Dr Jan Zglinski

This course is available on the Executive Master of Laws (ELLM). This course is not available as an outside option to students on other programmes.

Available to Executive LLM students only. This course will be offered on the Executive LLM during the four year degree period. The Law School will not offer all Executive LLM courses every year, although some of the more popular courses may be offered in each year, or more than once each year.

Please note that whilst it is the Law School's intention to offer all Executive LLM courses, its ability to do so will depend on the availability of the staff member in question. For more information please refer to the Law School website. 

The course introduces students to the governance of sports organisations, the regulatory frameworks under which they operate, and the functioning of the sports justice system. It zooms in on the most pressing contemporary issues in the field, including the role of human rights in sport, the effectiveness of the anti-doping regime, gender and racial equality, climate change, as well as issues surrounding political neutrality and financial sustainability.

The module takes a global approach, assessing the impact of national, regional and international law on the sports landscape. Students will be introduced to the concept of lex sportiva and the jurisprudence of the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS). Examples will be drawn from a wide range of sports, including football, basketball, cricket, athletics, tennis, golf, Formula 1, and the Olympic movement more broadly. Seminars will examine recent legal developments in the field while critically exploring their political, economic and socio-cultural significance.

Topics include:

• Sports Law and Governance
• Sports Autonomy and Regulation
• Sports Justice
• Athletes’ Rights
• Sport and Politics
• Human Rights
• Gender and Racial Equality
• Integrity of Sport
• Financial Sustainability
• Sport and Climate Change

25 hours of seminars in the Summer break.

Courses are taught over 5 days (Mon-Fri) with approximately 5 hours teaching per day. There is a morning and an afternoon session, so 10 sessions in total with the overall contact time being around 25 hours. 

Essay (2000 words).

Students will have the option of completing a formative assessment set by their teacher.

• Foster, ‘Global Sports Law Revisited’ (2019) 17 Entertainment and Sports Law Journal 1
• Belcastro, ‘A Game of Politics? International Sport Organisations and the Role of Sport in International Politics’ (2023) 58 The International Spectator 107
• Goh and Anderson, ‘The Credibility of the Court of Arbitration for Sport’ (2022) 13 Harvard Journal of Sports and Entertainment Law 233
• Boykoff, ‘Toward a Theory of Sportswashing: Mega-Events, Soft Power, and Political Conflict’ (2022) 39 Sociology of Sport Journal 342
• Zglinski, ‘Reforming Football: What the EU Can Do’ (2025) 26 German Law Journal 520
• Heerdt, ‘Tapping the potential of human rights provisions in mega-sporting events’ bidding and hosting agreements’ (2018) 17 International Sports Law Journal 170
• Modi, ‘To what extent is rule 50 of the Olympic charter valid? Balancing athletes freedom of expression and the mythical political neutrality of sport’ (2023) 23 International Sports Law Journal 368
• Krech, ‘Gender Equality in World Athletics: Transnational Norm Development by Private International Organisations’ (2025) 119 American Journal of International Law 1
• Leong, ‘Against Women’s Sports’ (2018) 95 Washington University Law Review 1249
• US Supreme Court, National Collegiate Athletic Association v. Alston, 594 U.S. 69 (2021)

Oral examination (100%).