The legislative novelties of the new Sports Law in Spain

More and more citizens are joining sports practice, being deserving of special attention and its own regulation. For this reason, on January 1st, Law 39/2022, of December 30th, on Sport came into force, with the aim of adapting the current regulations to the current and future socioeconomic reality.

This new regulation is inspired in all its articles by the principle of equality, which must be understood as real equality in access to sports practice and technical and managerial positions, as well as sports practice free of any type of discrimination, especially in the case of girls and women.

Article 4 promotes effective equality in sport, obliging professional leagues and sports federations in our country to have a specific conciliation and co-responsibility plan with specific measures aimed at protecting women in cases of maternity and lactation.

In this same line, with regard to pregnant women with the professionalization of women's football, the regulations establish that contractual clauses that tend to allow or favor the unilateral termination of the contract when they are for reason for maternity or pregnancy of female athletes.

Law 39/2022 grants a series of rights and duties to high-level and performance athletes, included in articles 24, 25 and 26, Second Section. Likewise, the rights and duties of professional athletes are also regulated in articles 27 and 28 of the Third Section.

The new regulations in force also include the protection of the activities that the General Social Security Law (LGSS) confers on the mutual collaborators with the Administration when, to said entities, it is up to them to provide coverage for professional athletes.