Law
Over the last few years, top professional sports have made remarkable progress. Not much is left of the original idea of amateurism, which may have still prevailed at the founding of the modern Olympic Games in 1894. The increased presence in the media and the commercialization of high-performance sports have caused sports to be regarded as a professional field and economic factor.
The professionalization of sports as well as athletes' dependence on financial success and social acceptance entails the risk of failure. Developments with damaging effect on the image of sports have often been completely ignored or played down, partly as a result of federations, sponsors and media representatives pursuing their own varying interests. Only now that sports law has been internationalized is it ensured that sports legislation is fairly consistent.
This menu item provides an overview of the national and international legal situation. No claim is made to being exhaustive, however.