An Introduction: Sports
is crucial to the lifeline of a nation and its people; it gives equivalent
ground to everyone be it a strong country or a poor one. It gives the society
to express themselves, to show the talent they possess. Unlike War which brings
destruction, death, gloom, and sorrow, Sports have the power to bring joy,
camaraderie, and mend relations and if used properly, Sports can be the most
effective way to bring peace and development.
"It is hard to
fathom that mankind has always persisted in adopting the most destructive
method available to conquer, the war, rather than the cheapest and most
economical method of spreading love and affection, Sports "
Countries understand
the impression that sport brings on the community at large and probably this
has been the prime reason they have used this as an efficacious mode of getting
the desired results. Sometimes it has been to give a message of friendship like
India and Pakistan did in 1999 with Cricket series and later in 2004, 2005, and
2006 to reduce the stiffness in their relations.[1]
Sometimes it has been
used as a tool to showcase supremacy, especially during the Cold War when the
United States of America (USA) and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics
(USSR) engaged in the bittersweet battle of hegemony on the sports field.[2]
The Sports turned out
to be more than healthy competition between the two blocks. The Olympics and
International Sports became more than sports or national pride, it became a
race to showcase that their ideologies and their system were better than the others.
The tension reached the tipping point with the Capitalist countries boycotting
Moscow Olympics in 1980[3]
while the Socialist nations in retaliation boycotted Los Angeles Olympics in
1984. A point to fathom is that it is hard to separate politics from sports.
The USSR dominated the Olympics
In India politics and
sports have been intertwined with each other since the organized sports began,
almost all the administrators belong to the political, business or the ruling
dynasties of Maharajas. While it is said the medals are won on the field, but
it is also as true that the planning of such medals is made off the field, this
is a prime reason why country with set of able administrators, effective
planning and good established sports regulations perform well ahead than the
others.
Sports
Law: Sports Law is still in
the developing stage; the new offshoot of the legal world has developed post
2010. In the past decade or so the regime has grown significantly both in terms
of education and regulation as well. The prime reason is the influx of money in
the Sports; the Sports market is expected to touch 680.4 billion US Dollars by
2028[4]. The appetite of the
spectators to consume the sports program has meant the relentless supply of the
product.
If we analyse the
reason of the growth of Sports Law, there would be numerous factors which would
contribute to its widening scope:
1.
Soaring
Revenue in Sports
2.
Rise
in the interest of the common masses especially women in sports which have
broadened the base of viewership
3.
Widening
reach of Broadcast media which have ensured that the telecast reaches to larger
number of audiences.
4.
Larger
pool of career options available in Sports example : players, umpires, coaches,
experts, analyst, support staff, data analyst, commentator, broadcaster, sports
agent, sports lawyer, sports law professors or instructors
5.
Entry
of big corporations in the sports sector
6.
Awareness
of common public about working of sports federations
Sports Regulations:The Current situation of
Sports regulations differs from country to country. There are a few countries
that have established dedicated laws for Sports but the majority of the others
still use a combination of multiple laws (like labour law, contract, torts law,
criminal laws, competition law, etc) which are used to tackle the problems or
issues arising from the sports. It is a prime reason why these countries are
unable to tackle sports-related problems when the parties to the dispute
approach the courts. In the absence of Sports legislation, the court has to
look at the plethora of other laws which at times result in unsatisfactory
results to these cases. legislations, court has to look at the plethoras of
other laws which at times result in unsatisfactory result to these cases.
Unsatisfactory resolution of the
1.
Sexual discrimination
2.
Gender injustice
3.
Corruption charges
4.
Apathy in administration
5.
Lack of transparency
6.
Inconsistent allotment of
work tenders
7.
Doping allegations[5]
8.
Dubious Election
procedures and appointment of office bearers
It is a prime reason why the problems that can
be resolved continue to deflate the players, people involved in sports as they
know the solution might not arrive so easily.
