Sourav Bhuiyan Development of Sports Law

A THESIS ON
DEVELOPMENT OF SPORTS LAW IN BANGLADESH:

PRESENT STATUS AND FUTURE ROAD MAP
SOURAV BHUIYAN
THIS THESIS IS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF

THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF
LAWS (LLM)
DEPARTMENT OF LAW
FACULTY OF SECURITY & STRATEGIC STUDY (FSSS)
BANGLADESH UNIVERSITY OF PROFESSIONALS (BUP)
MARCH 2021
COPYRIGHT BANGLADESH UNIVERISTY OF PROFESSIONALS

(BUP)
A THESIS ON
DEVELOPMENT OF SPORTS LAW IN BANGLADESH:

PRESENT STATUS AND FUTURE ROAD MAP
SOURAV BHUIYAN
STUDENT ID: 2042361010
BATCH: LLM 2020
SECTION: A
SESSION: 2019-2020
PROGRAM: LLM
THIS THESIS IS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF

THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF
LAWS (LLM)
DEPARTMENT OF LAW
FACULTY OF SECURITY & STRATEGIC STUDIES (FSSS)
DHAKA, BANGLADESH
MARCH 2021
COPYRIGHT BANGLADESH UNIVERISTY OF PROFESSIONALS

(BUP)
Master of Laws (LLM)/ i
Dept. of Law, FSS, BUP
DECLARATION
I hereby declare that the research paper entitled “Development of Sports Law in
Bangladesh: Present Status and Future Road Map” is my own work, and to the best
of my knowledge, it contains no materials previously published by another person. But
the contents as taken from other sources are duly acknowledged in reference. I also
declare that no part of it is submitted anywhere for any degree and diploma.
SOURAV BHUIYAN
ID: 2042361010
PROGRAM: LLM (MASTER OF LAWS)
BATCH: LAW, 2020
DEPARTMENT OF LAW
FACULTY OF SECURITY AND STRATIGIC STUDIES (FSSS)
Master of Laws (LLM)/ ii
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
At first, I would like to thank Allah for his blessing and kindness. Without his help, it
was quite impossible to complete the work. The success and final outcome of this
project required a lot of guidance and assistance from many people and I am extremely
privileged to have got this all along the completion of my project.
I respect and thank my honorable supervisor Assistant Professor Md. Abu Bakar
Siddique, Department of Law, Bangladesh University of Professionals for giving me
all support and guidance which made me complete the project duly. I am extremely
thankful to him for providing such a nice support and guidance, although he had busy
schedule managing the corporate affairs. Without his inspiration, kind co-operation
and guidance, the work cannot be completed. I especially thank my honorable teachers
of faculty of Law, Bangladesh University if Professionals namely- Lieutenant colonel
Sirajul Islam, Chairman, Department of law Bup, Lecturer Sadikul Islam, , Lecturer
Abu Hanif, Lecturer Emraan Azad and Lecturer Moniruzzaman Monir. I am thankful
to them because of their valuable advice and suggestion. Last but not the least I would
like to thank Professor Muhammad Ekramul Haque for conducting the workshop on
doing a legal research which definitely helps to conduct this study.
I express my heartfelt gratitude to my parents who bring me here for my higher

education.
Finally, I am obliged to my family for their inspiration in the whole time of

completing my degree.
………………………..
SOURAV BHUIYAN
ID: 2042361010
PROGRAM: MASTER OF LAWS (LLM)
BATCH: LAW 2020
SESSION: 2019-20
DEPARTMENT OF LAW
FACULTY OF SECURITY AND STRATIGIC STUDIES (FSSS)
BANGLADESH UNIVERSITY OF PROFESSIONALS
Master of Laws (LLM)/ iii
DEVELOPMENT OF SPORTS LAW IN BANGLADESH: PRESENT STATUS

AND FUTURE ROAD MAP
Sourav Bhuiyan
MASTER OF LAWS (LLM)
ABSTRACT
Sports can unify a nation and at the same time with the advent of new era,
sports has become very competitive and has established itself as a separate industry.
However, in Bangladesh the people has not quite understand the importance of the
sports law yet. That is why there has not been much work done regarding the sports of
Bangladesh which is why this research has been conducted. This study aims to give its
readers a tour in the legal regime of Bangladesh which will enable them to see our
stand point in terms of sports law development and establish the importance of legal
regime for success in sports. For the purpose of this particular study the National
Sports Policy, National Sports Council Act, 2018, different national sports federation’s
statutes and other relevant laws and by laws has been compiled and analyzed. This
research is a qualitative research but a comparative tool has been used here to find out
the lacunas of our legal regime which includes the inadequacy of NSC Act, absence of
legislations regarding issues like dispute settlement, doping, corruption, broadcasting
etc. This research has also finds about non-implementation of sports policies and laws
in Bangladesh. These constraints deeply affects the success of Bangladesh in sports.
The study suggested some recommendations both from policy and legislative point of
view which is regarded as the future road map for upgrading Bangladesh’s legal
regime.
KEY WORDS: Sports Law, Sport Policy, NSC, Comprehensive, Legal regime
67 Pages
Master of Laws (LLM)/ iv
LIST OF ABBREVIATION
AOC- Australian Olympic Committee

AHF- Asian Hockey Federation
BCB- Bangladesh Cricket Board
BFF- Bangladesh Football Federation
BHF- Bangladesh Hockey Federation
BOA- Bangladesh Olympic Association
CAS- Court of Arbitration for Sport
CASE- Culture and Sport Evidence
DCMS- Department for Culture, Media and Sport
ECJ- European Court of Justice
FIFA- International Federation of Association Football
FIH- International Hockey Federation
FINA- International Swimming Federation
GM- Grand Master
GSLTR- Global Sports Law and Taxation Reports
IAAF- International Association of Athletics Federations
ICC- International Cricket Council
IOC- International Olympic Committee
ISLJ- The International Sports Law Journal
NOC- National Olympic Committee
NSC- National Sports Policy
NSF- National Sports Federation
UEFA- Union des Associations Européennes de Football
WADA- World Anti-Doping Agency
WTO- World Trade Organization
Master of Laws (LLM)/ v
TABLE OF CONTENT:
LIST OF CONTENTS PAGE

NO.
DECLARATION I
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT II
ABSTRACT III
LIST OF ABBREVIATION IV
TABLE OF CONTENT V-VII
CHAPTER-I
INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER
1.1. Background of the Study
1.2. Statement of the Problem
1.3. Research Questions

1.4. Research Objectives
1.5. Literature Review
1.6. Methodology of the research
1.7. Significance and rationale of the research
1.8 Scope of the Study
1.9 Limitation of the research
CHAPTER-II
CONCEPTUAL AND ANALYTICAL FRAMEWORK
2.1 Introduction
2.2. Sports Law
2.3. Key Concepts of Sports Law
2.4. International Nature of Sports Law
2.5. Comprehensive Sport Legislation
2.6 Analytical Framework
CHAPTER- III
SPORT SCENARIO OF BANGLADESH
Master of Laws (LLM)/ vi
3.1 Introduction
3.2 Major Sports of Bangladesh
3.3 Sports Infrastructure of Bangladesh and Sport Sector Development
3.4 Major Achievements of Bangladesh in Sports

3.5 Conclusion
CHAPTER- IV
LEGAL REGIME ON MAJOR SPORTS OF BANGLADESH
4.1 Introduction
4.2 National Sports Policy

4.3 National Sport Council Act
4.4 Governing Laws of the Major Sports
4.4.1 Cricket
4.4.2 Football
4.4.3 Hockey
4.4.4 Shooting
4.4.5 Athletics
4.4.6 Swimming
4.4.7 Bangladesh Olympics Association
4.5 Conclusion
Master of Laws (LLM)/ vii
CHAPTER- V
EXISTING LACUNAS OF THE LEGAL REGIME ON MAJOR
SPORTS OF BANGLADESH
5.1 Introduction
5.2 A comparative study between Bangladesh and other country’s Legal

Regime
5.2.1 Sport governing bodies
5.2.2 Physical Education and Sport Institute
5.2.3 Dispute Resolution System
5.2.4 Anti-Doping
5.2.5 Other Relevant Areas of Sport Law Regime
5.3 Major constraints of Bangladesh’s legal regime
5.4 Constraints regarding Implementation of laws and National Sports Policy
5.5 Conclusion
CHAPTER- VI
FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDARTIONS
6.1 Introduction
6.2 Major Findings of the study

