Unlucky Article 13 – the difficulties facing junior UAE footballers when signing their first professional contract
This article examines the United Arab Emirates (UAE) Football Associations (UAEFA) Regulations on the Status and Transfer of Players (RSTP). More particularly, Article 13 of the UAEFA RSTP is proving controversial at present for two main reasons:
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It obliges amateur junior players, upon turning 18 years old, to sign their first professional contract with the same club at which the players had been training;
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It only applies to UAE nationals, not to a new category of “non-UAE citizens” (namely children of Emirati mothers, expats born in the UAE, and expats resident in the UAE for at least the past 3 years) who are now permitted to compete in domestic sports pursuant to a 2018 UAE Cabinet Resolution.
We discuss each point in turn.
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- Tags: Athlete Welfare | Dispute Resolution | Employment | FIFA | Football | Governance | Middle East | Regulation | Regulations on the Status and Transfer of Players (RSTP) | UAE Football Association (UAEFA) | United Arab Emirates (UAE)
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Written by
Daniel Magdi Louis
Associate, Al Tamimi
Daniel is an Associate in Al Tamimi & Company’s Corporate Sports Law & Events Management practice group, based in the Dubai office. He is qualified in Egypt and has a wide array of experience representing clients in contentious and non-contentious matters relating to sports, employment and commercial law. His practice includes representing high-profile professional athletes, coaches, intermediaries, clubs and sports governing bodies. A key focus of Daniel’s practice is the representation of athletes and clubs before dispute resolution and arbitration committees within national sports federations, regional sports federations, international sports federations and the Court of Arbitration for Sports in matters relating to transfer agreements, intermediaries, anti-doping, match fixing and disciplinary sanctions.
Adam Powell
Al Tamimi, Head of Corporate Commercial – Ras Al Khaimah
Adam qualified in the UK as a solicitor in 2001 and practiced in London as a corporate commercial lawyer until 2015, when he transferred to Al Tamimi & Company in the United Arab Emirates to head the corporate commercial practice in the Ras Al Khaimah office.
Adam has a wide array of regional experience in drafting and negotiating commercial contracts and documentation relating to the sports and events management sector, having acted for local government and private entities on a significant number of matters relating to sports and events, from joint venture arrangements, sponsorship and promotor agreements, licensing and merchandising, to venue/facilities management arrangements.
In 2017, Adam spent a number of months on secondment at Yas Marina Circuit (Abu Dhabi Motorsports Management LLC) supporting the central legal function of the iconic F1 venue and island entertainment facilities.
Te: +971 7 233 3841