India's campaigns at the Olympics have largely been dry
So, can Sports Law resolve it? While there is no assurance that a Sports
Law established only for Sports will solve the entire problem for there cannot
be a perfect law, it however would put courts, authorities and the sports
administration to tackle the issues and legal problems pertaining to sports, in
a better position.
Beyond Sports dispute resolution, Sports Law
can help in better planning (both short and long-term planning) establishing
accountability of those in charge of the sports federation, efficient funds,
and revenue management. It also includes planning for organizing events,
preparation for the same above all laying down schemes for winning medals and
trophies in global events.
Countries having Sports Law perform better: United States of America (USA), the Union of
Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR), Russian Federation, Croatia, China, France,
and Australia are some of the countries that have established Sports Act or
Sports Code specifically for the Sports. The performance of these countries in
International Sports are evident of why any nations requires dedicated laws.
To write detailed achievements these countries
would be difficult, but their Olympic performance will vocalize about their glories
at the highest summit in modern sports
Summary of Medals at Summer Olympics (1896-2020)[6]
|
No |
Country |
Gold |
Silver |
Bronze |
Total |
|
1 |
USA |
1061 |
830 |
738 |
2629 |
|
2 |
USSR |
440 |
357 |
325 |
1122 |
|
3 |
Russian Federation |
213 |
196 |
205 |
614 |
|
4 |
Australia |
164 |
173 |
210 |
547 |
|
5 |
France |
223 |
251 |
277 |
751 |
|
6 |
China |
263 |
199 |
174 |
636 |
|
7 |
Croatia |
14 |
13 |
14 |
41 |
Situation in India: Sports have always been at back pedestal for
India, both as society and country. In first three decades (1947-1982) India
focused its energy on other sectors of priorities, the condition of most of the
sports were not amicable. It was the Delhi Asiad games in 1982 and subsequent
win in 1983 Cricket world cup that ensured the government took up sports with
seriousness. Sports however was still not perceived as top career choice by
Indian society, Indian parents were not ready to allow their wards to pursue a
sports career. It was prime reason that even by the turn of the century, India
had poor record in sports as major pool of talent never looked at sports as
their career option.
Things had started to change with turn of the
millennium with India's performance improving considerably. India's improved
standing as a country especially in economic terms, a society which has become
more progressive, thankfully to the increased rate of literacy and better money
available in the game are few of the reasons for its development. On the other
hand India introduced "National Sport Development Code, 2011" with an
aim to have better governance in the sports bodies but it wouldn't be wrong to
say that it had not been able to do much in terms of achieving the goal of
better governance.
Why Should India aim to have a complete law for
Sports? Sports today has changed considerably, there
is a huge amount of money, millions of followers and their emotions involved,
countries' prestige on lines at times, broadcasters and corporate houses invest
large sum of money, and last but not
least players' interest demand government to ensure that sports is governed
with regulation that ensure development, proper treatment of stakeholders and
good results.
There are a number of reasons why India should
bring Sports Legislation
1.
Good Governance[7]: While
things have changed quite a bit since the introduction of the National Sports
Development Code 2011[8] the issue is that the old
stalwarts who have been in control of these federations have found a way to
control them through their candidates, the problem lies in the way the
elections are conducted in these federations which means selection through
lobbying rather than on basis of skill, or qualifications, a major reason why
the questions are raised frequently on good governance of sports associations.
2.
Dispute resolution process: One of the major issues in Indian sports is there
is no proper platform for the parties for the dispute resolution. In such
cases, they have to approach the courts directly which means a long cumbersome
process. The Court also has different challenges to face, as they have to look
to other laws for solutions to the problem in the absence of Sports legislation
in the country. This has at times deterred the weaker parties in case of any
disputes. It has also meant sports associations that are mainly powerful
generally go scot-free.
3.