6.3 Future Roadmap
6.4 Conclusion
REFERENCE
Master of Laws (LLM)/ viii
Dept. of Law, FSS, BUP Master of Laws (LLM)/
CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER
1.1 Background of The Study
Apart from physical benefit and recreational value the biggest outcome of the
sports is that it brings people together which is at the heart of development. Times of
India in an article says that- “Apart from religion, sports is the only common thread
that binds people together and helps in developing a feeling of patriotism and unity
that can counter regional factionalism and sinister design of various separatist forces.” 1
On personal level sports elevate some qualities like discipline, teamwork,
determination, professionalism, patriotism in players who are the major stakeholders
of sports. They players and athletes are an important asset for the country in that
regard and as sometimes they are being idolized so the qualities mentioned above can
motivate the youth and guide them in the process of a good and prosperous nation
building.
Another stakeholder which is very significant here is the sports administration as they
have to watch over all the sports. The emancipation of sports and infrastructure
building of sports administration go hand in hand here and the development of a nation
is also interlinked. A good legal regime comes into play here as all the stakeholder’s
interest is vested in it. There are other aspects of sports as well like the economic
aspect, the fairness of the games, employment and surrounding rights etc. Thus, from a
mere source of entertainment and personal recreation, Sports has grown into a highly
competitive industry with global pervasiveness. It is one of the largest revenue
generating industries in the world comprising 3% of the world trade. 2 Sports need to
be seen not as a pointless way of enjoying oneself, but as a wonderful opportunity for
the economy and an industry that offers both players and administrators great benefits.
1
The Importance Of Sports In Nation Building - Times Of India' (The Times of India, 2020)
<https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/life-style/health-fitness/fitness/the-importance-of-sports-in-nation-
building/articleshow/71008084.cms> accessed 1 November 2020.
2
GS SCORE: Best IAS Coaching in Delhi, Best UPSC Coaching in Delhi, IAS Online Classes, IAS
Prelims And Mains Test Series 2019, Best IAS Online Classes In Delhi' (Iasscore.in, 2020)
<https://iasscore.in/nationeal-issues/need-for-sports-law-in-india> accessed 5 November 2020.
Likewise, there is a need to use our youth in elevating sports in the country and the
passion of the masses for it can be optimally channelized to engage them in the sports
of the country. So, considering this vast factors related to sports, a strong and effective
legal regime can play a very pivotal role to both in administering the sports and
emancipation of sports. The concept of sports law has not just begun its progress. The
marketing of sports has already begun to gain momentum. There have been leagues;
player auction and sport has changed forever as we know it. In 2003, the United
Nations General Assembly in its resolution 58/5 acknowledged sport as a way to
encourage learning, fitness progress and peace.3 So, the immense importance of good
sports law regime is pretty imminent.
The history of sports in Bangladesh is not very rich and successful if we talk about the
success rate. The other contributions of sports like health standard, role in national
building, sustainable development, diversification, globalization, role in fighting social
problems, establishing sports as an industry has been exponentially increased if not
reaches its peak. Cricket has become a component of making an image internationally
and thus it requires strong administration and enough laws to keep this thing in the
right place. Now if we talk about other sports, Bangladesh has not been doing very
well in Football, Hockey, Handball, Tennis, Golf, almost all indoor games, except a
few all of the athletic games etc. The performance in the major international sporting
events is not satisfactory as well. The failure in sports field is often attributed to the
model of governance of sports and the law regulating the sports in Bangladesh.
Because of the importance of sports in nation building and creating an image in global
arena, time has come to explore the whole legal regime and find out legal problems
which are in the way of development of sports in Bangladesh.
3
Law Rights, Law Vision and Mazharul Islam, 'Unfolding Sports Law' (The Daily Star, 2020)
<https://www.thedailystar.net/law-our-rights/law-vision/unfolding-sports-law-1300366> accessed 16
November 2020.
1.2 Statement of The Problem
Sports play a very key role in different ways that have already been learned and
will have the authentication in literature review. Sports law has not been much of a
talking point yet conforming to the importance of it. So there is a need to see our
journey from legal point of view and see our current picture of legal regime too which
will enable us to know if we need any reforms in the laws or not.
1.3 Research questions:
1. What is the existing legal regime on major sports of Bangladesh?

2. What are the impinging constrains in the existing legal regime on the major
sports of Bangladesh for achieving better result?
3. How these constrains can be overcome to achieve sports development goal?
1.4 Research Objectives:
1. To depict a holistic picture of the present legal regime of Bangladesh’s sports

law.
2. To analyze the laws that governs the major sports of Bangladesh.
3. To find out the lacunas and lacking’s of the current legal regime and examine
its effectiveness in the emancipation of sports of Bangladesh.
4. To illustrate the necessity of reforming the sports justice system of Bangladesh.
5. To suggest a suitable road map for the future of sports law in Bangladesh.
1.5 Literature Review:
There are number of relevant literature about different aspect of sports and
sports law regime but there are a very few write ups about Bangladesh’s sports law
regime. It shows how this issue has not been given due importance in our country.
Anyway, some literature need to be reviewed as they established the importance of
sports law regime. Some relevant literature related to Bangladesh’s sports scenario
shall be reviewed as well for getting idea about the system so that it can be understood
how the system is working. In addition, a few articles about Bangladesh’s sports law
regime will be included as well.
The first review chosen to be given is a report published by The Culture and Sport
Evidence (CASE) program which is a joint program of strategic research led by the
Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) in collaboration with the Arts
Council England (ACE), English Heritage (EH) and Sport England (SE) named “A
review of the Social Impacts of Culture and Sport.” The report talks about sports and
culture simultaneously but this research shall only focus on the social impacts of
sports. The report has very elaborately discuss different aspect of social impacts. The
researchers has put down the health issues first which can largely be positive except
some injury issues involved. The researchers put down the unity factors in the
following words- “In terms of the social capital impacts from sport, there is evidence
that sport is a type of 'social glue', particularly for bonding capital.” 4 They excellently
portrayed many ties between sport and various social consequences shared, including
improved physical abilities, better cognitive skills, better social skills, faith
identification of common principles, and reciprocity
The next literature that will be reviewed is Simon Boyes’ book named “Sports Law:
its History and Growth and the Development of Key Sources” which will help to
understand the development of sports law from global point of view. This surely will
give us a tour in the journey of sports law development which will guide us to seek
what factors are involved to determine the development process. The article also
considers the major developments in the field and the way in which they have shaped
the sports law literatureNow if we look at Bangladesh’s case there are not enough
literature. First I choose to review a paper titled “Sport and Economic Development:
The Case of Bangladesh” by Jay R Mandle of Colgate University. In the beginning of
the paper the theoretical narrative of “sport-for-development.” Later on it shifts its
focus on Bangladesh’s sport scene. This paper identifies that “because sport is so
limited in Bangladesh, there are only a few projects that attempt to use athletic
participation to promote for progressive social change.” 5 This points out one backdrop
4
Assets.publishing.service.gov.uk, 2020)
<https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/
416279/A_review_of_the_Social_Impacts_of_Culture_and_Sport.pdf> accessed 16 November 2020.
5
Jay R. Mandle, 'Sport and Economic Development: The Case of Bangladesh' (Commons.colgate.edu,
2020)<https://commons.colgate.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?referer=https://www.google.com/
&httpsredir=1&article=1025&context=econ_facschol> accessed 10 December 2020.
of our country’s sport scene. Another finding of the paper is “to test the validity of
thinking about sport in this way it is desirable to undertake a cross-sectional analysis
for poor nations in which a measure of sport participation is related to a statistic
measuring economic development.”6 This shows the economic aspect of the
development and sport’s contribution in the process. This paper however tried to co-
relate the economic growth and participation in sports. This is relevant for this
research as it will determine the importance of sports in overall development of
Bangladesh which ignites the necessity to shape the legal regime up to the need.
Saidur Rahman in 3rd conference on Public Policy and Governance in South Asia
presented a work on “sport policy and governance in Bangladesh: in search of
sustainable development.” There he opined “A variety of factors such as
administrative arrangements, funding context, capacity for policy delivery and
infrastructure development etc. can shape the success or failure of sport, though, in
recent days, governments promote sports to reap immediate political advantage while
also bringing social cohesion and economic benefits.” 7 The last literature that is going
to be reviewed is a newspaper article published in the Daily Star in 18 October, 2016
headlined “Unfolding sports law” by Mazharul Islam. This news article motivated me
do this research as it very briefly discussed sport’s importance referring some
international instrument, then tried to give a little hints about the legal regime of
Bangladesh regarding sports, diversity of sports law also falls under this article. The
Author put down some very interesting points in the following way which will be
worked upon in this research also-“It necessitates the prospect to put strong and
coherent approach in relation to all legal matters connected to sports.
1.6 Research methodology:
This will be a doctrinal research as it deals with studying existing laws, related
cases and authoritative materials analytically on some specific matter. So, the laws on
sports including the central governing law and the laws of different national
federations shall be analyzed. For achieving the objectives of the research, authentic
6
Ibid
7
Saidur Rahman, 'Sport Policy and Governance in Bangladesh: In Search Of Sustainable Development'
(Nasc.org.np, 2020) <https://www.nasc.org.np/sites/default/files/CPI-1001.pdf> accessed 10 December
2020.
books, articles, studies, newspapers reports and columns, and internet sources has been
used. That is basically a qualitative approach and the main characteristic of qualitative
research is that it is mostly appropriate for small samples or where there is no sample
required at all and its outcomes are not measurable and quantifiable. That is why I will
explore different sport’s legal issues and our country’s method of dealing with them,
performance in local and global arena, conformity with the established international
standard etc. This way the shortcomings of the sports law regime will be visible and
then I can make some recommendations according to this which will be a possible
future road map for our sports law regime.
1.7 Significance and Rationale of the Research
In Bangladesh, sports have never been a mainstream issue for the policy
makers. Sports have been regarded as a source of entertainment in Bangladesh. Even
the attitude of the mass people in Bangladesh towards the sports has been casual and
emotional rather than rational and visionary. In other words, the sports and related
issues have always hold a secondary position in Bangladesh’s sociopolitical-legal
sphere. That is why this research will draw a holistic picture of the sports law regime
of Bangladesh which will give an idea, where actually we stand in terms of legal
development and how this development has taken place. The approach of the
Bangladeshi society towards sports has been one of the main reasons for its poor
performance at the global level. The reason for the underperformance is not only
rooted in human resources but also related to the structure of sports governance in
Bangladesh. That is why this research will examine how much the existing sports law
regime can contribute to the emancipation of the sports of Bangladesh. This will
subsequently lead us towards the future road map means that will indicate whether we
should promulgate new laws or amend the existing laws to make the sports flourish
more.
1.8 Scope of the Research
Sports law of Bangladesh is not a sector which is much talked about in our
country. This study aims to remove this stigma and depict a holistic picture of our
sports law regime. Bangladesh is a developing land of sports and it involves in
different kind of sports both indoor and outdoor. It is sad and unfortunate that except
some games we haven’t yet leave any special mark in most games. However, this
study will include analysis of the central umbrella law along with some major games’
laws not all indoor and outdoor sport’s regulations. From legal perspective the
effectiveness of the laws will be checked to make sure whether it is one of the reasons
of our insignificant performances in most sports. International instruments and
different countries’ sport law regime will be compared to but exhausted comparison
won’t be the focus of this research rather this comparison would just help us to realize
where we actually stand in terms of development of sports law. This research work I
think will be a starting point of getting stronger and effective sports law regime in
Bangladesh.
1.9 limitation of the Research
I could not go through every winding of the every book and research papers.
Sometimes, I have to go through with a bird’s eye view too. I have to accomplish this
work by doing many tasks bi-laterally. So, I could not prepare the paper 100%
earnestly as I keep in my mind that I can add something with this paper, but I have to
set aside those for want of time. Again this research is about the sports law regime of
Bangladesh and there are a huge number of indoor and outdoor games and for
maintaining them there are authorities. For the sake of the volume of this research and
dedicated timeline all existing sport’s legal regime can’t be analysed rather I analyse
the umbrella law and some major sport’s legal regime that impacts our country’s
image most. Setting up some meetings with the stakeholders like players, boards,
supporters, policy makers would have been done to get first-hand experiential data
which would have taken the research to another dimension. Due to time frame and the
Corona outbreak this couldn’t be done but I take a whole analytical approach which
deals with the existing legal regime and some comparative tool shall be used to find
out the lacunas of the laws and subsequently suggest the future roadmap.
CHAPTER II
CONCEPTUAL AND ANALYTICAL FRAMEWORK
2.1 Introduction:
There is an interesting debate about whether sports law should be regarded as

