What Do We Determine in the Initial Assessment?
A sports club and a sports joint-stock company are different legal structures. The founding and governance documents, federation registration, authority to represent and financial obligations are reviewed together. The transfer of a share or a facility does not mean that the right to take part in competition is transferred automatically.
Sports clubs and sports joint-stock companies
Law No. 7405 on Sports Clubs and Sports Federations provides special obligations for sports clubs and sports joint-stock companies in the areas of registration, management, financial structure, audit, borrowing and liability. The sporting goals of a club must be planned together with the rules of corporate governance and financial sustainability.
Scope of services:
- Establishment and registration of a sports club and procedures in the Sports Information System (Spor Bilgi Sistemi)
- Establishment and registration of a sports joint-stock company and drafting of its articles of association
- Registration of a sport and procedures for adding a branch
- Preparing the club statute, internal directive, disciplinary rules and authority matrices
- Legal review of general assembly and board meetings
- Electronic general assembly and management processes
- Disputes over the annulment and validity of resolutions of the organs of a club or sports joint-stock company
- Liability of managers, authority to represent, borrowing and spending transactions
- Obligations concerning books, records, notifications, returns and audit
- Merger, transfer of assets, restructuring, dissolution and liquidation
- Relationships with subsidiaries, affiliates and economic enterprises
- Fan membership, dues, expulsion from membership and disputes within the club
Sports federations and governing bodies
The statutes, instructions, elections, boards, discipline, licensing and organizational procedures of sports federations are reviewed within the framework of Law No. 7405, the regulations of the relevant federation and the rules of the international federation.
Services in this area:
- Preparing or reviewing a federation’s main statute, instructions and internal regulations
- General assembly, elections, delegate status, candidacy and resolutions of organs
- Procedures of management, audit, disciplinary and other boards
- Licensing processes for athletes, coaches, referees, clubs and organizations
- Regulatory relationships between the national federation and the international federation
- Administrative procedures before the Ministry and the relevant public institutions
- Objection, arbitration and judicial routes against federation decisions
- Corporate governance, ethics and conflict-of-interest policies in sports federations
Club licensing, financial sustainability and financing
In the participation of clubs in leagues and competitions, sporting, infrastructure, personnel, legal and financial criteria may apply together. Team spending limits and licensing criteria must be checked against the current text because of seasonal regulations.
Scope of services:
- Compliance with national and international club licensing criteria
- Financial sustainability, borrowing and budget limits
- Overdue debts, pay, tax and social security obligations
- Denial of a license, point deductions, transfer bans and other sanctions
- Club financing, credit, security and revenue assignment agreements
- Use of broadcasting, sponsorship, ticket and merchandise revenue in the financing structure
- Restructuring, concordat and management of financial crises
Sports investments, club transfers and legal due diligence
In an investment in a sports club, a sports joint-stock company, an academy, a facility or a sports technology venture, sports registration, federation relationships, contracts, debts, facility rights and sporting sanctions must be reviewed in addition to company records.
Scope of services:
- Legal due diligence for the buyer or seller in sports investments
- Share transfers, capital increases and investment agreements
- Control and use relationships between a club and a sports joint-stock company
- Reviewing multi-club ownership and conflict-of-interest rules
- Federation, league and competition law approvals
- Sports facility, academy and technology investments
- Joint ventures, revenue sharing and investment exit agreements
- Manager liability and risks from past debts
Priority Checks for Managers and Investors
The basis of the general assembly and board resolutions, signing authority, borrowing transactions, obligations from past periods and federation records are compared. The liability of a manager cannot be described as an automatic and unlimited personal payment obligation for every debt; the specific act, the loss and the relevant liability provision are assessed.
Before an investment, the company registry alone is not enough. The status of the license, sporting sanctions, transfer obligations, security, facility use rights and related-party transactions are reviewed. Financial reports are prepared by authorized financial experts; the legal review and the contract structure are handled by our firm. Seasonal monetary limits and the license application calendar are verified on the date of the transaction.
Are a Club and a Sports Joint-Stock Company the Same?
No. Under Law No. 7405, the establishment, organ and registration processes are different. The club’s share and control relationship in the company, and the federation registration of the sport, are reviewed separately.
Our Approach in This Area
We handle the statute, articles of association, organ resolutions and signing authority together with the federation records. In a file on debt, licensing and investment, we identify missing records and explain the limits of the legal review in relation to the work of the financial expert.
As Güneş & Güneş Law Firm, from our Antalya office we plan files across Türkiye according to the conditions of jurisdiction and representation. Acceptance of the matter, fees and separate expenses, and the method of keeping you informed are determined in advance. For matters with a foreign element, communication is available in Turkish, English, German and Russian; the need for local representation in a foreign country is assessed separately.
Information Needed at the First Meeting
Prepare the sport, your capacity as a party, the contract and, if there is one, all pages of the decision. Mention the notification record and the date of the upcoming competition, transfer or defense in your first contact. File-specific documents, secure sharing and the method of representation are clarified at the meeting.