There are different types of sport sponsorship contracts as follows;

– Sponsorship for individual athletes:

 This is sponsorship for an individual athlete. The sponsor usually supports the sponsored party not for an individual activity or organization, but provides financing or any other support for all activities of the athlete. The athlete as a counter performance undertakes to fulfil some communication tasks usually in the case of image transfer such as a jersey advert.

– Sponsorship for a sports organization:

This is a type of event sponsorship. Here the image is transferred to an organization as against an individual athlete. Hence, you find the logo of the sponsor on advertisement, tickets, t-shirt, jerseys etc.

– Sponsorship for sports teams or sports clubs:

This sponsorship contract is between a sports club and a sponsor. This sponsorship contract covers the aspect of financing, providing outfit, clothes, shoes, sports gear and other sports equipment, or undertaking medical services of a sports club etc. the sponsored party promotes the sponsor by wearing the sport equipment which will have the logo or advert of the sponsor during events like press conferences, matches etc.

– Sponsorship for coaches:

This is a type of sponsorship contract in which the sponsor provides sporting equipment such as clothes, shoes, sports gear in exchange for the transfer of the coach’s image. The coach will wear these clothes or use the equipment during the match, press conference or training sessions thereby promoting the sponsor.

Sports contracts are generally express contracts as they manifest the express will of the parties either in the form of words or spoken through the methods of the offer, acceptance and consideration.

The position of implied contracts in the professional sports industry is quite difficult because it is not possible to prove the implied sports contract.

There are several types of contracts used in the professional sports world by organizations and players/athletes. They are as follows;

-Professional Service Contracts:

These are contracts signed between athletes and sports clubs or entities. These contracts are also known as standard player contracts. They are contracts of a standardized form also referred to as the boilerplate form as formal language is used and can be reused without any major alteration.

-Endorsement Contract:

This kind of contract does not require a relationship of employer and employee. These are contracts related to sponsorship rights and obligations. This contract grants the sponsor the right to use the athlete’s name, image, or likeness in connection with advertising the sponsor’s products or services.

-Appearance Contracts:

 These are contracts that touch on the payment of the player/athlete for his/her appearance in any public event of any organization, institute, or company by way of Contract. Hence, it is a contract between the venue and the athlete.

-Agency Contracts:

These are contracts engaged between the agent(s) and sports persons. The agents usually help in managing the financial and professional life of the athlete.

-Insurance Contracts:

 These are contracts, which regulate the indemnity of a player/athlete in cases of injuries or accidents. Hence, they ensure the safety of the player or athlete.

-Contract of Image Rights:

 This is a contract aimed at protecting the use of the image of the athlete for commercial purposes. These image rights are also known as publicity rights.

-Contract of player transfer:

 These are sports contracts, which deal with the transfer of players from one sports club to another. These types of contracts are quite complex in nature as they cover several other aspects of the sports law to be complete such as employment law in sports, intellectual property transfer, image rights transfer, brand rights transfer, etc.

-Contract of broadcast:

This is a media right contract to broadcast the images of a sports event, sports organization, or sports club. However, each sports organization has its own regulation regarding the sale of its broadcast rights.

-Contract of brand rights:

Very common in sport sponsorship contract deals are contracts over the rights of brands. Most often, the sponsor will ensure that his brand is protected and promoted as best as possible by the sponsored party. This explains the inclusion of a morality clause in the brand protection contract.

In accordance with article 18 of the FIFA statutes of October 2020, no club shall enter into a contract which enables the counter club/counter clubs, and vice versa, or any third party to acquire the ability to influence in employment and transfer-related matters its independence, its policies or the performance of its teams. The FIFA Disciplinary Committee may impose sanctions on clubs that do not observe this provision.

Third-Party ownership of players’ economic rights

No club or player shall enter into an agreement with a third party whereby a third party is being entitled to participate, either in full or in part, in compensation payable in relation to the future transfer of a player from one club to another, or is being assigned any rights in relation to a future transfer or transfer compensation.

The above provision comes into force on 1 May 2015.

Agreements covered by the first paragraph which predate 1 may 2015 may continue to be in place until their contractual expiration. Such contracts may not be extended.

