  36. 36.

    See the UEFA Disciplinary Regulations and UEFA Anti-Doping Regulations (2015 edition).

  37. 37.

    UEFA Disciplinary Regulations, Article 25.

  38. 38.

    UEFA Disciplinary Regulations, Article 47 and UEFA Statutes, Article 62.

  39. 39.

    See the UEFA Club Licensing and Financial Fair Play Regulations (2015 edition).

  40. 40.

    UEFA Procedural Rules, Article 3.

  41. 41.

    See Memorandum of Understanding Between UEFA and FIPRO (2012), Memorandum of Understanding Between UEFA and the ECA (2015) and the Memorandum of Association Between UEFA and EPFL (2012).

  42. 42.

    UEFA Statutes, Article 35(3).

  43. 43.

    UEFA Statutes, Article 35(4).

  44. 44.

    See Sect. 6.3.1, infra.

  45. 45.

    See the Regulations of the UEFA Champions League 2015–2018 Cycle (2015/2016 Season) and the Regulations of the UEFA Europa League 2015–2018 Cycle (2015/2016 Season).

  46. 46.

    FIFA Statutes (April 2016 edition) (FIFA Statutes), Article 2.

  47. 47.

    See FIFA Statutes and FIFA Governance Regulations (May 2016).

  48. 48.

    FIFA Statutes, Article 24.

  49. 49.

    See the FIFA Disciplinary Code (2011 edition).

  50. 50.

    Regulations on the Status and Transfer of Players (2016 edition), Article 22. See also the Rules Governing the Procedure of the Players’ Status Committee and the Dispute Resolution Chamber (December 2014).

  51. 51.

    See Pieth 2011 and Pielke 2013.

  52. 52.

    See Pielke 2013, Geeraert et al. 2014 and Geeraert 2015.

  53. 53.

    See Sect. 2.3, supra.

  54. 54.

    Kurt Badenhausen (20 January 2016), New York Knicks Head the NBA’s Most Valuable Teams at $3 Billion, Forbes. http://www.forbes.com/sites/kurtbadenhausen/2016/01/20/new-york-knicks-head-the-nbas-most-valuable-teams-at-3-billion/#2715e4857a0b5daa68f22d3a. Accessed 31 July 2016.

  55. 55.

    Ibid.

  56. 56.

    Deloitte Sport Business Group 2016, p. 16.

  57. 57.

    For a discussion of the NBA’s legal status see Grossman 2014.

  58. 58.

    See the Constitution and By-Laws of the National Basketball Association (29 May 2012) (NBA Constitution).

  59. 59.

    NBA Constitution, Article 2.

  60. 60.

    See Lee and McFarlin 2016.

  61. 61.

    NBA Constitution, Article 24(a).

  62. 62.

    Ibid.

  63. 63.

    NBA Constitution, Article 24(l).

  64. 64.

    NY Code, § 7511; see also 9 USC § 10 (Federal Arbitration Act).

  65. 65.

    See Pachman 1990 and Parlow 2010. See also Sect. 7.5, infra.

  66. 66.

    Supra, n 54.

  67. 67.

    Ibid.

  68. 68.

    NBA Constitution, Article 4.

  69. 69.

    Jozsa 2011, p. 62.

  70. 70.

    Ibid.

  71. 71.

    See generally Rasher and Rasher 2004 and Mitten and Burton 1997.

  72. 72.

    NBA Official Release, NBA Rosters Feature 100 International Players For Second Consecutive Year, 27 October 2015.

  73. 73.

    For further discussion see Chap. 9, infra.

  74. 74.

    FIBA General Statutes (approved 28–29 August 2014) (FIBA Statutes), Article 6.

  75. 75.

    FIBA Statutes, Article 15.1.4.

  76. 76.

    Constitution of USA Basketball (adopted 19 August 1980 and amended 17 November 2015), Article 6.

  77. 77.

    World Rugby, Year in Review 2015, p. 67.

  78. 78.

    See the Laws of the Game of Rugby (seven-a-side) available on the World Rugby’s website at http://www.worldrugby.org.

  79. 79.

    World Rugby Bye-Laws (1 June 2016) (World Rugby Bye-Laws), bye-law 2.

  80. 80.

    World Rugby Bye-Laws, bye-law 9.4.

  81. 81.

    World Rugby Bye-Laws, bye-law 9.1.

  82. 82.

    Ibid.

  83. 83.

    World Rugby Bye-Laws, bye-law 10.

  84. 84.

    Ibid.

  85. 85.

    World Rugby Bye-Laws, bye-law 8.

  86. 86.

    World Rugby Bye-Laws, bye-law 10.4(d).

  87. 87.

    World Rugby Bye-laws, bye-law 11.4.

  88. 88.

    International Rugby Board, Year in Review 2013, p. 70.

  89. 89.

    Deloitte September 2008, pp. 9–11.

  90. 90.

    Supra n 88.

  91. 91.

    Ibid.

  92. 92.

    Ibid.

  93. 93.

    Ibid.

  94. 94.

    Ibid.

  95. 95.

    World Rugby, Year in Review 2015, p. 28.

  96. 96.

    See Chap. 10, infra.

  97. 97.

    See also discussion of IRPA’s role in Sect. 10.2.1, infra.

  98. 98.

    See http://irpa-rugby.com/pdf/irpa-player-advisory-group.pdf available on the irpa-rugby.com website.

  99. 99.

    See IRPA’s website for further details regarding the memorandum of understanding at www.irpa-rugby.com.

  100. 100.

    Ibid.

  101. 101.

    For further discussion of the specific employment arrangements in the Premier League, see Chap. 8 infra; and in the NBA see Chap. 9, infra.

  102. 102.

    See, for example, Szymanski and Zimbalist 2005, Noll 1991, Quirk and Fort 1997, McMillan 1997 and Morgan 2010.

  103. 103.

    See Sect. 10.3, infra.

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    Leanne O’Leary

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O’Leary, L. (2017). Organization and Regulation of the Premier League, NBA and Rugby Union. In: Employment and Labour Relations Law in the Premier League, NBA and International Rugby Union. ASSER International Sports Law Series. T.M.C. Asser Press, The Hague. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-6265-159-3_3

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