Short and Long-term planning: In order to succeed, it is pertinent that any
sports must plan both in short-term and long-term planning. Seldom can we see
sports associations putting a long-term plan for sports. It results in
haphazard selections, undercooked training, poor results, and feeling of
abhorrence among stakeholders’ post-event when reasons of failures are
reflected upon. One of the main reasons for this situation is the lack of
apathy from the administrators, those in charge are mainly from political or
business backgrounds. While it is not a necessity that sports people will be
good administrators and businessmen or politicians will be incapable. Some of
the most efficient administrators (Jagmohan Dalmiya, and Indrajit Singh Bindra
in Cricket) have been businessmen.[9] However, these people
have ensured the rise of revenue, and broadcasting in sports but performance on
the field requires different planning.
4.
What Should Sports Law constitute off: There are number of things for which Sports
Legislation is required? Some of very important aspects which can be covered
are
i)
Tacking gender
discrimination
ii)
Pay parity in sports
iii)
Doping related issues
iv)
Regular and clean
elections
v)
Good governance
vi)
Grievance redressal
mechanism
vii)
Doping related issues
viii)
Tenure and eligibility of
office bearers
ix)
Financial accountability
of the federations
x)
Broadcasting related
issues
xi)
Transparency in allotment
of tenders
Beyond these issues which generally pertain to
the legal issues, there are number of other issues for which a sports
legislation is required like
i)
Protection of interest of
the spectators
ii)
Long term planning for
the International events like Olympics
iii)
Planning for events like
Commonwealth, Asiad games, World Cup of respective sports
iv)
Protection of interest
of staff at federations, ground staff
and other such categories of employees and staff
Conclusion: The modern times have brought numerous changes to the world of sports.
The biggest revelation has been the turn of sports into professional business,
where huge finances are at stake, compounded with ever-increasing awareness of
the public means that the institutions and the people in charge of running the
sports in our country shall be more accountable. This can happen only when
India brings in a law that is dedicated to sports only, a legislation that can
ensure that sports shall not be treated as the second fiddle to other career
options.
Other References
Ø The Emergence of
Sports Law Manisha Sudarshan Bharathi Vidyapeeth Deemed University New Law
College, Pune Maharashtra, India+
Ø What Is Sports Law?
Timothy Davis, Marquette Sports Law review, Volume 11, Issue 2 Spring, 2001
Ø Paul c. Weiler &
Gary r. Roberts, Sports and the Law, 1993
Ø Cold War sport, film
and propaganda: A comparative analysis of the superpowers By Tony Shaw and
Denise J. Youngblood, oai:uhra.herts.ac.uk:2299/19831
Ø Pop, Cristiana.
(2017). Olympic Games in Time of Cold War. LUMEN Proceedings. 1. 623-633.
10.18662/lumproc.rsacvp2017.57.
Ø https://online.adelphi.edu/articles/male-female-sports-salary/
[1] Analyzing India –Pakistan cricket diplomacy ,
Youth Policy review, 11th February 2022
[2] Cold War Politics and
Sports Ice Hockey Competitions and the Image of the USSR in Western Mass Media,
Author:Oscar Angestav Supervisor: Anastassia Obydenkova Uppsala University
[3] Boycotts
of Moscow 1980 & Los Angeles 1984: Two different approaches -Same result,
David Grassi, Universita Telematica San Raffale
[4]
https://www.statista.com/statistics/370560/worldwide-sports-market-revenue/
[5] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6311632/
[6] "Factsheet
- The Games of the Olympiad" (PDF).
International Olympic Committee. 16 November 2021.
[7]
https://library.oapen.org/bitstream/id/396a8ec9-13d6-494e-9075-14cd98716c2d/9781000479515.pdf
[8] National Sports Development Code 2011
https://yas.nic.in/sites/default/files/File918.compressed.pdf
[9] Dalmiya, a Businessman Who Brought Money Into Indian
Cricket, Veturi Srivatsa, The Wire , 22nd September 2015
Comments
Post a Comment