General Course Information
1.1 Course details
| Course code: | LLAW3300 |
| Course name: | Sports Law |
| Programme offered under: | LLB Programme |
| Semester: | Second |
| Designated research course: | Not applicable |
| Specialization: | Not applicable |
| Prerequisites / Co-requisites: | No |
| Course offered to non-law students: | No |
| Credit point value: | 6 credits |
[This course is cross-listed to LLM elective. Senior year LLB students (i.e. LLB 3-4 and Double Degree 4-5) are allowed to take certain LLM courses as their law electives but subject to meet certain requirements (please see LLB course selection guidelines).]
1.2 Course description
This course offers an introductory exploration of the legal principles and issues governing the sports industry, both locally and internationally. Students will learn how various areas of law—including contract, tort, employment, intellectual property, anti-bribery, and competition law—interact with professional, amateur, and recreational sports. Special emphasis will be placed on sports governance in Hong Kong, including the legal roles of bodies like the Sports Federation & Olympic Committee of Hong Kong (SF&OC) and various national sport associations. Students will acquire practical legal skills including contract drafting, governance compliance, and dispute resolution in the sporting context.
1.3 Course teachers
| Name | E-mail address | Office | Consultation | |
| Course convenor | Calvin Lai | TBC | N/A | By email |
1.4 Course outline (for elective course)
| Please click the link here for the course outline (HKU Portal login required). |
Learning Outcomes
2.1 Course Learning Outcomes (CLOs) for this course
CLO 1 Understand the legal structure and governance of sports organizations both locally in Hong Kong (e.g. Sports Federation & Olympic Committee of Hong Kong, China; Hong Kong Sports Institute) and internationally (e.g. IOC, FIFA, WADA, CAS).
CLO 2 Analyze the application of contract law, tort law, criminal law, and employment law in the Hong Kong legal context as they relate to sports, athletes, and sporting bodies.
CLO 3 Evaluate legal and ethical challenges surrounding doping, match-fixing, and sports-related criminal conduct, with reference to Hong Kong’s Prevention of Bribery Ordinance and anti-corruption framework.
CLO 4 Interpret and apply athlete eligibility, selection, and disciplinary rules in line with the Olympic Charter, local sports association constitutions, and Hong Kong Basic Law protections (e.g., freedom of association and equality).
CLO 5 Examine the role of the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) and Hong Kong’s role as a regional sports arbitration hub.
CLO 6 Develop practical skills in sports contract drafting, legal research, and the preparation of sponsorship agreement, employment agreement, etc.
CLO 7 Analyze anti-doping frameworks and their application to Hong Kong athletes through HKADC (Hong Kong Anti-Doping Committee) and WADA compliance.
CLO 8 Assess emerging legal issues in Hong Kong sports, such as athlete image rights, media broadcasting, eSports regulation.
2.2 LLB Programme Learning Outcomes (PLOs)
Please refer to the following link: https://course.law.hku.hk/llb-plo/
2.3 Programme Learning Outcomes to be achieved in this course
| PLO A | PLO B | PLO C | PLO D | PLO E | PLO F | |
| CLO 1 | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| CLO 2 | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| CLO 3 | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| CLO 4 | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| CLO 5 | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| CLO 6 | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| CLO 7 | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| CLO 8 | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
Assessment(s)
3.1 Assessment Summary
| Assessment task | Weighting | Feedback method* | Course learning outcomes |
| Class participation, cases and situation analysis and presentation | 30% | 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 | |
| Final exam | 70% | 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 |
| *Feedback method (to be determined by course teacher) | |
| 1 | A general course report to be disseminated through Moodle |
| 2 | Individual feedback to be disseminated by email / through Moodle |
| 3 | Individual review meeting upon appointment |
| 4 | Group review meeting |
| 5 | In-class verbal feedback |
3.2 Assessment Detail
To be advised by course convenor(s). See also Course Outline above.
3.3 Grading Criteria
Please refer to the following link: https://www.law.hku.hk/_files/law_programme_grade_descriptors.pdf
Learning Activities
4.1 Learning Activity Plan
| Seminar: | 3 hours / week for 12 teaching weeks |
| Private study time: | 9.5 hours / week for 12 teaching weeks |
Remarks: the normative student study load per credit unit is 25 ± 5 hours (ie. 150 ± 30 hours for a 6-credit course), which includes all learning activities and experiences within and outside of classroom, and any assessment task and examinations and associated preparations.
4.2 Details of Learning Activities
To be advised by course convenor(s).
Learning Resources
5.1 Resources
| Reading materials: | Reading materials are posted on Moodle |
| Core reading list: | TBA |
| Recommended reading list: | TBA |
5.2 Links
Please refer to the following link: http://www.law.hku.hk/course/learning-resources/