Sports Law in 2026 – Key Issues to Watch in U.K. & Ireland

Here are the top sports law issues to watch out for in 2026 in the UK and Ireland from the LawInSport Editorial & Advisory Board.  We hope this proves useful not only in identifying specific cases and issues, but also in detecting broader themes when read in conjunction with the contributions from other jurisdictions.

Contributors:

• Daniel Geey, Partner, Sheridans Sports Group
  • The Football Club Ownership Landscape
• Louis Weston, Barrister, Outer Temple Chambers
  • Football, Safeguarding…and Scams
• Tim O’Connor BL, Practising Barrister, Irish Bar
  • Data Protection Issues
  • Transgender Sport and For Women Scotland 2
• Danielle Sharkey, Senior Associate, Wiggin LLP
  • Independent Football Regulator
  • WADA Code 2027 Updates for Athletes and Governing Bodies
• Mark Hovell, Partner, Mills & Reeve LLP
  • Tail End of the Premier League’s PSR Cases as New SCR Regime Kicks In
• Chris Anderson, Head of Regulatory Affairs, City Football Group
  • The evolution of football’s Independent Financial Regulator
• Mark James, Professor of Sports Law and Director of Research, Manchester Law School
  • The Impact of President Donald Trump
• Rupert Beloff, Barrister & Joint Head of Chambers, 4-5 Gray’s Inn Square
  • Football Regulation
  • Athlete Equality
• Alex Kelham, Partner, Lewis Silkin LLP (assisted by Giorgia Merighi & Helen Hart)
• Football Regulation (IFR)
• Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024
• Technology and Data: EU AI Act

We would like to thank each member of our Editorial and Advisory Board for taking the time out of their busy schedules to share their views with us, and also more broadly for their significant input into LawInSport over the course of the year. Thank you.