The validity of any agreement covered by the above provision signed between 1^st January 2015 to 30^th April 2015 may not have a contractual duration of more than one year beyond the effective date.

By the end of april 2015, all existing agreements covered by the first paragraph need to be recorded within the Transfer Matching System (TMS). All clubs that have signed such agreements are required to upload them in their entirety, including possible annexes or amendments, in TMS, specifying the details of the third party concerned, the full name of the player as well as the duration of the agreement.

The FIFA Disciplinary Committee may impose disciplinary measures on clubs or players that do not observe the above obligations.

The coordination of physical and sports activities is the responsibility of the ministry in charge of sports. In this respect, it may, in case of serious fault involving the responsibility of a sports association, suspend the activities of the said association or withdraw its approval under the conditions and according to the modalities fixed by regulations.

The ministry in charge of sports shall exercise control over the national Olympic and sports committee of Cameroon and the national Paralympic committee of Cameroon.

Civil sports federations may be created around one or more sports disciplines.

Military, school, university or disabled sports federations bring together associations and members of several sports disciplines.

These associations or licensees may join a civil sports federation of their choice.

The sports federations participate in the execution of a public service mission. As such, they;

• Are in particular in charge of the organization and promotion of physical and sports activities and ensure, in liaison with the administration in charge of sports and the national Olympic committee, the training and improvement of their executives
• Issue sports licences and federal titles.
• Exercise disciplinary powers, in accordance with the laws and regulations in force, as well as the general principles of law, with regard to the sports associations, sports societies that are members and their members.
• Lay down the regulations relating to their discipline and ensure their application as well as that of the rules laid down by the National Olympic Committee or the International Olympic Committee and the international sports bodies to which these federations are affiliated with regard to technical standards.

Sports associations are governed by Law No. 96/09 of 5 August 1996. They may be civil, military, school, university or disabled people’s associations. Their creation and operation are subject to the prior approval of the Minister of Sports.

Their creation and operation shall cease upon withdrawal of the approval of the ministry of sport.

Primary, secondary and higher education establishments, as well as specialized institutions for the disabled, may each have a sports association.

The sports association of higher education institutions shall organize and develop the practice of physical and sports activities in compliance with the laws and regulations relating to higher education.

The sports associations of nursery schools are created on the initiative of each school. School sports associations may form district, departmental or provincial committees among themselves and university sports associations may form sectors and/or development areas.

Civil sports associations may, as the case may be, form districts, leagues or provincial committees within administrative units. Federations shall bring them together on a national scale.

Sports associations shall freely adopt their statutes. These statutes shall be approved by the sports federations with which they are affiliated.

1)     Sponsor

• Provision of finance and services:

The provision of financing or any other support for the sponsored party’s activities is the main obligation of the sponsor in a sport sponsorship contract. These obligations such as the payment of the sponsorship right fee and other contributions in kind like the provision of certain services to the sponsored party are aspects of the main obligation of the sponsor.

• Performance of tasks: There is the aspect of the performance obligation of the sponsor, as he is required to provide certain services to ensure the contract is respected. Failure to provide these services and contribution will lead to a breach of the contract.

2)     Sponsored Party

• Promotion: The sponsored party has as obligation to promote the image, equipment and services of the sponsor.
• Provide an enabling environment for success: It is the obligation of the sponsored party to ensure that best preparation practices are put in place for the success of the sponsored event and advertisement of the logo, information and services of the sponsor.
• Duty to Inform: As the most important element in the sport sponsorship contract is the transfer of image, the sponsor should be informed before the sports activity or organization extensively and should be notified of any changes during the activity.

This company shall adopt the status of a sports company, the purpose, legal status and functioning of which shall be determined by law.

These may involve a breach of the agreement or contract or a simple decision not to renew the contract when it expires.

It is important that the termination clause should clearly define the notice that either party must provide to the other for terminating or extending the endorsement deal.

The termination clause should also provide for final payments owed to the athlete after a notice of termination is issued.

It is important for the sponsor to carefully monitor the compliance with the contract and address any issues with the athlete as soon as they arise because if the athlete has breached his terms severally through bad behaviour without the action of the sponsor to terminate the contract, it will become impossible for the sponsor going forward to suddenly terminate the agreement for reason of bad behavior for he has tolerated same behavior multiple times before.