On June 11, 2026, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s (the Kingdom’s) new Sports Law (the Law) became effective, replacing the Basic Regulation for Sports Federations and the Saudi Arabian Olympic Committee issued by Royal Decree No. M/55 dated 19/10/1407H. The Law, which was published in the Official Gazette on December 12, 2025, defines the institutional roles of the Ministry of Sport (the Ministry), the Minister of Sport (the Minister), and related sports bodies; introduces registration, approval, and licensing requirements; and recognizes the Saudi Sports Arbitration Center’s (the Center’s) role in supervising arbitration and other alternative dispute resolution procedures for covered sports-related disputes. The implementing regulations to the Law (the Implementing Regulations) are expected to provide further operational detail and must be issued within 180 days of publication. In-scope entities are required to ensure compliance with the Law by June 11, 2027 (a period that the Minister can extend by another year).
The Law applies to entities across the sports ecosystem, including sports federations, leagues, clubs, academies, event organizers, and operators of sports facilities, as well as individuals engaged in regulated sporting activities.
The Ministry coordinates with sports entities and relevant authorities to develop the sports sector, encourage participation, gather and make available sector data, administer a national sports register (the Register), issue licenses and approvals within its remit, and oversee compliance through investigation, inspection, and enforcement powers.
Sports entities and other regulated participants should assess whether they are required to be established, licensed, approved, or registered under the Law and the forthcoming Implementing Regulations. For clubs and leagues taking the form of companies, ministerial approval is required before applying to establish the company or before an existing company conducts sports activity, and the company must then be added to the Register within the prescribed period. Governance requirements include prescribed constitutional-document content, general assembly and board governance, financial governance, and auditor appointment and approval of financial statements. The Law further authorizes the Ministry to request information and document-production obligations and contemplates controls on capital, foreign ownership (to be set by the Minister), mergers, acquisitions, and transfers of ownership rights, in coordination with the relevant authorities.
The Ministry is also required to coordinate with the General Organization for Social Insurance and the Insurance Authority to arrange for the registration of players and coaches in social insurance, develop appropriate insurance products for them, and prepare draft regulations governing the contractual relationship between clubs/federations, players, and coaches.
The Law regulates individuals engaged in the sports sector, including players, coaches, referees, and sports agents, each of whom must be registered or licensed by the relevant federation. It distinguishes between professional and amateur players and sets requirements for coaches’ licensing and classification. It also introduces an elite athletes’ framework, under which the Minister periodically issues a list of elite athletes who are Saudi nationals with high-level performance competing in international events, and which will be subject to special provisions under the Law.
The Law draws a distinction between sports competitions and sports events. A sports competition is an event organized by the Saudi Olympic and Paralympic Committee (the Committee) or the relevant sports federation. By contrast, a sports event includes a regional, continental, or international sports competition hosted in the Kingdom, as well as other sports events (other than sports competitions) held in the Kingdom.
Against that framework, the Ministry, the Committee, and the relevant sports federation may each hold sports events within their respective mandates, while government entities may hold sports events only after obtaining the Ministry’s approval in accordance with rules and controls to be specified in the Implementing Regulations. Other organizers must obtain a license from the Ministry before holding a sports event.
Separately, the management and operation of sports competitions and sports events may not be carried out without a Ministry license, with the licensing conditions and operational controls to be set out in the Implementing Regulations.
The Law requires Ministry licensing for the establishment and operation of sports centers, institutes, and academies. Sports schools are subject to a heightened regulatory framework, requiring licenses from both the Ministry and the Ministry of Education before they may be established or commence operations, with the licensing conditions and requirements to be issued jointly by both ministries. Training and technical staff at these entities must also be licensed by the Ministry.
The Law recognizes arbitration for disputes involving sports entities and specified stakeholders, and treats arbitration clauses in a sports entity’s constitutional documents or bylaws as written arbitration agreements for the covered parties. The Center supervises arbitration and other alternative dispute resolution procedures for sports-related disputes involving the specified categories of parties, where the parties agree to resolve the dispute within the Center’s framework. The Center’s statute is expected to address its seat, functions, jurisdiction, organs, governance, and financial arrangements. Any internal appeal or review requirements should be assessed under applicable federation rules, entity bylaws, or Center rules.
Individuals and entities subject to the Law are required to bring their status into compliance with the Law within one year of its entry into force, i.e., by June 11, 2027. The Minister may extend this compliance period for a further, equal period. Existing stakeholders should assess their status against the Law and monitor the Implementing Regulations, which the Minister must issue within 180 days of publication and which are expected to specify detailed compliance requirements. Non-compliance may trigger enforcement action, including written warnings and corrective periods, fines of up to 5 million, license cancellation or suspension, temporary or permanent facility closure, and other sanctions specified in the Law. Stakeholders should also monitor technical standards, Ministry guidance, and federations’ updated statutes to ensure timely alignment.
The Law marks a step-change in the professionalization and regulation of the Saudi sports sector. In the near term, stakeholders may wish to prioritize mapping their activities against the Law’s registration, approval, and licensing requirements, including for events, facilities, sports entities, clubs, leagues, academies, training providers, and other regulated activities. Looking ahead, the Implementing Regulations, which the Minister must issue within 180 days of publication, will provide detailed parameters for many of the Law’s operational requirements.