an independent substantive area of law or not. This is a separate study but we will try
to draw a picture of the most observed broader view of the idea as we are looking
forward to depict the holistic picture of a particular country’s legal regime of sports.
British Scholar Simon Gardiner has defined sports law in the following wordings- “It
is true to say that sports is largely an amalgamation of interlinked legal discipline
involving such areas like contract, taxation, employment, competition and criminal
law but dedicated legislation and case laws have developed and continue to do so” 8
2.2 Sports Law:
We get an idea from his proposition that sports law is a very broad area and
there are numerous legal issues involved like labor law issues, contract issues, unfair
competition and antitrust law, trademark related issues, constitutional law, sex
discrimination and torts. Much of sports law is divided between amateur and
professional sports. Amateur sports are often governed by collegiate athletic
associations. Professional sports leagues, on the other hand, have their own unique set
of legal issues. However, there is no doubt that sport is subject to the rule of law. But
at the same time sport is an area which belongs to the civil society and should,
8
Robert C. R Siekmann and Janwillem Soek, Lex Sportiva (TMC Asser Instituut 2016).
therefore, enjoy large autonomy, including essential self-regulation, which

consequently results in the creation of numerous autonomous rules (e.g. rules of the
game, organizational rules, etc.)9
2.3 Key Concepts of Sports Legislation:
Before going to the discussion of key concepts of sports legislation it is needed to

draw out a line between national and international jurisdiction and divide the sports in
such categories which will ease the way of describing the concepts. For that purpose
we may roughly divide sports into three different categories which are- Amateur
sports, Professional sports and International sports. First two falls largely under
national jurisdiction and the last one is global in nature.
The Amateur Sports Act of 1978 (36 U.S.C.A. § 391) created the Athletic Congress, a
national governing body for amateur athletes, which administers a trust fund that
allows amateur athletes to receive funds and sponsorship payments without losing
their amateur status. 10
While playing professionally different fields of law comes into
play and they all together created a system of national legislation which governs the
sport and related activity in a country Sports contracts are governed by the basics of
contract law but possess some unique features as well. Sports contract disputes can
involve many different legal issues. In Yarde Metals, Inc. v. New England Patriots
Ltd. Partnership11, the plaintiff was suing the New England Patriots because its season
tickets had been revoked. The Antitrust law comes into play in the sports law regime.
The law should check the conformity with this nondiscriminatory approach towards all
the sports. With the progression of times intellectual property related issues has also
comes in the sphere of sports law. Trademark infringement, Copyrights violation,
licensing and sponsorship are the issues which must be addressed in the legislation.
9
Ibid.
10
Gaurang Kanth, 'Emergence of Sports Law in India' (Indialawjournal.org, 2007)
<https://www.indialawjournal.org/archives/volume3/issue_2/article_by_Gaurang.html#:~:text=National
%20Sports%20and%20Recreation%20Act, resolution%20mechanisms%20in%20sport%20and>
accessed 14 September 2020.
11
Yarde Metals, Inc v New England Patriots Ltd Partnership [2005], 834 N.E.2d 1233 (Mass Apt Ct).
Women’s participation in sports is a matter that takes special place in the sports law
regime as the dedicated government body comes with the mandate of upholding the
rights of women by ensuring their participation and specially in a third world country
like Bangladesh it is of grave importance to take that into special consideration while
forming the national sport policy. Physical education and sports education are the
discussion point of national sports legislation as the governing and managing the
young people is a matter of paramount importance.
2.4 International Nature of Sports Law:
The world has emerged as a global arena and that requires global administration
and global regulation. There is a tendency of re-thinking the character of law in order
to create systems that suit the requirements of our connected world and one system of
this kind is Sports Global Law - A phenomenon that covers all the definitions of
“international sports law” and “lex sportiva” in order to describe the regulatory system
developed by sport institutions12. The discussions regarding lex sportiva focus on the
possible existence of a transnational law dedicated to legal issues involving sports. The
first view, a narrow perspective, is that lex sportiva is the amalgamation of reiterated
decisions made by CAS.13
Another opinion, the broader perspective, sees lex sportiva beyond the CAS
jurisprudence and also incorporating rules and regulations drawn up by the
international sporting organizations.14 In 1995 the decision of the European Court of
Justice on the “Bosman Case”15 marked a milestone for international sports law. The
decision concerned the free movement of football players within the European
Community and limited the autonomy of international sports orders, affirmed the
12
Fabian Simmank, 'Sports Global Law – Racing Against the Clock, Competing for a Comprehensive
Understanding' (https://www.e-publica.pt, 2015)
<http://www.scielo.mec.pt/pdf/epub/v2n2/v2n2a15.pdf> accessed 8 October 2020.
13
James A.R. Nafziger, ‘The Principle of Fairness in the Lex Sportiva of CAS Awards and beyond’
(2004) Lex sportiva. Int Sports Law J 1–2:3–8
14
Antoine Duval, 'Lex Sportiva: A Playground for Transnational Law' (2013) 19 (6) European Law
Journal <https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2317826> accessed 6 October 2020.
15
Union royale belge des sociétés de football association ASBL v Jean-Marc Bosman [1995] ECR I-
4921 to C-325/08.
supremacy of European Community Law over sports rules and cast serious doubts on
the legal theories thus far applied to the sports context.16 National laws are making
reference to the law of the Olympic Charter, which is more or less embodying the
IOC’s own constitution, and in which for instance the “Fundamental Principles of
Olympism” are regulated proclaiming that the practice of sport is a human right 17.
Laws of the Olympic Charter are even adopted in some cases directly into national
law.
2.5 Analytical Framework:
Sports law has its claws over different areas of laws as there are number of legal
issues and sectors involved here. This research seeks to see the existing legal
framework of Bangladesh, if we talk generally then a legal regime of a particular
country. To explore and analyze the current legal regime of a country the approach
that’ll be taken here is to examine the umbrella law of the country which is the
National Sports Council Act, 2018. Council’s formation, functions and their duties
will be elaborately stated and the current picture of the sports scenario will be checked
with that. Historical evolution will guide us towards the development of sports law
regime. Major sports federation and their statue and code of conducts are also part of
the sport’s legal framework. So, for the purpose of getting a holistic picture of the
legal regime this conducts will be explored also. In terms of evaluating and exploring
the major sport’s statute and code of conducts the international nature of the sports law
will also be kept in mind like described in the conceptual framework as different
transnational legal issues will also come under the subject matter of the research.
Again to find out the different constraints and lacunas of the existing legal regime and
for suggesting a future road map a comparative tools will be used. From the
conceptual framework we have come to know about comprehensive legal regime of
sports and also have seen some example of them. So these will be compared to
16
Simon Gardiner, EU, Sport, Law and Policy (TMC Asser Press 2009).
17
Lorenzo Casini, 'Global Hybrid Public-Private Bodies: The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA)'
(2009) 6 International Organizations Law Review
<https://www.iilj.org/wpcontent/uploads/2017/03/Casini-Global-hybrid-public-private-bodies-
2009.pdf> accessed 21 November 2020.
Bangladesh’s current regime and it will figure where we are lacking behind. The
importance of legal regime for the emancipation of sports will also get out through this
comparison as not just legal framework but also the performance will be compared.
Finally, from that we can conclude what steps should be taken as a policy
recommendation which will lead us towards the future road map which will be
provided for a better legal regime and better performance in national and global arena.
CHAPTER III
SPORTS SCENARIO OF BANGLADESH
3.1 Introduction
Bangladesh is a developing country who is aspiring to be among the middle

income nations in near future. Development of sports is one of the sectors which will
play a pivotal role to achieve that goal. Along with economic stability and
development of infrastructure, emancipation of sports is also becoming a determining
factor of development now a days. Another area where sports play a very important
role is to the welfare of the youth of our country who are one of the most important
human resource of our country. The dedicated ministry in that regard is Ministry of
Youth and Sports which has been established to encourage the youth in sports
alongside education. Our Hon’ble Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina declared in that
regard that – “Our young generation would get all opportunities for flourishing their
talents and thoughts for the beautiful future of the country.” 18 Our recent performance
in Cricket has given us a very good identity worldwide. In other sports like Football,
Hockey, Tennis, Athletics and in indoor games Bangladesh is aspiring to good in
18
'PM Seeks Vote from Young Generation | New Age' (Newagebd.net, 2021)
<https://www.newagebd.net/print/article/53773> accessed 14 November 2020.
national and international tournaments and make a name for ourselves. This chapter
will evaluate the current sports scenario of Bangladesh mentioning different types of
sports that is played in Bangladesh professionally.
3.2 Major Sports of Bangladesh
Bangladesh is a land of sports as there are a lot of games played in our country
and almost all of them are played nationwide and there are some traditional games as
well. The major and popular sports of Bangladesh are mentioned below along with
their present scenario:
Kabaddi:
Kabaddi is Bangladesh’s national sport and is played all over the country. This
game is related highly to our tradition and is very famous in the rural areas. Recent rise
of different games has led to decrease of its popularity but once Bangladesh was
regarded as a formidable side in the game but those fame seem to fade away both
because of lack of interest and lack of funding and administration. There is a dedicated
federation for Kabaddi named as Bangladesh Kabaddi Federation which was
established back in 1973. The present chairman of the federation is Dr. Mohammad
Javed Patwari. Federation arranges local and national tournaments and train both male
and female teams. It has been quite a while since kabaddi has become a game of
service/defense teams competing in the national tournaments. Bangladesh Police has
been wining national tournament since 1995. Kabaddi players are ill paid compared to
other sports’ players. A report of Dhaka tribune shows the most famous women
Kabaddi team BJMC has 20-25 players and they earn 7000-8000 taka per month. 19
Cricket:
Cricket has risen as the most popular sport in Bangladesh and sometimes it has
been recognized as more than just a game rather a matter of pride and an indicator of
nationalism for us. The popularity found its root in 1997 when Bangladesh National
19
Sishir Hoque, 'A Tale of Kabaddi, Bangladesh's National Sport' (Dhaka Tribune, 2021)
<https://www.dhakatribune.com/sport/other-sports/2016/12/15/tale-kabaddi-bangladeshs-national-
sport> accessed 19 November 2020.
cricket team won ICC trophy and qualified for 1999 world cup. Since then Bangladesh
invested highly in cricket and now Bangladesh is regarded as one of the challenging
teams of the world. Bangladesh even co-hosted 2011 cricket world cup along with Sri
Lanka and India. Bangladesh also regularly arranges franchise cricket league BPL
where players from all over the world come to play here in Bangladesh by contract.
Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB), previously known as the Bangladesh Cricket
Control Board, is the main governing body of cricket in Bangladesh. Cricket has been
highly commercialized in Bangladesh which involves heavy investment in players,
stadiums and national and domestic tournaments and thus is a matter of great national
importance in every aspect.
Football:
Football was once the most popular sports of Bangladesh and it has a glorious
past. In the 90’s football was very competitive and was a matter of great passion. The
governing authority of Bangladesh football is named as Bangladesh Football
Federation (BFF) which was established on 15 July 1972 and has been a member of
the FIFA. The federation arranges different domestic leagues and cups and national
tournaments along with international events. It is currently working with AFC's Vision
Asia program to improve the domestic football infrastructure. Recently former famous
footballer Kazi Salah Uddin has been reelected as the president of BFF. He has made
great promises but Current and former players, officials and fans all agree that
country's football has been is in this dire state because of its flawed structure, which is
based on the clubs who operate on donations, unlike any developed football nations. 20
This reflects in the FIFA ranking where Bangladesh sits at the bottom, at 194th.
Hockey:
Since 1972 Bangladesh Hockey Federation (BHF) governs the sport in

Bangladesh. The hockey’s popularity took a steep fall since the turn of this century
because of various reasons. Irregularity in top leagues, continuous fight between clubs
and federation, ill payment of players are among the reasons of this unwanted
20
Anisur Rahman, 'Bangladesh Football: Then and Now' (The Daily Star, 2021)
<https://www.thedailystar.net/wide-angle/bangladesh/bangladesh-football-then-and-now-1600888>
accessed 29 November 2020.
situation. However, a new committee is elected recently where Mr. Mominul Haque
Shaeed, a young and energetic political-activist-turned-sports-organizer has become
the general secretary and promised to bring back the glory days of hockey and also
promised to arrange premier league, first division and second division regularly.
Bangladesh is currently ranked 34th in world hockey and they have been languishing
below 30 for over a decade now.21 However, Bangladesh women hockey team has
been showing a lot of promises recently at Asian Hockey Federation (AHF) cup
hockey qualifiers held in Singapore. CEO of AHF Tayeb Ikram said in an interview
that “I hope Bangladesh women’s hockey team will emerge as the Asian giants in the
near future.”22
Other ball Sports:
There are some other ball games as well which are played professionally in
Bangladesh like Golf, Hand ball, Volley ball, Basketball, Rugby etc. Each of the
games have a particular federation to govern the sports. In those games Bangladesh is
not actually thriving but wishes to do well in future. A few national tournaments have
been held here in Bangladesh but these are not enough. International involvement is
not as well noteworthy except Siddikur Rahman’s performance in Golf.
Racquet sports:
There are 3 racquet games which are played in Bangladesh namely tennis, table
tennis and squash. Table tennis among them is very famous and played in different
educational institutes and corporate offices. In terms of international scene Bangladesh
is still shy of making any special mark. The governing bodies are working to promote
those games in the country and trying to get out the talents from all over the country
but efforts and funding is not up to standard till date.
Chess:
21
Atique Anam, 'A New Beginning or False Promises?' (The Daily Star, 2021)
<https://www.thedailystar.net/sports/news/new-beginning-or-false-promises-1744837> accessed 1
December 2020.
22
Staff Correspondent, 'Rise of Women's Hockey in Bangladesh' (Prothomalo, 2021)
<https://en.prothomalo.com/sports/Rise-of-women-s-hockey-in-Bangladesh> accessed 5 December
2020.
Chess is the most famous indoor games of Bangladesh and is played

professionally. Bangladesh Chess Federation is responsible for governing the sports in
Bangladesh. The federation was established in 1974. Bangladeshi chess player Niaz
Murshed is the first Grandmaster to emerge from South Asia in 1987.23 More players
are coming through the tournaments and it is a matter of great hope that a lot of
players are very young and doing pretty well. GM Ziaur Rahman said to Daily Star-
“There are two major problems: one is financial constraint and the other is a lack of
proper judgment.”24 He further accused the wrong planning saying that “I feel really
bad as the ratings of our players are not increasing; instead, even the GM’s ratings are
decreasing. We are operating with wrong planning.”25
Other Sports:
There are a lot of games played in Bangladesh professionally, among them

athletics and shooting is showing great promises. Archery is another promising sport
where Bangladesh is investing manpower and money. However there are some
constraints in those games as well like expired tracks, useless timer and no well-
established gym, lack of tournaments, lack of coaches outside capital etc. These
constraints sets back the progress of these sports. However participation of defense
forces somehow keep the hope alive for athletics and some other sports. Swimming,
Cycling, Boxing, Butthan, Karate, Taekwondo are some other games that are played in
Bangladesh as well.
3.3 Sports Infrastructure of Bangladesh and Sport Sector Development:
The legal infrastructure of Bangladesh’s sports contain a National Sports

Council (NSC) which is the apex organization for governing sports in the country. The
NSC is run by the government under the Ministry of Youth and Sports. Then there are
different National Sports Federation (NSF) and Regional, Divisional, District and
23
Quazi Zulquarnain Islam, 'Niaz Murshed: South Asia’S First Grand Master' (Thedailystar.net, 2006)
<https://www.thedailystar.net/suppliments/2006/15thanniv/sports/sports04> accessed 6 December 2020.
24
Sabbir Ahmed, 'Can The New Wave In Chess Flourish?' (The Daily Star, 2019)
<https://www.thedailystar.net/sports/chess/news/can-the-new-wave-chess-flourish-1830298> accessed
6 December 2020.
25
Ibid
Upazila based sports associations registered with the NSC. The Ministry of Youth and
Sports has undertaken different development programs and built modern infrastructure
by collaborating with different dedicated sport’s federations. During the past decades
the ministry has taken steps to build new stadiums, modern sport complex, fully
equipped gymnasiums, and indoor stadiums, upgrade the old infrastructures. New
stadiums are built in Sylhet and Cox’s Bazaar maintaining international standard. All
together Bangladesh has now 8 cricket stadiums, 2 football stadiums along with 64
district stadiums which are used for different games. Along with that we have 2 indoor
stadiums, 7 indoor practice stadiums and one hockey stadium in Bangladesh.26 There
are a lot of ongoing project of infrastructure development among which the most
noteworthy is a project called “Sheikh Russell mini-stadium construction project.”
Under the first phase of the scheme, mini stadiums are set up in 131 upazilas as per a
commitment of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.27
Currently Bangladesh has 21 swimming pools, 35 gymnasiums and 5 women’s sports

complex which are obviously not enough and even they are not up to the international
standard. Maintenance cost of these infrastructure along with the other infrastructure
we mentioned above is almost 10 percent of the total value of the assets. 28 The
maintenance of this infrastructure has not been conducted properly, the cricket
stadiums are however maintained but other sports facilities are mostly ill-treated and
mismanaged. Like from a news published in Dhaka Tribune at August, 2020 we come
to know that, Both synthetic athletic tracks in the capital, one at Bangabandhu
National Stadium in old Paltan and the other at Army Stadium in Banani, are out of
date.29 Abdul Rakib Mantu, general secretary of Bangladesh Athletics Federation,
talked with Dhaka Tribune over phone from USA regarding the poor status of the
equipment as well. He said, “The equipment we have are not of international standard
and many of them are unsuitable for use.” 30 This is almost the scenario of all sports
26
http://cri.org.bd/publication/2019/Aug/investing-youth-19/Indomitable%20Bangladesh%20Investing
%20in%20Youth%202019.pdf
27
https://en.banglatribune.com/sports/news/16643/PM-to-open-66-mini-stadiums-on-Sunday
28
Ibid
29
Shishir Houque, 'Why Is Bangladesh Athletics Losing All Its Tracks?' (Dhaka Tribune, 2020)
<https://www.dhakatribune.com/sport/2020/08/18/why-is-bangladesh-athletics-losing-all-its-tracks>
accessed 14 December 2020.
30
Ibid
except some popular games like Cricket and Football. As we’ve said earlier, those
facilities are not sufficient to uphold the sport objectives and on top of that open space
or local fields are decreasing day by day. In a countrywide survey by Sports
Directorate, a total of 5,117 playgrounds were identified under public, private and
organizational ownership.31
3.4 Major Achievements in Sports for Bangladesh:
Bangladesh is the most populous country to never win an Olympic medal. It

shows how we are lacking behind in sports so far. As we are gradually getting
economic stability so government is paying attention to that and performance in last
decade has improved a lot. In terms of major achievements, most of them has come
from Cricket. But there are some other notable achievements also. They are following:
As we have said before Bangladesh never won any medal at Olympic although it
competed in nine Olympic but it bagged some success in Asian games where they
have earned 12 medals including one gold in Cricket in 2010. Bangladesh also
competed at 8 commonwealth games and won 8 medals altogether. However
Bangladesh’s performance in South Asian games is pretty impressive. In the last SA
games which took place in Kathmundu, Bangladesh has won total 142 medals
including 19 gold medals. It is by far the best performance of Bangladesh in SA games
Another name in the hall of fame of Bangladesh sport scenario will be Archer
Mohammad Ruman Shana. Ruman won the gold medal in the First Asian Grand Prix
2014 in Bangkok. He won another gold medal in the International Archery
Tournament 2017. After that, he won a bronze in the 2019 World Archery
Championships, and later, Roman won a gold medal in the Asia Cup ranking
tournament.32 Another name in the sport of Bangladesh is Golfer Siddikur Rahman
who became the first Bangladeshi sports personality to qualify for the Olympic
Games. He has won two Asian Tour in 2010 and 2013. Country’s biggest sporting
31
Md. Ashadul Islam, 'Time to Take Sports Seriously' (The Daily Star, 2018)
<https://www.thedailystar.net/opinion/economics/time-take-sports-seriously-1585750> accessed 7
December 2020.
32
'Ruman Shana - Wikipedia' (En.wikipedia.org, 2021) <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ruman_Shana>
accessed 14 December 2020.
achievement came in 2020 when Bangladesh won under 19 Cricket world cup. Other
than that Bangladesh became runners up thrice in Asia Cup.
CHAPTER IV
LEGAL REGIME ON MAJOR SPORTS OF BANGLADESH
4.1 Introduction
Bangladesh Constitution in its Article 15 talks about fundamental

responsibility of the state to attain, through planned economic growth, a constant
increase of productive forces and a steady improvement in the material and cultural
standard of living of the people.33 For carrying out this purpose a dedicated ministry of
Bangladesh Government works. They formulates sports policy for the country. The
policy states about the re formulation of National Sports Council for implementing the
policy objectives. This Council is the alpha governing body and the Act that governs
the Council is the umbrella law for the governing of sports in Bangladesh. Different
sports bodies, clubs, associations or societies are generally set up under the control of
33
Article 15 of Bangladesh Constitution.
the Council which is mentioned in the umbrella law. Each sport is governed and
regulated by its respective sports association and clubs (professional and non-
professional) are usually members or affiliates of the respective sports association to
be able to participate in the national league for the relevant sport, and to have their
activities sanctioned.34 The rules of these federations or associations on the other hand
are consistent with the instructions of the international association of the respective
sports.
4.2 National Sports Policy
Bangladesh lacks in formulating a comprehensive policy as it formulates its

very first sports policy in conformity with the constitutional mandate back in 1989
after 18 years of its independence. A sports Council was established by then but we
failed to come with a National Sports Policy which would have worked as a roadmap
for governing sports in our Country. The first sports policy talked about expansion of
sports in all over Bangladesh through acquisition of young talents, talked about sports
education and also about promotion of all kinds of sports. The policy makes a way for
our sports infrastructure development and also talked about national and international
competition. The policy was first of its kind and was not exhaustive but it said that it
should be reviewed and revised in every five years. Bangladesh took nearly 9 years to
review the sports policy and revised it in 1998. It is true that while the 7 members
committee formed under Ministry of Youth and Sport was drafting the policy it took
1995 and 1996’s sports conference’s recommendations into consideration. The main
objective of the 26 Articles policy book was development of sports and promoting
sports all over the country.
The policy tells to give motivation to all players, coaches and non-governmental
organizations and other stakeholders of this policy. The policy also says about the
formation of sports governing bodies in national and regional level which includes
forming different committees like National Sport Council. Different sport’s dedicated
34
Mushfique Ahmed Chowdhury, 'Sports Law in Motion | Daily Sun' (Daily Sun, 2018)
<https://www.daily-sun.com/arcprint/details/318878/Sports-law-in-motion/2018-07-01> accessed 18
December 2020.
federation and their activities is also a taking point of the policy as it pointed out there
should be absolute democracy in governing those federation and electing their
chairman and governing body. These federations will govern their respective sports,
make plans for development, facilitate training, selecting players for international
competition and arrange different tournaments. The government however will look
over their constitution and they have to be responsible to the government for all the
expenses. Even the whole budget of sports will be governed by the government and to
their best planning they will spend the budget.
4.3 National Sports Council Act
Like many other countries in the world in Bangladesh’s sports bodies, clubs,
associations or societies are generally set up under the control of the National Sports
Council which is established under the National Sport Council Act, 1974. The
organization’s function is laid out in Section 10 of the 1974 Act which is to extend
wide support for the development of regulation and co-ordination of all the sports
activities in Bangladesh.35 The Act however has been repealed as it is not
comprehensive enough and was not up to date. The latest Sports Council Act came
into action in 2018. The Act in its section 3 said about constitution and incorporation
of the National Sports Council (NSC). NSC manages sport and community building in
Bangladesh by working with the various National Sports Association and public and
private sector partners. Council’s other functions includes the promotion and
development of standards of national fitness as well as standards of competition
comparable to international standards in sports; making of grants to sports
organizations for sports activities and also providing for such facilities as construction
of stadiums, swimming pools and gymnasia and also maintaining them, the
arrangement for participation of sports teams in sports events abroad etc. Detailed
formation and the council’s different working aspects are written down in the Act as
laws like different committees and their formation, meetings, recruitment etc. has been
mentioned throughout the Act. The Act also says about the budget and different funds
for the betterment of the players and their audit, report also comes under its radar.
35
Mushfique Ahmed Chowdhury, 'Sports Law in Motion | Daily Sun' (Daily Sun, 2018)
<https://www.daily-sun.com/arcprint/details/318878/Sports-law-in-motion/2018-07-01> accessed 18
December 2020.
4.4 Governing Laws of the Major Sports
Each sport in Bangladesh is governed and regulated by its respective sports

association and they set their own rules with the approval and co-ordination with NSC
and maintaining international obligations. In this sub chapter we will explore some
major sports’ governing laws and regulations.
4.4.1 Cricket
Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB), previously known as the Bangladesh Cricket

Control Board, is the main governing body of cricket in Bangladesh. BCB is run by its
own constitution which was amended back in 2017 the last time. This constitution says
about the administration of the board and stated out the duties and responsibilities of
the board which includes promoting cricket throughout the country, arranging national
and international tournaments, maintain affiliation with international and regional
organizations responsible for governing cricket, acquisition of young talents and
selection of national teams, providing training facilities and developing infrastructure,
commercialization of cricket etc. The constitution says about different affiliated
organizations which will be under the supervision of BCB. Their selection module and
working procedure has been spoken about in the constitution. There is a General
Assembly established by the constitution where members from local associations,
clubs and other members will be selected and elected to run the assembly. This
General Assembly holds the right to amend and explain the constitution of BCB. This
particular amendment issue has gone to court when a petition was jointly filed by
Yousuf Jamil Babu, president of the Bangladesh District and Divisional Sports
Organizers’ Association, and Mobasher Hossain, a former BCB director, on December
13. The NSC on November 29, 2012 through a letter sent an amended constitution to
the BCB. That letter along with the amendments has been declared null and void. As
per article 26 of the BCB constitution the NSC has no authority to amend the
constitution and according to article 11.1, they have the authority to approve the
proposed amendments sent to them by the BCB. The petitioners claimed that the NSC
illegally brought the amendments that contradicted the BCB constitution, where the
article 26 clearly stated that any amendment should be passed in an EGM with a two
third majority. 36
Again, there is a board of directors of BCB which is presided by the president of the
board and the power and functions of both board and president has been enlisted in the
constitution. There are 21 permanent committees under the supervision of board of
directors which includes working committee, finance committee, game development
committee, marketing and commercial committee, women’s wing, security committee,
high performance committee etc. A very important inclusion of this constitution is
chapter 9 which talks about the arbitration procedure. This chapter has suggested
alternative dispute resolution or commonly known as ADR mechanism for dispute
resolve. Apart from the constitution BCB has taken upon a few policies and guidelines
for certain issues like The Bangladesh Cricket Board`s Anti-Doping Rules, 2015,
Anti-corruption Code For Participants, Rules and Playing Conditions: AKS –
Bangladesh Premier League T20.
4.4.2 Football:
There are three different statutes for governing Football in our country. They are
namely, Bangladesh Football Federation (BFF) statutes, Divisional Football
Association statues and District Football Association statues.
BFF is a private organization of an associative nature in compliance with the

legislation of Bangladesh.37 BFF is a member of FIFA, AFC and SAFF and as a matter
of fact they also complied with their respective codes like AFC statutes. The BFF
statutes has been promulgated to govern the rules of the game prescribed by FIFA and
to improve the game of Football. Along with arranging tournaments and supervising
all the matches played BFF also works for preventing any ill practices which might
jeopardize the integrity of the great game. BFF promotes nondiscrimination in football
and promotes friendly relations among all stakeholders. Article 5 of the BFF statutes
said that “The status of players and provisions for their transfer shall be regulated by
36
'NSC Changes Illegal: HC' (The Daily Star, 2013) <https://www.thedailystar.net/news-detail-266787>
accessed 1 January 2021.
37
Article 1, BFF Statutes.
executive committee of BFF…”38 The Executive committee is the executive body and
The Congress is the supreme and legislative body. The bodies’ inclusive structure and
the election procedure has been described in the statute. The Executive Committee
consists of 21 members and presided over the President. The Executive Committee
shall be elected by the Congress. The Congress is the meeting where all the members
of the BFF regularly convene. The President conducts the Congress business. The
Congress shall have the authority to adopt regulations governing the application of the
statute and holds the power to amend the statute as well. The Executive committee on
the other hand shall pass decision on all cases that do not come within the sphere of
the Congress. The Judicial bodies of the BFF are Disciplinary Committee and Appeal
Committee. The responsibilities of these shall be subject to Disciplinary Code of BFF
which shall comply with the FIFA or AFC Disciplinary Code. The Judicial bodies can
order disciplinary measures on non-compliance. Some disciplinary measures are
mentioned here in the statute like fine, return of award, suspension, deduction of
points, relegation, ban etc.
The BFF Disciplinary Code describes infringements of the rules in BFF regulations,
determines the sanctions to be enforced, and regulates the organization and function of
the bodies responsible for taking decisions and the procedures to be followed by these
bodies.
4.4.3 Hockey:
Bangladesh’s men’s and women’s national hockey team is controlled by

Bangladesh Hockey Federation (BHF). The Hockey Federation is affiliated with BOA
and is a member of International Hockey Federation (FIH). In that capacity BHF has
become a member of IHF and governs Bangladesh’s hockey according to the FIH
statute and regulations. From the rules of IHF each member must determine its office-
holders by democratic elections, ensuring at all times an adequate minimum
representation of each gender within its governance structure.39 BHF in that regard
manages its affairs autonomously and without any interference from any other bodies
38
Article 5, BFF Statutes
39
Article 2.2 (b) (3) of IHF Statute.
outside Olympic movement. BHF as a member of IHF are obliged to keep in mind
about different rules like FIH Integrity Code, FIH Dispute Resolution Regulations, and
FIH Anti-Doping Regulations etc. They respectively put down general obligations and
anti-corruption rules, complaint procedure, dispute resolution system and different
prohibition regarding doping and consequences. Bangladesh also comes under the
scheme of FIH quality program.
4.4.4 Shooting
For governing and monitoring shooting sports there is a sole organization in

