Major Sporting Events: Legal Risk, Commercial Exposure and What Organisers Should Be Reviewing Now

By Dan Harrington and Ali Maclean

Recent violence in Guadalajara has inevitably prompted renewed focus on security planning for major international sporting events scheduled over the next two years.

Large-scale events are routinely delivered in complex and challenging environments, encompassing issues of safety, security, public health, weather disruption and geopolitics. Isolated incidents do not mean competitions cannot proceed safely. However, sustained instability in a host city would test not only operational readiness but also the contractual and insurance framework underpinning the event’s commercial model.

With a busy global calendar ahead, including editions of the Olympic Games, the Commonwealth Games and multiple sport-specific world championships such as the Rugby World Cup and other World Cups across football, cricket and athletics, organisers and rights holders would be well advised to scrutinise their legal and operational readiness.

Readiness planning, operational testing, contractual reviews, crisis management protocols and insurance cover all need to be thoroughly assessed and stress-tested well in advance of any major event.

1. Force majeure drafting and consequence management

Force majeure clauses are often assumed to be protective catch-alls. In reality, their value lies in detail. Civil unrest, terrorism and government action must be clearly defined within hosting, broadcast and sponsorship agreements. Just as important is the consequence framework. Does the clause suspend obligations? Permit relocation? Trigger termination rights or rights of reduction?

“In global media rights contracts, force majeure is rarely the end of the analysis,” says Dan Harrington. “The real question is how risk is shared between parties and how value is preserved. Sophisticated structures anticipate disruption and provide mechanisms to reallocate inventory rather than simply terminate. Typically, parties also want to maintain an ongoing relationship and whilst an understanding of the contractual position is key, a strategic understanding of the commercial relationship must also be considered.”

“It is also worth revisiting government guarantees and force majeure provisions in light of today’s febrile political environment,” he adds. “Governments are increasingly making unpredictable decisions relating to immigration, sanctions, tariffs and other matters that can materially affect the staging of major events and the ability or willingness of nations and competitors to participate.”

In multi-host competitions, the ability to preserve inventory through relocation may be the difference between manageable disruption and wholesale loss of value.

2. Relocation and cross-border logistics

Relocation is never a simple operational switch. Moving fixtures engages the logistics of relocating teams, including hotels, training facilities and kit, as well as ticketing and consumer rights, fan travel, immigration requirements, stadium licensing, regulatory approvals and competition integrity.

“Relocation is never straightforward,” notes Ali Maclean. “It touches every commercial and regulatory strand of the event, from visas and local permissions to sponsor delivery, ticket-holder rights and competition integrity. All contractual aspects have to be understood in advance to reduce disruption and potential claims.”

Any relocation mechanism must be coherent across stakeholders, from local organising committees to global media and commercial partners.

3. Insurance resilience

Event cancellation and business interruption cover are fundamental to financial stability. Policies should be stress-tested against scenarios involving organised violence or government-imposed restrictions. Exclusions and trigger thresholds frequently determine whether recovery is meaningful or contested.

Understanding notification obligations and mitigation duties in advance is essential.

4. Media and sponsorship value protection

Broadcast agreements and commercial partnerships are built on delivery certainty. If matches are postponed, relocated or played behind closed doors, pre-agreed make-good structures can protect long-term relationships and avoid adversarial positions.

“As rights values have grown, so too has scrutiny on delivery,” says Harrington. “Broadcasters and sponsors are pragmatic, but they expect transparency and structured solutions. The earlier those pathways are mapped, the more resilient the commercial model becomes.”

5. Consumer rights and reputational exposure

Ticket holders benefit from statutory protections where events are materially altered. Refund exposure can escalate quickly, particularly in cross-border scenarios. Clear communication strategies and pre-determined refund protocols are critical to limiting reputational damage.

6. Duty of care and governance

Organisers and governing bodies owe obligations to players, fans, officials and staff. Documented risk, health and safety and security assessments, alongside robust escalation processes, are not merely operational safeguards. They are legal protections should a major incident occur and decisions later be scrutinised.

“Player welfare and public safety will always be paramount,” adds Maclean. “But those decisions sit within a legal and regulatory framework. Demonstrable governance, crisis management, stakeholder engagement and proportionate decision-making are vital if scrutiny follows.”

7. Competition integrity

All stakeholders want the outcome of any competition decided on the field of play. If a major incident arises, the competition rules must clearly set out the triggers for abandonment, postponement or cancellation of fixtures. There is usually a fixed timeframe to complete a competition, and depending on when disruption occurs, for example during a group phase or knock-out stage, there must be clarity on progression criteria.

It is equally important to define escalation and dispute resolution mechanisms to ensure that competitive integrity is preserved and challenges can be managed efficiently.

Modern security planning is more sophisticated than ever. Nonetheless, the commercial scale and global scrutiny surrounding events such as the Olympic Games, the Commonwealth Games and various World Cups mean that contingency architecture must be rigorous.

Risk always exists. The real question is whether contractual frameworks, insurance arrangements and governance structures are robust enough to protect competitive integrity and commercial value if conditions shift unexpectedly.

If you are reviewing your exposure ahead of a major event, we would welcome a conversation.

About the Team at Level

At Level, we advise at the intersection of sport, media and risk. Dan Harrington is widely regarded as the UK’s leading authority on media rights law, advising on the allocation of risk across broadcast and commercial structures for major international properties. