Sports Law 2024 Comparisons

Trafficking of any prohibited substances or use of any prohibited methods is a crime, which can result in a penalty of one to five years in prison. The penalty is increased by a third when the agent intentionally breaches the anti-doping rules. The law also classifies as a crime the administration of prohibited methods and substances, which can result in a penalty of six months to three years in prison. The penalty is increased when the victim is particularly vulnerable, by reason of age, handicap or illness, when deceit or intimidation has been used, or when the offender has taken advantage of a hierarchical, financial, employment or occupational relationship.

Additionally, the law typifies the crime of “criminal association”, meaning that whoever promotes, founds, participates in or supports a group, organisation or association whose purpose or activity is directed towards the practice of one or more of the crimes provided in the Doping Law, shall be punished with a prison sentence of six months to five years.

ADoP

The Portuguese anti-doping organisation is the Autoridade Nacional Antidopagem (ADoP). It is a direct administration of the State, endowed with administrative autonomy, under the authority of the member of the government responsible for the area of sport. It has responsibility for controlling and fighting against doping in sport, as the entity responsible for the doping control procedures, being responsible, in particular, for the implementation of the following anti-doping activities:

• education and information;
• the National Anti-doping Plan;
• maintenance of the registry of the target group of sports practitioners;
• management of the biological passports of sports practitioners;
• performance of doping controls;
• organisation of the analysis of samples collected;
• collecting information and conducting inquiry procedures;
• receiving, reviewing and approving requests for therapeutic use exemptions;
• results management;
• monitoring and verifying compliance with any sanction or measure imposed; and
• any and all other anti-doping-related activity undertaken by AdoP under the World Anti-Doping Code or any other international standard.

Cases

There are not many relevant doping cases in Portugal. Kickboxing is normally the sport with the most cases.

In 2007, the Legal Framework Governing Criminal Liability for Anti-sporting Conduct that is Contrary to the Values of Truth, Honesty and Rectitude and is Likely to Fraudulently Alter Competition Results was adopted.

This law (Law No 50/2007 of 31 August) made significant amendments concerning the fight against corruption in sport initiated by earlier legislation, and the crimes of graft and criminal association associated with sports have been introduced. Another relevant provision was the introduction of criminal liability for corporations and equivalent organisations, within the ambit of sport. Under the previous legislation only natural persons could be punished, so this innovation resolved an important lacuna. A provision was also introduced to reduce the penalty if the offender provides specific assistance in the gathering of decisive evidence for the identification or arrest of other offenders. The penalties were revised and increased by the new law to be in line with those in the Penal Code. The crime of passive corruption, which was previously punishable with a maximum term of imprisonment of two years, is now punishable by a maximum term of five years. The new legislation also provides for the imposition of fines, unlike the previous legislation.

This law was revised in 2017, introducing and criminalising the offering or receiving of undue advantage and unsportsmanlike betting. Innovation in terms of coercive measures was also relevant. Prevention is also pursued through educational programmes on sports ethics, which are mandatory for sports federations that receive public funding.

Betting is not illegal, and it is regulated in Portugal. Decree-Law 422/89 of 2 December 1989 (Gaming Law) established the legal framework for games of chance and other provisions concerning the operation and engagement of skill games in Portugal.

Decree-Law 66/2015 of 29 April 2015 (Online Gambling and Betting Legal Regime) granted a monopoly on online gambling and betting to the State and regulated the conditions for operation of online gambling and betting by private entities. It also defined the sanctions for the illegal operation and offering of online gambling and betting.

Decree-Law 67/2015 of 29 April 2015 attributed the monopoly on land–based sports betting to “Santa Casa da Misericordia” and established the sanctions for the illegal operation and offering of land–based betting.

Sports governing bodies share information with sports betting operators and criminal investigation authorities. There have been cases of football matches where betting operators communicated to the sports authorities strange betting patterns that increased the odds of a specific match and these revelations have led to the cancellation of the event.

The disciplinary regulations of a number of sports also contain details of betting-related offences for relevant individuals.

There have been a few cases of match fixing for betting purposes which have led to civil and criminal prosecutions of individuals (football players and directors) and clubs. There are specific criminal provisions concerning match fixing.

Sports governing bodies, the National Olympic Committee and the National Paralympic Committee have autonomy to define their disciplinary proceedings. A disciplinary proceeding is a prerequisite for sports federations, which hold public powers, when they intend to impose more serious offences and, in any case, when the penalty to be imposed involves a suspension of more than one month, which occurs in relation to doping/integrity/betting offences. In those situations, the federations must:

• comply with the principles of equality, non-retroactivity and proportionality in the imposition of penalties;
• exclude the penalties of permanent disqualification or of disqualification of indefinite duration;
• enumerate the grounds or circumstances, which eliminate, attenuate or aggravate the offender’s liability, and the requirements for the extinction thereof;
• include guarantees of the accused’s rights of defence; ie, that the charge be sufficiently clear with regard to the facts that gave rise to the exercise of disciplinary powers and the requirement that the accused be heard in those cases where the commencement of disciplinary proceedings is necessary; and
• ensure that there is a right of appeal – which is directly to TAD (Tribunal Arbitral do Desporto) – the Portuguese Court of Arbitration for Sport.

Aside from sponsorship and broadcasting rights (see 2.2 Sponsorship and 2.3 Broadcasting for further detail) and exploitation of data rights (see 5.5 Sports Data), all modern types of sport-related rights, including merchandising, ticketing and hospitality and “official supplier” rights, exist in Portugal.

Ticketing

In professional sports competitions the sale of tickets is usually controlled by the relevant league and the clubs must follow very tight rules on distribution of tickets and tax-related issues.

Hospitality and sponsor activities are very common at sports events.

In Portugal, sponsors often use sport to enhance and promote their brand. Access to sports rights-holders’ data must respect data protection regulations, which are very strict.

The key contractual terms of a standard contract between sponsors and sport rights-holders often include:

• exclusivity;
• non-compete provisions;
• right of first refusal;
• termination clauses (behaviour, insolvency, defamation, relegation, doping, disciplinary sanctions, match fixing, etc);
• arbitration clauses and penalty clauses;
• clauses relating to IP rights;
• prohibition of athletes from using competing products or brands in public events;
• prohibition of disclosure of opinions or information that may be harmful to the club or the sponsor;
• prohibition of participation in sporting events linked to competing clubs or sponsored by competing sponsors;
• reservation of the use of the image, name, voice and autograph, etc;
• mandatory presence in sponsors’ campaigns or events; and
• use of sponsors’ brands or products.

In Portugal, broadcasters exploit available broadcasting rights through advertising and subscription services.

Concerning football, Portugal has one of the few leagues where the sale of rights is not centralised and clubs sell their broadcasting rights individually on an exclusive basis. Intellectual property rights in the broadcast are usually assigned to the broadcaster together with the broadcasting rights.

Through Decree-Law No 22-B/2021 of 22 March, the State has established that for professional football competitions (first and second leagues) the sale of the TV rights will be centralised by the 2027–28 season at the latest.

Sporting venues are, as a rule, the property of the entity that operates them. For example, a football club’s stadium is, as a rule, owned by that club. However, in several cases the stadium belongs to the state or the municipality.

In the statutes and regulations of the sports federations and of the single existing professional league (football), ownership of the media broadcasting rights is stipulated. Most of the time, the marketing of those rights is individualised.

Regarding consumer protection, the only legal regime is the following: at the beginning of each season, sports event organisers are required, in advance, to establish the characteristics of the tickets and the maximum and minimum price limits.

The new legal framework governing the fight against violence, racism, xenophobia and intolerance at sports events, approved by Law 39/2009 of 30 July 2009, provides preventive and repressive measures to be adopted by the event organisers.

Simultaneously, the State is responsible for the policing of areas outside enclosed sports locations, but in some cases the event organisers are obliged to request policing as a duty of care, in accordance with the legal framework governing policing within enclosed sports locations, which is found in Decree-Law 216/2012 of 9 October 2012.

The use of private security by event organisers is mainly regulated by Decree-Law 94/2002 of 12 April 2002 which introduced the concept in the context of private security activity and requires that private security be adopted for certain events in enclosed sports locations, in accordance with statutory instrument 1522-C/2002 of 20 December 2002. Statutory Instrument 1522-B/2002 of 20 December defines the specific role of stewards and establishes the circumstances in which they must be used.

No liability can be excluded. Even the promoters of a sports event are objectively liable (irrespective of their fault) for the behaviour of spectators.

Athletes can be liable to spectators for any negligent or intentional conduct.

Among other compulsory measures provided in the law, the following can contribute to keeping events safe from violence and disorder:

• physical separation of supporters in separate areas set aside for them, in both professional and non-professional competitions considered to be high-risk;
• in professional competitions and non-professional competitions deemed to be high-risk, control of ticket sales through mechanical, electronic or electro-mechanical means in order to control the entry flow of spectators, preventing the reuse of tickets and permitting the detection of forged tickets;
• surveillance and control in order to prevent the over-occupation of any part of the enclosed location and to ensure that access is not obstructed;
• prohibition of the sale, consumption and distribution of alcoholic drinks, drugs and psychotropic substances within the inner security perimeter and the adoption of a system to monitor intoxication with alcohol, drugs and psychotropic substances; and
• surveillance of groups of supporters, namely during travel to professional sports competitions, or non-professional sports competitions deemed to be high-risk, which take place other than at the enclosed sports location of the sports event promoter.

In Portugal, sporting bodies are non-profit associations incorporated under the provisions contained in the Portuguese civil code. These associations are controlled by their members according to their own by-laws and to the relevant provisions of the legal regime applicable to sports federations.

The Portuguese Football League is structured in an association model, financially independent with self-management.

According to the applicable law, all professional football teams taking part in professional sports competitions must be incorporated as sports limited liability companies with a minimum share capital defined by law according to the level of the competition.

In terms of sports legislation, in Portugal there is no sport-specific corporate governance code. There are general rules regarding incompatibilities, conflicts of interest and compliance rules.

Concerning specific penalties for the insolvency of sports organisations, such as points deductions, such rules are usually included in the disciplinary regulations of the relevant competition/sport.

In Portugal, sport is mainly funded from central government resources by means of “programme agreements” negotiated and signed with each sports federation.

It is possible for sports organisations to have other revenue streams such as sponsors and patronage but in limited terms as defined in the Tax Incentives Statute. In accordance with the provisions included in the Tax Incentives Statute for sports patronage, companies and individuals that make a donation to a sports entity may benefit from an increase added to the value of that donation, which is deducted from their tax base for personal or corporate income tax, leading to a reduction in the tax payable to the State.

Recent trends in the corporate sports space in Portugal are related to the acquisition of football clubs by foreign funds or groups dedicated to multi-club ownership.

Pursuant to the Portuguese Industrial Property Code, a trade mark may consist of any signs, in particular, words (including names) or designs, letters, numerals, colours, the shape of goods or of the packaging of goods, or sounds, provided that such signs are capable of:

• distinguishing the goods or services of one undertaking from those of other undertakings; and
• being represented on the register in a manner which enables the competent authorities and the public to determine the clear and precise subject matter of the protection afforded to its proprietor.

The Industrial Property Code also defines collective marks that, in some cases, may be applicable in the field of sports.

A collective mark is described as a mark which is capable of distinguishing the goods or services of the members of an association from the goods or services of other undertakings.

Any signs displayed, for instance, on the playing field, on a track, or in stadiums or any other sporting venues owned by companies or associations that fall within the scope of these two definitions should be registered in order to be protected and to allow for exclusive commercial exploitation by the respective holders.

Registering a Trade Mark

Any trade mark related to sporting activity can be registered with National Institute of Industrial Property (INPI), as long as the requirements mentioned above are met.

The registration of any trade mark may be refused under the following circumstances.

• The signs are devoid of any distinctive character.
• The trade marks consist exclusively of signs or indications that have become customary in the current language.
• The sign consists exclusively of:
1. the shape, or another characteristic, which results from the nature of the goods themselves;
2. the shape, or another characteristic, of goods, which is necessary to obtain a technical result; or
3. the shape, or another characteristic, which gives substantial value to the goods.
• Signs consisting exclusively of indications that may serve in commerce to designate the type, quality, quantity, destination, value, geographical origin, time or means of production of the product or the provision of the service, or other characteristics of the same products and services.

Advantages of registering a trade mark

Pursuant to the Portuguese Industrial Property Code, the registration of a trade mark grants the property right and its exclusive use for the products and services related to it for ten years (renewable for equal periods). In other words, it allows the products and services to be distinguished from others available on the market and protects them from any unauthorised use by third parties.

In addition, it allows the owner of the trade mark to license its use to third parties. Thus, it makes it possible for the owner to profit from the licensing (exclusively or non-exclusively) of the trade mark.

Lastly, it allows the owner of the trade mark to easily enforce its rights against any third party that intends to use the registered trade mark.

Notable sports trade marks

In Portugal, it is common for the stakeholders (football clubs, TV broadcasting companies, federations, etc) to register their trade marks.

Sporting Clube de Portugal registered the trade mark EU SOU CAMPEÃO 2020/2021 SCP SPORTING (“I am the Champion 2020/2021 SCP SPORTING”). This trade mark is a good example of the importance of trade mark registration, as it allows the club to control the use of an expression that marks an important date for the club and fans, and profit from the manufacture of merchandise, or licensing to third parties.

The sports channel SPORT-TV has, in Portugal, several trade marks, namely Sport Tv 1, Sport Tv 2, Sport Tv Gaming News, Sport Tv Hd, Sport Tv International, among others.

The sports federations also register trade marks, the oldest registered mark being FPF - Federação Portuguesa de Futebol (“Portuguese Football Federation”) and the most recent one being the Federação Portuguesa de Lohan Tao Kempo (“Portuguese Lohan Tao Kempo Federation”).

Code of Copyrights and Related Rights

In Portugal, there is a Code of Copyrights and Related Rights (or authorship and neighbouring rights, as defined in Portuguese law) which regulates and protects any intellectual creations in the literary, scientific and artistic domains, regardless of their physical support, and the rights of their authors.

Copyright (or authorship right as defined in Portuguese law) is acknowledged, regardless of registration, deposit or any other formality, as of the moment it is created and made concrete.

However, one can register any work to declare and claim the existence of the right with a public office (Inspeção Geral das Atividades Culturaisi, or IAGC). In the case of any legal proceedings, this registration may be valuable as evidence of the date of creation and ownership by the party that has registered it.

This may be of particular relevance for advertisers or broadcasters of sports competitions.

Although the games and sports events are not considered intellectual creations, and thus are not granted copyright protection, TV broadcasting rights are legally protected as a related right under the Code of Copyrights and related rights. Please refer to 5.4 Licensing.

Database Rights

The legal database right is regulated by Decree-law 122/2000 of 4 July. Pursuant to this law, a database is a collection of independent works, data or other materials arranged in a systematic or methodical way and individually accessible by electronic or other means and it is protected by copyright law.

Databases regarding spectator data or data related to sports clubs’ associates or federations’ members are important for statistical studies and the payment or selection of players.

The content of a database is not subject to any legal database right; only the way the database is organised and displayed may be protected by the above-referenced law. The content itself may be regulated by trade secrets law (as defined in the Industrial Property Code) and also by data protection laws, namely the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). Please refer to section 5.6 Data Protection.

In Portugal, image rights are a fundamental personality right, protected by the Portuguese Constitution. As a general rule, it is a personal right and not a patrimonial one.

According to the Portuguese Civil Code, a portrait of a person may not be displayed, reproduced or commercially exploited without their consent. The consent of the person portrayed is not necessary when this is justified by:

• their notoriety;
• the position they hold;
• necessity for police or legal purposes;
• scientific, educational or cultural purposes;
• the reproduction of the image being framed in public places; or
• the public interest.

Furthermore, according to Law 54/2017 of 14 July, which is the law that governs the employment agreements of athletes, they have the right to use their public image linked to the practice of sport and to oppose others using it for commercial exploitation or other economic purposes (without prejudice to the possibility of contractual transfer of the respective commercial exploitation).

In other words, an athlete’s image is widely recognised in Portuguese law, and therefore any athlete may oppose third parties using it, or freely transfer the right to commercially exploit their image. With this in mind, it is common for employment contracts concluded with athletes to cover the transfer of the right to commercially exploit the athlete’s image to their employer.

Notwithstanding this, Law 54/2017 allows for an athlete’s employer to use a collective image including that athlete (eg, a team photo).

Trade marks may be subject to commercial exploitation licences, which may contain certain limits in respect of time, place or other conditions. The licence agreement must be executed in writing and is presumed to be non-exclusive, unless otherwise agreed upon by the parties.

Accordingly, it is common for clubs to grant licences to third parties for the use of the club’s brand in order to promote products or services on these terms, and thus granting not only a form of income but also recognition for the clubs.

TV Broadcasting Rights

Among the main sources of income for sports clubs, especially football clubs, are the contracts that fall under television broadcasting rights. These rights stem from the protection granted by the Code of Copyrights and related rights.

Decree-Law 22-B/2021 introduced new rules regarding the marketing of broadcasting rights for the First and Second Football Leagues. It was determined that:

• television and multimedia broadcasting rights for the seasons following the 2027–28 season will be the object of centralised marketing; and
• the entering into contracts for the assignment of such rights whose duration extends beyond that sports season will not be allowed, in spite of the full effect of the contracts currently in force.

Until now, each football club has been free to assign television rights licences for its matches, without any time limitations. This change results from a recommendation by the Portuguese Competition Authority (Autoridade da Concorrência) and aims to promote competition in the markets for the commercialisation, exploitation and distribution of these rights.

Under the GDPR, athletes’ data can be used to manage the contractual relationship that binds the parties or the contracted services, to manage possible recruitment processes and even to comply with legal obligations.

On the other hand, spectator data is commonly used for statistical and security purposes, to send communications and even to provide products and services (please refer to 5.6 Data Protection).

Spectator data can also be collected for the purpose of ensuring safety at sporting events. A relevant case in Portugal was the controversial creation of the Fan Card (Cartão do Adepto). In 2020, following the implementation of Law 39/2009, which establishes the legal framework to combat violence, racism, xenophobia and intolerance at sports events, the Fan Card was created. This card, issued by the Authority for the Prevention and Combating of Violence in Sport (Autoridade para a Prevenção e o Combate à Violência no Desporto, or APCVD), aimed to restrict access to areas with special conditions of access, to card holders. Thus, staying in these areas, which are usually reserved by clubs for groups of organised supporters (claques), would be dependent on the presentation of a Fan Card.

To obtain this card, a supporter would be required to fill out information containing personal data such as their name and age.

However, after much criticism from football fans and clubs, in 2022 this card was no longer deemed mandatory, and access to these areas is now allowed upon presentation of a photo ID and proof of purchase of a ticket with the name of the holder of the identification document.

In terms of commercial opportunities, sports data, especially data on the number of spectators per game, can be useful for advertising licensees. In this sense, data on the number of fans, their ages and their gender can impact decisions by brands to advertise certain goods or services in the venues where a particular club plays.

In Portugal, Law 58/2019 ensures the execution of the GDPR on the protection of natural persons with regard to the processing of personal data and the free movement of such data.

As there is no specific law for the protection of sports-related data, the general rules apply.

Athletes Data

Clubs and/or national federations collect data from athletes. In the context of the contractual relationship established between the athlete and the club/federation, the personal data is necessary for the execution of a contract to which the data subject is a party.

When data pertaining to special categories is processed, for example, data concerning health or biometric information, this is usually done with the explicit consent of the data subjects, for the fulfilment of legal obligations, for medical purposes, or to evaluate an athlete’s physical capacity.

Supporter Data

Clubs can have a membership system, in which a supporter becomes a member of the club and can participate in decision-making within the club and receive certain benefits.

The club may need to process the member’s personal data for various purposes, including managing the member’s account, advertising services and products or matches/events. Even if not a member, a person may purchase products or services from a club often after giving consent to receiving direct marketing communications.

In Portugal, unsolicited direct marketing communications are regulated by Law 41/2004, which establishes the existence of two grounds for lawfulness that may legitimise the sending of such communications. In 2022, the National Commission for Data Protection published Guidance No 2022/1 on direct marketing electronic communications, in which it clarified that these grounds are the legitimate interest of the controller in promoting its products and services or the consent of the data subjects.

Where there is already an established customer relationship, the controller acts within its legitimate interest if the marketing concerns products or services similar to those previously purchased by the customer. If the marketing concerns products or services other than those previously purchased, or if there is no customer relationship between the data subject and the controller, it is necessary to collect the data subject’s prior and express consent to the sending of such communications.

The judicial national courts currently have a residual role in the resolution of sports disputes in Portugal. Such role can be summarised in the determination of disputes that are connected to labour issues or other disputes that the parties could have submitted to voluntary arbitration, but have opted to use the judicial courts instead.

Indeed, TAD, established in 2015 and modelled along the lines of the Lausanne Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), has specific jurisdiction to determine disputes arising out of the sports legal framework or connected with the practice of sports. This concerns both mandatory arbitration (ie, disputes arising out of acts and omissions of sports federations, professional leagues and/or other sports entities within the scope of their corresponding powers of regulation, organisation, direction and discipline) and voluntary arbitration (which may be used by the parties in order to solve any disputes directly or indirectly connected with the practice of sports that do not fall within the mandatory arbitration framework and that may be subject to arbitration according to the Portuguese Voluntary Arbitration Law).

As a rule, within mandatory arbitration, the parties can only resort to TAD in order to request the determination of appeals of decisions previously issued by the disciplinary or judicial bodies of sports federations. Final decisions issued by other sports entities, such as professional leagues, may also be subject to TAD scrutiny. Therefore, these procedures need to be exhausted before a party can resort to TAD. On the other hand, within voluntary arbitration, the parties do not necessarily need to exhaust the governing bodies’ dispute resolution mechanisms.

As stated in 6.1 National Court System, TAD has specific jurisdiction to determine disputes arising out of the sports legal framework or connected with the practice of sports. This concerns both mandatory arbitration and voluntary arbitration.

TAD procedures are regulated by Law 74/2013 of 6 September 2013 and on a subsidiary basis by the Code of Procedure of the Administrative Courts and by the Code of Civil Procedure.

The Portuguese sports governing bodies (eg, federations, professional leagues and other sports entities) have disciplinary and regulatory powers and other powers of a public nature determined by the Legal Regime of Sports Federations (Decree-Law 248-B/2008 of 31 December).

The parties may appeal to TAD against the sanctions that such sporting bodies apply.

Professional players’ employment contracts are concluded with sports companies (eg, clubs).

A salary cap for professional players does not exist although, regarding football, Portuguese football clubs are obliged to honour the UEFA financial fair play rules, which impact remuneration.

The salary of professional football players who have signed employment contracts must comply with the minimum amounts stipulated in the Collective Bargaining Agreement signed between the Portuguese Professional Football League and the Professional Football Players Union.

Such minimum amounts are regularly updated through an amendment to the Collective Bargaining Agreement, published in the Ministry’s Employment and Labour Bulletins.

Also, in Portugal all employees are guaranteed a minimum monthly wage, the amount of which shall be established yearly by special legislation. As of 1 January 2023, the minimum monthly wage for the continental part of Portugal is EUR760.

Sports employment contracts are governed by Law No 54/2017 of 14 July 2017 (Law 54/2017), which stipulates the legal rules governing employment relationships between clubs and employed athletes.

According to such rules, the sports employment contract is a fixed-term contract whose duration varies, as a rule, between a minimum of one and a maximum of five sporting seasons.

Law 54/2017 stipulates that the athlete’s participation in the competitions of a sports federation depends on the prior registration of the employment contract with that sports federation.

Sports employment contracts may only be terminated upon expiry, by agreement between the parties, upon dismissal with cause at the employer’s initiative, termination with cause by the athlete, termination of a trial period and termination by the athlete if contractually agreed.

The parties to the sports employment contract may stipulate the athletes’ right to terminate the sports employment contract in force unilaterally and without just cause, upon payment to the employer of an indemnity for this purpose.

The Portuguese Labour Code (approved by Law 7/2009 of 12 February, subsequently amended), is subsidiarily applicable to sports employment contracts.

Disputes regarding the discussion of the existence of just cause for termination by the employer of a sports employment contract or by the athlete to terminate the same often arise.

In January 2022, the Lisbon Appeal Court (Tribunal da Relação de Lisboa) confirmed the decision of TAD that sentenced a former player of Sporting Clube Portugal SAD, Rafael Leão, to pay an indemnity of EUR16 million to Sporting Clube Portugal SAD due to his having terminated his sports employment contract alleging the existence of just cause following an attack of the fans of Sporting Clube Portugal SAD on its training academy. TAD did not confirm the existence of such just cause and for that reason sentenced the former player to indemnify Sporting Clube Portugal SAD.

Presently, there are no limits regarding foreign players in clubs competing in the First and Second Football Leagues.

However, Portuguese professional football clubs are subject to the regulations of the Portuguese Football Federation, which stipulate that clubs must include at least eight locally trained players. In the case of clubs with B teams, the minimum number of locally trained players is ten. A locally trained player is considered to be one who is registered with the Portuguese Football Federation for a period corresponding to three sports seasons between the ages of 15 and 21, inclusive.

Nationals of the European Economic Area (EEA) are entitled to enter, live and work in Portugal without any special requirement or formality other than having a valid identity card or passport since there is a principle of equal treatment between Portuguese employees and EEA national employees.

Citizens from a third state (ie, not EEA nationals) must hold a residence visa to perform any dependent or independent activity in Portugal. The application for a residence visa must be filed with the Portuguese Consulate where the applicant resides and must be approved prior to the applicant’s entry into Portugal.

It is early days for esports in Portugal. Whilst the industry is growing and there are two projects for new esports federations in Portugal, there are not many organised competitions yet, nor are there official national competitions.

The government and sports bodies are studying the matter, but Portugal has not yet recognised esports as a sport as there is still some resistance.

Since esports are not formally recognised as a sport in Portugal, this means that sports legislation and its specific regulations do not apply to esports.

Specific sports legislation in areas such as federations, national teams and national titles; infrastructure and sports events; professional players; sports ethics legislation (including doping, violence, corruption and match fixing); and sports-related litigation, do not apply to esports. This means that general law provisions must be applied and interpreted with regard to the specifics of esports.

Women’s sport has developed and grown over recent years in Portugal.

Specifically in football, according to the first study, dated March 2021, developed by the recently created Observatório de Futebol de Portugal of the Portuguese Football Federation, women’s football is growing strongly with an increase of 181% in federated players in the last ten seasons (ie, season 2010–11 had 3,437 women football players and season 2019–20 had 9,662 women football players).

The Associação Portuguesa Mulheres e Desporto is a women’s rights organisation that was registered in 1998 and aims to promote the equality and participation of women at all levels and in all functions and spheres of competence in Portugal.

2021 was marked by the appearance in Portugal of some pioneering and emblematic projects in the “Web3” context, such as the NFT marketplace of Santa Casa de Misericórdia de Lisboa, a centenary entity of the public utility Artentik, which only accepts payment in crypto-assets.

In the sports industry, it is worth mentioning:

• the partnership between the start-up Realfevr, the Portuguese Football Federation and the Portuguese League, allowing football fans to buy, collect and trade NFTs linked to videos of memorable football moments; and
• the partnership between Porto Football Club (FC Porto) and Binance which provides for the sale of NFT mystery boxes to FC Porto token fans.

The regulatory framework applicable to NFTs is gradually being clarified, with regulators and supervisors (both on the possible application of financial legislation and the existence and extent of KYC duties imposed by AML legislation) allowing a relevant framework of legal certainty to be applicable to the sector. A case-by-case analysis on the qualification of NFTs to be distributed to the public is nonetheless required.

New markets for NFTs are expected to emerge in collectables and digital artworks, with new and innovative specific features. NFTs also have other possible applications, from investment in physical assets to identity management and sovereign identity, from which the sports industry might benefit in the near future.

The impact of Brexit has not been felt much in terms of mutual recognition of diplomas, the limitation of the number of foreign athletes (non-EU citizens) in teams, or in terms of international transfers and homegrown rules. Since in individual sports the law only allows Portuguese citizens to be national champions, the consequences are null. Also, in terms of sports equipment sponsorship or company activity, no effect has been felt.

AI has been gradually implemented in the Portuguese Sports industry, mainly in connection with performance analysis and optimisation strategies. This dynamic has been complemented by the development of local companies and products that connect AI and sports. Just recently, Full Venue, which presents itself as an innovative AI company in the sports and events technology sector and is based in Lisbon has announced the successful closing of its seed round, securing EUR2,000,000 in funding. Many sports organisations have also been seeking to implement AI tools also as ways to increase sales and improve profitability as a fundamental component of their business model. No specific legislation has been adopted so far, but key actors expect that the European AI Act will change the sector.

The application of the Metaverse to sports is still largely unexplored in Portugal. There have been occasional partnerships between sports organisations and companies in that sector, notably between Futebol Clube do Porto and Upland, but the consensus is that the potential of the technology has not yet been reached. After a slower year for Metaverse-related activities in 2023, some expect a stronger global market in 2024 following legislative developments at the European level.