Bangladesh named Bangladesh Shooting Sport Federation (BSSF). This organization
is built with the mandate of International Shooting Sports Federation (ISSF) and thus
become a member of ISSF. So, the whole legal regime of ISSF is applicable to run
BSSF and according ISSF Constitution while making country’s own legal regime one
has to comply with their Constitution and regulations as well as decisions made by the
respective ISSF. The Anti-Doping Regulations of ISSF is in compliance with WADA
and it talks about enforcing anti-doping principles in a global and harmonized manner.
The regulations contains definition of doping, mechanisms of detecting doping,
consequences and appeal procedure. Again they have their own Code of Ethics.
BSSF is however an apex member of NSC is and it intervenes in the functions of the
BSSF. Recently tension rose among the federation and NSC announced a 25-member
ad-hoc committee in that regard. The NSC removed former President and included a
committee with one president, one senior vice-president, three vice-presidents, one
general secretary, two joint secretaries, one treasurer and 16 member’s posts to run the
federation. The NSC gave directives to the BSSF committee not to take any executive
decision in early August 2020, following several allegations of irregularities raised
against each other by Nazimuddin and Intekhabul.40
4.4.5 Athletics:
Athletics in Bangladesh is governed by Bangladesh Athletics Foundation (BAF). It is

the national constituent of the worldwide athletic movement. BAF works for
40
'Hakim Made Shooting Fed President' (New Age, 2021)
<https://www.newagebd.net/article/116817/hakim-made-shooting-fed-president> accessed 5 January
2021.
promoting athletics in all level such as schools, colleges, physical education

institutions, universities and other institutes. That is why it is affiliated with
Bangladesh Defense forces, Border guard, Police, some universities like Dhaka
University, Rajshahi University, and Chittagong University etc. BAF has its own
statute for governing itself and organizing national and international games subject to
the direction of the International Athletic Committee. At the same time, it provides
support to the Government for the development of sport in Bangladesh, by
maintaining full autonomy in line with the IOC Charter. 41 Although it is a non-
governmental and autonomous organization but NSC intervenes and assists them in
governing. Both the organizations are seen to be co-operate often while making
important decisions and actions like the latest BAF election was held according to the
bylaw of NSC where the returning officer was legal affairs officer of NSC and the
election procedures were in conformity with Article 22 of BAF Constitution and
National Sports Federation Election Rules, 2013.
4.4.6 Swimming:
Bangladesh Swimming Federation (BSF) is the national governing body for the sport
of swimming. It administers competitive swimming in accordance with the Olympic
Charter. However, BSF has its own Constitution which applies to whole Bangladesh
and it states that BSF will be affiliated with FINA, International swimming Federation,
Asian Amateur Swimming Federation and their regulations. BSF is however affiliated
with NSC like other national sport federations. BSF constitution spells out the
functions of BSF which is mainly promoting and developing swimming as a sport in
Bangladesh. Then again the structure and formation of BSF has been described in the
Constitution also. Article 18 of the statute says that election will be run by election
commission established by NSC. BSF is qualified to promulgate regulations and by
laws for specific purpose.
4.4.7 Bangladesh Olympic Association:
The Olympic Games is the biggest sports event of the world and it has become more
than just a competition rather a philosophy of life itself named as “Olympism”. The
41
'About BAF' (Bangladesh Athletics Foundation) <https://bafbd.com/history/> accessed 15 January
2021.
three main constituents of the Olympic Movement are the International Olympic
Committee (IOC), the International Sports Federations (IFs) and the National Olympic
Committees (NOCs)42. It has so far affiliated a total of 27 National Federations (NF)
and National Associations (NA) that includes both Olympic and non-Olympic sports. 43
Exclusive powers of BOA has been enlisted in Article 6 of BOA Statute where it is
stated that it is obliged to participate in the Games of Olympiad by sending athletes. 44
The structure of the Association has been inserted in the statute in full along with their
functions and composition. There is a General Assembly and an Executive Committee
which sits in the core of the structure. Article 24 contains an interesting provision as it
states “In natters not covered by this constitution, rulings given by the President shall
prevail.”45 The Executive Committee usually takes the disciplinary actions as per the
statute and the appeal of those decisions shall lie to the Court of Arbitration for sport
in Lausanne, Switzerland which will resolve the dispute in accordance with CAS.
4.5 Conclusion:
According to NSC official website there are 46 organizations working for the
governance of sports in Bangladesh. All these federations and associations are
affiliated with the NSC. So, of we picture our legal regime we shall NSC at the center
and other federations work all around autonomously but are somehow connected to
NSC. The federations are affiliated with international and regional organizations also
and compliance with their rules they made their own legal instruments which govern
that particular sport. The aim of this whole legal regime is to ensure good governance
in sports and upheld the spirit of fair play. This legal regime cherishes to turn
Bangladesh as a successful sporting nation by promoting and developing different
sports.
42
'Who We Are - International Olympic Committee' (International Olympic Committee)
<https://www.olympic.org/about-ioc-olympic-movement> accessed 16 January 2021.
43
Ibid
44
Rule 3 1.3 of Olyrnpic Charter
45
Article 24 of BOA Statute
CHAPTER V
EXISTING CONSTRAINTS OF THE LEGAL REGIME ON
MAJOR SPORTS OF BANGLADESH
5.1 Introduction:
Legal regime on sports monitors and prevents all kinds of encumbrances

related to sports like discrimination, doping, fraudulent activities etc. and guides one
nation towards a better sport administration which is key to success and development
of sports. Bangladesh’s sports law regime has been discussed in the previous chapter
which is pretty simple but there are a lot of issues which still needs to be come under
our legal regime and as we’ve already seen our performance or success rate in sport is
not very satisfactory so a comparative analysis with the countries legal regime who has
a better success rate will enable us to see our lacunas or shortcomings of the existing
legal regime. These lacunas or shortcomings are surely in the way of achieving our
desired objective of promoting sports all over the country and get better results in
international platform in different sports. ‘
5.2 A Comparative Study between Bangladesh and Other Country’s Legal

Regime on Sports:
While doing this comparative study several issues of legal regime will be
discussed like organization of sports club and sports governing bodies, state systems
and executive-legislative relations, physical education laws, strategic implications,
sports arbitration, enforceability, organization of sports events, commercialization of
sports events, broadcasting and TV rights, competition law and intellectual property
laws, professional sports and labor law, institutions and policy regimes, doping
prevention, betting etc. For the purpose of this comparative study legal regimes of
India, Australia, UK, China, USA, UAE, Germany and Japan will be discussed.
5.2.1 Sport governing bodies:

In Australia the Australian Sport Commission (ASC) is responsible for
governing sporting activities and allocating budget. It is a statutory body and was
established through the Australian Sports Commission Act, 1989. This is quite similar
with NSC of Bangladesh but it has some divisions like The Australian Institute of
Sport (AIS), the Sport performance and Development division etc. which serves
specific purpose. One very distinct side of Australian legal regime is that the national
governing bodies for major sporting codes in Australia are structured as public
companies, limited by guarantee and registered with the Australian Securities and
Investments Commission under the Corporations Act46. Like Australia, South Africa,
Finland, Hungary, Pakistan has similar kind of national legislation. In China there is a
national legislation on sports named as the Law of the People’s Republic of China on
Physical Culture and Sports, 1995 (“Act”) that aims to promote and develop physical
culture and sporting activities right from the school level. In UK the enormous
network of sports clubs throughout the UK are administered through their own
National Governing Bodies (NGBs) of sport. These NGBs form the focal point for
their sport, providing the link between recreation and development, training and
competition as well as facility and policy development.47
5.2.2 Physical Education and Sport Institute:

Academic circles in China and Japan have made some achievements in the
study of school physical education laws and regulations, pointing out the general
direction for the academic circles to carry out the study of school physical education
laws and regulations Japanese Government, educational board, schools and
Universities are cooperating with each other to implement quality physical education.
China had 35 sports institutions in which 31,000 athletes were given opportunities and
3,800 sports academies at four different levels in 1998. 48.These institutions includes a
comprehensive non-profit research institute with multi-disciplines, managed by the
Ministry of Science and Technology of the People's Republic of China for public
services named China Institute of Sport Science (CISS) and Beijing Sport University
one of the most decorated and successful sport universities around the world and it
provides high quality training to the sportsmen. In contrast Bangladesh just has only
one sports institute BKSP and one physical educational institute let alone having any
laws regarding this.
5.2.3 Dispute Resolution System:
46
András Gurovits, The Sports Law Review (3rd edn, Gideon Roberton 2017).
47
Ibid
48
Anisur Rahman, 'A Bird's Eye View Of Our Sports Policy' (The Daily Star, 2015)
<https://www.thedailystar.net/a-birds-eye-view-of-our-sports-policy-15974> accessed 15 February
2021.
In Australia, it is settled law that a sporting organization’s rules cannot

completely remove the jurisdiction of the courts, because to do so would be against
public policy.49 However they have quasi-judicial tribunal for each sporting league.
However Court intervenes only when certain matters like when sporting organization
breaches its own rules, when criminal liability arises and when any issue of
substantive law arises. There is a system of appeal and as of last resort the matter will
go to international tribunal like CAS and sometimes to ICC or FIFA. The Sports
Arbitration Rules promulgated by Government governs the arbitration procedure in the
JSAA in respect of appeals by participants against sport governing bodies. An arbitral
award shall have the same binding force like a final judgment by a court. Most of the
country’s including Bangladesh are relying on the rules of the sport’s governing
bodies for arbitration and state’s arbitration legislation also applies in some cases.
However, some progressive changes are coming from around the world like in UAE
has made their own dispute settlement arrangement by establishing New Sport
Arbitration Center (NSAC). Germany has a similar but statutory arbitral tribunal for
sport named the German Court of Arbitration for Sport (DIS-Sport), a division of the
German Institution for Arbitration (DIS). The DIS-Sport may decide cases as a first
instance tribunal or on appeal against a previous decision by a sport’s governing body,
provided that the association has implemented a corresponding arbitration clause in its
statutes.50 Like Bangladesh most of the South Asian countries including India doesn’t
have a define arbitration module and sport tribunal has not yet established.
5.2.4 Anti-Doping :
Doping is one of the most talked about problem in sports and there is WADA
to fight against drug in sport. There are some national anti-doping mechanisms also
which are inserted in the national legal regime. France was among the first countries to
promulgate anti-doping legislation. Sports Federations plays the role of applying this
49
Stollery v Greyhound Racing Control Board (1972) 128 CLR 509.
50
DIS-Sport Arbitration Rules, Section 1.
regulations and also impose disciplinary actions. The French Anti-Doping Agency was
created in 2006, and was given many prerogatives, especially in the field of control,
analysis and disciplinary proceedings.51 The USA laws are pretty strict about doping
and professional football and baseball are heavily scrutinized. NBA, NFL, NHL, MBL
all have regulations regarding doping and they comply with WADA for large part.
Japan also complied with WADA but they have a separate body which conducts
doping inspection known as Japan Anti-Doping Agency (JADA) which is a public
interest based foundation. However, Japanese law does not provide for any anti-doping
national laws to criminalize doping but recently the Act on Promotion of Doping
Prevention Activities in Sports became effective without even imposing criminal
penalties. In Australia recently the Anti-Doping Authority Amendment (Enhancing
Australia's Anti-Doping Capability) Act 2020 came into force in June 2020. It permits
action to be taken against third parties who have supplied the prohibited substances.52
This is a very extra ordinary provision which is not present in many instruments. Anti-
doping regulations in Bangladesh is largely vested on to the national federations and
tournaments have their own sets of anti-doping regulations as well and of course they
are in line with international organizations. Recently a 21-year old cricketer named
Qazi Anik, tested positive for Methamphetamine (d-) during an in-competition test
conducted on 06 November, 2018 in Cox’s Bazar when he was playing for Dhaka
Metropolis against Chittagong Division. He admitted the offence and accepted a two-
year suspension for an anti-doping rule violation involving his use of prohibited
substance. The substance is included as a stimulant, prohibited under section S6a of
the 2018 ICC Prohibited list and consequently prohibited under the BCB Anti-Doping
code 2.1, which has adapted the ICC Anti-Doping code. 53 Like that several players
from Bangladesh, India and Pakistan has been handed punishments. India has a
separate autonomous body though named National Anti-Doping Agency (NADA).
51
Romain Soiron and Aude Benichou, 'The Law Reviews - The Sports Law Review: France'
(Thelawreviews.co.uk, 2021) <https://thelawreviews.co.uk/title/the-sports-law-review/france> accessed
15 April 2021.
52
Michael Whitbread and Matthew Matthew Whitaker, 'The Law Reviews - The Sports Law Review:
Australia' (Thelawreviews.co.uk, 2017)
<https://thelawreviews.co.uk/title/the-sports-law-review/australia> accessed 1 March 2021.
53
'Anik Receives Two-Year Ban For Failing In Dope Test' (Dhaka Tribune, 2021)
<https://www.dhakatribune.com/sport/cricket/2020/07/26/anik-receives-two-year-ban-for-failing-in-
dope-test> accessed 2 March 2021
5.2.5 Other Relevant Areas of Sport Law Regime:
Legal regime of Bangladesh and India are quite similar in all aspect and both
country lacks a comprehensive unified sports legislation but there are certain
distinction between both country’s legal regimes too like India has a sport
broadcasting law and a Sports Law and Welfare Association which is absent in our
legal regime. Likewise they doesn’t have a central authority like NSC and a law in that
regard. Like India French Sports Code provides provisions regarding owner’s
exploitation rights and Australian legal regime contains different agreement based
broadcasting rights and in addition they have anti-siphoning' laws, which provide a list
of events that must be made available free to the general public. Then there are
mention of relation between sports and anti-trust law which means unlawful mergers
and business practices in general terms. It is related with the league and clubs and is an
emerging issue in sports law. Developed countries like USA, UK, France, Germany,
China, Japan, Australia has this issue included in their sports law regime. The
employment and labor law issue also comes under the purview of legal regime of
many countries like UK and USA. There are certain other areas that are not much
talked about or established in Subcontinent but are becoming very relevant day by day
in different parts of the worlds like corporate governance of sports governing bodies,
relationship between organizer, athletes and spectators, riot prevention, intellectual
rights protection, sport taxation, Betting, Grey market sales etc.
5.3 Major Constraints of The Legal Regime on Sports of Bangladesh

The legal regime on Sports of Bangladesh is mostly national federation based with
NSC at its center. After analyzing and comparing our legal regime with the other
countries legal regime we have seen there are some lacunas in our legal regime and if
we think about a standard comprehensive sports law regime we have some
shortcomings both from legislative and implicative point of view. The major
constraints or lacunas are mentioned below:
 National Sports Council Act has been amended once in Bangladesh but I would
say that it didn’t at all strengthen its weak links. The 1974 Act lacks down
provisions for the players and athletes and dispute settlement procedure. The
amended 2018 Act also didn’t incorporate such provisions. Establishment of NSC
is supposed to be a very important inclusion in the legal regime of Bangladesh. It
actually strengthens the governing system as a central body but it is less player
centric and focuses much on administrative functions. We have talked about the
China national legislation for sports which is much more exhaustive and provides
guidelines for development of sports from school level and ensures player’s right
as well.
 The legal relationship between NSC and other federations is not clear enough.
Recently NSC and BCB has to go to High Court over an amendment made by
NSC to BCB’s Constitution. Finally HCD declared the NSC has no authority to
amend the constitution of the BCB. From that we get an indication that the
distinction of powers have not been clearly mentioned in any legal instrument.
 Corruption is very common in every sector of Bangladesh. Corruption has been

traced in all sorts of games according to Global Corruption Report: Sport
published by Transparency International Bangladesh (TIB). This wave of
corruption has also touched Bangladesh, we have already seen illegal betting
activities and a player and umpire got punishment for match fixing.54
 We have already known that different sports are governed by National Sport
organizations that means different federations. They are allied with NSC and they
have got their own constitution that has dispute settlement procedure, but its legal
54
'TI Releases Global Corruption Report: Sport; TIB Calls For Taking Preventive Measures To
Maintain Cricket's Clean Image - Transparency International Bangladesh (TIB)' (Ti-bangladesh.org)
<https://www.ti-bangladesh.org/beta3/index.php/en/activities/4906-ti-releases-global-corruption-report-
sport-tib-calls-for-taking-preventive-measures-to-maintain-cricket-s-clean-image> accessed 9 March
2021.
categorization is vague. It is neither a corporate body nor a statutory body or a

registered society.55 Again the dispute settlement procedures existed in other
federations are not exhaustive and not pro player. On the other hand NSC doesn’t
contain any mention of any dispute settlement mechanism which is a huge
drawback. We have already seem that different countries around the world has
dedicated national body for dispute settlement but our legal regime lacks such kind
of body.
 Bangladesh has only one sport organization named BKSP and a good thing is there
is a particular Act to govern BKSP named as Bangladesh Krira Shikkha
Protishthan Act, 2020. However the problem lies in number of institutions. BKSP
is the only institution whereas China has 35 of them and they comes under the
radar of physical education laws of the country. Our physical education law
doesn’t exist and no legal regime has authorized physical or sport institutions to
promote sports and nurture young talents.
 Doping has spread like plague in sporting arena and different countries has
incorporated dedicated national body even national legislation for controlling and
punishing doping. Bangladesh follows WADA and different other anti-doping
regulations promulgated by different federations but such kind of dedicated body
or legislation is absent in our legal regime.
 Another constraint in our legal regime is that government has not always appoint a
specialist person in Sport Ministry and as a result important decision making has
not always been made properly as Youth and Sport Minister plays a pivotal role in
lots of sport organization according to our legal regime. A sportsmen in that regard
would make more player centric regulations and take decisions bearing in mind the
sportsmanship spirit.
55
Mazharul Islam, 'Unfolding Sports Law' (The Daily Star, 2016) <https://www.thedailystar.net/law-
our-rights/law-vision/unfolding-sports-law-1300366> accessed 6 February 2021.
 There is not any concrete and direct constitutional provision for sports and sports
governance in Bangladesh.
 There are some issues which is not much addressed in our legal regime but carries
huge importance like sex discrimination, advertisement guidelines, competition
and anti-trust laws, intellectual property rights, sports and players welfare
association etc.
5.4 Constraints regarding Implementation of laws and National Sports Policy:
The legal regime of Bangladesh on sports is if not exhaustive is not a blank one.
There are some laws in place but implementation of those laws seem like a major
constraint itself. If we talk about physical education and sport education we shall see
it is not priotarized in schools like it should be and the resources are not provided
properly. The federations except some, does not get enough funds and it hinders their
promotion and development which is the goal of the sports policy and laws of the
federations. Habibur Rahman, general secretary of the Bangladesh Kabaddi Federation
said to Dhaka Tribune that “I would say that the backing we receive from the
authorities isn't up to the mark.”56 Enough clubs or private organizations are not
coming forward with initiatives to back the players of different sports as they need it
because they provides training facilities and financial support to the players. Even
sponsors are being reluctant to invest in other sports except cricket or football.
Domestic leagues of different sports are not being held on regular basis although the
legal regime promises it to make it regularly. Infrastructure development should get a
huge importance and there are some progress in this project but again the funding is
not enough and corruption is another reason that hinders the development in that
regard. Women’s sport is a matter of great importance and Government and other
organization is working in that regard but it is not sufficient. There is a dedicated
federation but its resource is not handful, leagues are not played regularly and players
are ill paid.
56
Mohammad Isam, 'Kabaddi is Bangladesh's National Sport but you’d never have guessed' (ESPN,
2017) <https://www.espn.in/kabaddi/story/_/id/20376030/kabaddi-bangladesh-national-sport-never-
guessed> accessed 15 March 2021.
5.5 Conclusion:
Bangladesh as a developing country has a considerable legal regime but the legal
regime has some lacunas that has been constraining the development of sports. We
have already known about the importance of a sound legal regime in a country’s
overall sport. Again our legal regime can’t be called the most pro player legal regime
as it doesn’t talk extensively for the welfare of players. On top of that proper
implementation of the laws is not happening here. Bangladesh once has a lot of
international athletes but now we are lacking behind and I think poor administration is
one of the root cause of that. A sound legal regime and an all-out effort from the
people who are at the level of decision making can make us enable to overcome the
constraints and certainly can guide us towards a bright future.
CHAPTER VI
FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
6.1 Introduction:
This research tends to give a future roadmap for the legal regime on sports for
Bangladesh as Bangladesh has some lacking both in terms of laws and its
implementation which is one of the responsible factor for our poor success rate. This
chapter sums up the major findings of this research which will make us enable to see
the existing legal regime on sports and shapes the future road map which will be put
down here as recommendations.
6.2 Major Findings:
This qualitative study is all about legal regime of Bangladesh’s sports and after
doing analysis according to the dedicated analytical framework we have got following
major findings:
 This study explores through the whole legal regime on sports of Bangladesh.
Through this a holistic and consolidated picture has been drawn about the legal
regime on major sports of Bangladesh. From this exploration we get to see that our
legal regime is based on a major legislation name National Sports Council Act,
2018 which is the nucleus of our legal regime. We declared it as the umbrella law
where different National Federation’s rules and regulations, statutes which were
made in conformity with different International sport organizations are all under
this umbrella. They are autonomous in nature and are affiliated with NSC
established by the umbrella law.
 This study depicts out another picture from a different lenses where it has
portrayed the development of the sports law in Bangladesh. From 1974’s NSC Act,
to 1989’s first ever National Sports Policy to 2018’s revised NSC Act and in
between many federation’s regulations and by laws shows us the journey of our
sports’ legal regime. This journey was not smoother and not lead us into a
comprehensive legal regime.
 This is not one of the objectives of the research but for the purpose of knowing
what we are dealing with and where we stand in terms of legal development and to
establish the necessity of exploring the legal regime and the effect of legal regime
in our sports a brief discussion of our current sports scenario has been done which
clearly shows our legal and administrative infrastructure and our achievements.
 This research has figured out some lacunas in our legal regime like lacking of a
comprehensive national legislation, lack of uniform dispute settlement procedures,
absence of some dedicated authority like corruption control body, welfare

association, national anti-doping body, sports tribunal etc., lack of proper
legislative provisions for amateur sports, absence of physical education law and
broadcasting laws etc. Again, there are some issues which are even unattended like
IP rights, competition laws, anti-trust laws related with sports.
6.3 Recommended Future Road Map:
Bangladesh sports industry has progressed a lot and assumed a corporate form
with the number of commercial and financial interest involved. The country has
reached a stage where it needs a proper and sound legal regime on sports. As stated
earlier our failure in the international arena is an indication of poor infrastructure and
failure of implementing existing laws. In order to meet the increasing demands of the
changing scenario we need a future road map as policy needs to be formed, laws need
to be incorporated and amended accordingly to reach the desired goal. A future road
map is given below as recommendations that relates with findings of this particular
study.
 A New, Revised National Sports Policy

The National Sports Policy is supposed to be reviewed every five years. Ours have
been reviewed last back in 1998. The policy was not a bad one but it is not up to date.
Since 1998 a lot of things have changed, sports law is not just an amalgamation of
some laws rather it has become a separate law itself. So, the policy should include all
the stakeholders interest as sport has become more commercialized and competitive.
Moreover, the policy should include more plans for the welfare of the players because
a legal regime needs to be very exhaustive and as a same time it has to be pro player
because ultimately it is them who will bring the success and their performance will
motivate the young generation to come up in sports. For that remuneration, wages,
transfer fee, gifts, financial aid everything should come under the policy. The funding
have been mentioned in the current policy but elaboration is necessary.
 Amendment of NSC Act:

The big amendment I would suggest about the current NSC Act would be
changing the criteria of the NSC President. In default the Youth and Sports Minister is
the chairman of NSC, but often they have not much knowledge about sport so the
Chairman should be someone who has a managing skill as well as knowledge about
sports. Another amendment which is a must need is the inclusion of dispute settlement
procedure in the Act. The NSC should be empowered to constitute panels for
adjudicating disputes and punish offenders. The NSC didn’t include provisions for
amateur sports, in that regard like USA, USA should divide the sports into three
category which will gives attention to all level of sports. Along with the duties and
powers already have NSC should assist the federations in the Australian model of
“Sports Governance Principles” but rather than a corporation the federations will be
autonomous like now. In this process the NSC will set out additional requirements for
Board composition, roles, powers and processes, governance systems, ethical and
responsible decision-making and reporting. In this way the relationship between
federations and NSC will be clear and no conflicts will arise. In this way NSC will
look over other national organizations related to sports.
 Establishment of Sports Education Institute:

The NSC should authorize the establishment of sports education institute under the
guidance of BKSP in every division and they should be regarded as the branches of
BKSP. Again, physical education institute like Government Physical Education
College should be established in every district and they all should be under the
supervision of NSC.
 Incorporating Anti-Corruption law for sports

Under this Act an Anti-Corruption body will be created which will declare the
general rules against corruption in sports and sports administration and shall co-
operate with the federations and the NSC itself.
 Creating a Separate Anti-Doping Legislation:

Doping may be considered as the most dangerous enemy of the sports now a days.
There are international instruments like WADA and each of the international
organization has rules in conformity with WADA regulations. Some countries like
Germany, Australia has promulgated national legislation in that regard. Bangladesh

should incorporate such kind of law and the anti-doping body then centrally control
the doping. They will have the offences and punishments written down in the
instrument.
 Promulgating A Sports Broadcasting Laws:

Our neighboring country India has promulgated such a law and it is high time
Bangladesh should start drafting a law on this.
 Establishment of Sports Tribunal:

There should be a sports tribunal to deal with the legal issues and disputes related
to sports. It shall hear the administrative disputes like any other tribunal. This sports
tribunal could be given the authority to have the appellate jurisdiction. So, from
different bodies’ who have the power to inflict judgment and give sanction, the appeal
will be lied to here.
6.4 Conclusion:
Given the close relation of sports with national pride and the kind of influence
it has on the mind of the nation, the state has the most important role to play.
Government has the solemn duty to provide the nation with a comprehensive legal
regime. Government and policy makers need to understand that sports is no more an
insignificant array of sportsmen battling for top position but it also involves intricate
legal issue and the entire career of the sportsmen is at stake. It is very clear from this
study that the existing legal regime has not succeeded in achieving its objective and it
is time for a new model to be made. The need of the hour is to make a strong, lucid
and player centric legal regime to combat the legal issues and also to promote and
develop sports in Bangladesh. For achieving the development goal and building a
healthy nation the recommended future road map of upgrading the legal regime can be
a starting point of thinking about the change. Government, policy makers, players,
administrators, local governments, legal practitioners, ex-players, club owners,
sponsors, investors, broadcasting authorities all must come together to understand,
advance, promote and ethically practice sports law in Bangladesh to make the change
we are talking about.

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A THESIS ON

DEVELOPMENT OF SPORTS LAW IN BANGLADESH:

THIS THESIS IS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF

COPYRIGHT BANGLADESH UNIVERISTY OF PROFESSIONALS

DEVELOPMENT OF SPORTS LAW IN BANGLADESH:

THIS THESIS IS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF

COPYRIGHT BANGLADESH UNIVERISTY OF PROFESSIONALS

I express my heartfelt gratitude to my parents who bring me here for my higher

Finally, I am obliged to my family for their inspiration in the whole time of

DEVELOPMENT OF SPORTS LAW IN BANGLADESH: PRESENT STATUS

AOC- Australian Olympic Committee

LIST OF CONTENTS PAGE

TABLE OF CONTENT V-VII

1.3. Research Questions

1.9 Limitation of the research

3.4 Major Achievements of Bangladesh in Sports

4.2 National Sports Policy

5.2 A comparative study between Bangladesh and other country’s Legal

6.2 Major Findings of the study

1.1 Background of The Study

1.2 Statement of The Problem

1.3 Research questions:

1. What is the existing legal regime on major sports of Bangladesh?

1.4 Research Objectives:

1. To depict a holistic picture of the present legal regime of Bangladesh’s sports

1.5 Literature Review:

1.6 Research methodology:

1.7 Significance and Rationale of the Research

1.8 Scope of the Research

1.9 limitation of the Research

CONCEPTUAL AND ANALYTICAL FRAMEWORK

There is an interesting debate about whether sports law should be regarded as

2.2 Sports Law:

therefore, enjoy large autonomy, including essential self-regulation, which

2.3 Key Concepts of Sports Legislation:

Before going to the discussion of key concepts of sports legislation it is needed to

2.4 International Nature of Sports Law:

2.5 Analytical Framework:

SPORTS SCENARIO OF BANGLADESH

Bangladesh is a developing country who is aspiring to be among the middle

3.2 Major Sports of Bangladesh

Since 1972 Bangladesh Hockey Federation (BHF) governs the sport in

Other ball Sports:

Chess is the most famous indoor games of Bangladesh and is played

There are a lot of games played in Bangladesh professionally, among them

3.3 Sports Infrastructure of Bangladesh and Sport Sector Development:

The legal infrastructure of Bangladesh’s sports contain a National Sports

Currently Bangladesh has 21 swimming pools, 35 gymnasiums and 5 women’s sports

3.4 Major Achievements in Sports for Bangladesh:

Bangladesh is the most populous country to never win an Olympic medal. It

LEGAL REGIME ON MAJOR SPORTS OF BANGLADESH

Bangladesh Constitution in its Article 15 talks about fundamental

4.2 National Sports Policy

Bangladesh lacks in formulating a comprehensive policy as it formulates its

4.3 National Sports Council Act

4.4 Governing Laws of the Major Sports

Each sport in Bangladesh is governed and regulated by its respective sports

Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB), previously known as the Bangladesh Cricket

BFF is a private organization of an associative nature in compliance with the

Bangladesh’s men’s and women’s national hockey team is controlled by

For governing and monitoring shooting sports there is a sole organization in

Athletics in Bangladesh is governed by Bangladesh Athletics Foundation (BAF). It is

promoting athletics in all level such as schools, colleges, physical education

4.4.7 Bangladesh Olympic Association: