On the termination of the professional activity of athletes

Abstract

In this article, legal issues associated with the termination of the professional activity of an athlete are considered. The results obtained show that there are no specific procedures for terminating professional activities in sports, but it does not follow from this circumstance that there is no need to comply with the already established obligations at all. From a legal perspective, an athlete terminates their professional activity when they decide to stop taking part in sports competitions that are specific to professional sports activities. The article draws attention to the fact that an athlete’s refusal to be included in the number of participants, any temporary restrictions on their admission, and their disqualification do not directly confirm the termination of their professional activity. In addition, there is no reason to consider the closure of a sports club or league (federation) as a special basis for terminating an athlete’s activities. The central provision of the Olympic Charter proclaims the right of every person, not only sports organizations or states, to play sports, and the latter must contribute to the realization of this right. Civil law has sufficient tools for leveraging the rules in sports to achieve this important social and humanitarian goal.

Keywords

• sport
• athlete
• athlete’s professional activity
• termination of professional activity
• disqualification