The FA has today (12 February 2021) published the written reasons in the case of The FA v Nathaniel Mendez-Laing. This case concerned charges brought by The FA against the Player under The FA Anti-Doping Regulations 2019-20 (“19-20 ADR”), following the Player having provided a urine sample after his match for Cardiff City FC against Bristol City FC on 4 July 2020 which subsequently tested positive for metabolites of cocaine. Mr Mendez-Laing was represented by Simon Barker of the PFA, Phil Hutchinson of Mills & Reeve and Thomas Horton of 3 Hare Court. The Player was notified of his ant ..read more

On 1 December 2020, The Home Office approved the revised entry requirements for overseas players post Brexit. These requirements, in the form of the Governing Body Endorsement (GBE) regulations, were formulated by The FA, in consultation with the Premier League and the English Football League (“2021 GBE Rules”). In a nutshell, after the end of the transition period following the  UK’s departure from the EU effective 1 January 2021, all non-UK nationals – including EU nationals – will be subject to The FA’s new GBE criteria before they are granted clearance to transfer to an English footba ..read more

Football, as is the case with most activity around the world, has been brought to a halt while governments focus on combating the COVID-19 outbreak. On 7 April 2020, FIFA issued circular no. 1714 (the “Circular”), with the aim of providing guidance and recommendations to member associations and their stakeholders to (a) mitigate the consequences of the disruptions caused; and (b) ensure that the response is as consistent as possible, across the footballing community. The Circular has therefore introduced guidelines with immediate effect, which contain certain clarifications, amendments and/or ..read more

The SportsTech 10 is Mills & Reeve’s series of ten question interviews with some of the most important stakeholders and disruptors in the SportsTech ecosystem. This will include investors, start-ups and purchasers of cutting-edge technology utilised in the sports industry, all of whom are clients or good friends of the firm. For the fourth interview in our series, we were delighted to meet up with Alex Zurita, one of London’s best-known (and best liked!) SportsTech experts and evangelists, at the ‘House of Sport’ in Borough. The House of Sport is a co-working space and home to a num ..read more

For British sports fans, the on-field highlights of 2019 will live long in the memory. Those Ben Stokes Headingly and Lord’s miracles. Heartache for our fabulous Lionesses. That semi-final annihilation of the All Blacks in Yokohama. Some of the major developments in SportsTech and Media were just as spectacular. Some heavy hitters got involved in the fiercely contested streaming wars. 5G networks were launched in the UK. Artificial intelligence has begun to change the face of the industry. However, despite the major advances in technology, it feels like the industry is in flux. Sports TV au ..read more

The SportsTech Ten is Mills & Reeve’s series of ten question interviews with some of the most important stakeholders and disruptors in the SportsTech ecosystem. This will include investors, start-ups and purchasers of cutting-edge technology utilised in the sports industry, all of whom are clients or good friends of the firm. For our fourth interview in the series, we are thrilled to share the insights of a genuine international SportsTech Godfather, Nick Maywald. Nick is the Group CEO and Chairman of the new SportsTech venture, Atrium Sports, and globally recognised as a leading sports i ..read more

The SportsTech 10 is Mills & Reeve’s series of ten question interviews with some of the most important stakeholders and disruptors in the SportsTech ecosystem. This will include investors, start-ups and purchasers of cutting-edge technology utilised in the sports industry, all of whom are clients or good friends of the firm. For our third interview in the series, we focus on the fast-emerging Nordic SportsTech scene, and in particular the various and impressive initiatives led by Carsten Couchouron, who is based in Copenhagen. Carsten has had a long and distinguished career in sports to ..read more

What is eRacing? Via the computer software ‘Zwift’ and a bike hooked up to a ‘turbo trainer’ (a kind of rolling road) competitors virtually race each other on time trial courses without having to leave the comfort of an air-conditioned room. The software recognises how fast the athlete is peddling and their virtual avatar inches around the course in tandem. Zwift regularly host a weekly ‘Super League’ series whereby athletes from all over the world compete virtually, the event is live-streamed and watched by thousands of people. Zwift state that at peak participation approximately 13,000 pe ..read more

In the last week of September 2019, FIFA announced two significant changes to its regulatory regime, namely: a mandatory cap on agent commissions (as part of their proposed re-regulation of agent activity); and the regulation of the loan system. These changes were discussed in detail by Mr Emilio García Silvero, Chief Legal Officer at FIFA at the International Congress on Football Law held in Madrid, which was attended by members of the Mills & Reeve sports law team. In an article for LawInSport, a leading online sports law publication, Tiran Gunawardena and Rustam Sethna of the Mills & ..read more

The SportsTech Ten is Mills & Reeve’s series of ten question interviews with some of the most important stakeholders and disruptors in the domestic SportsTech ecosystem. This will include investors, start-ups and purchasers of cutting-edge technology utilised in the sports industry, all of whom are clients or good friends of the firm. For our second interview in the series, Julian Moore caught up with leading VR & AR expert, Rupert Harris, in the tranquil (and incongruously) old world setting of the Somerset House courtyard. Rupert is the founder of Animal Vegetable Mineral, a leading ..read more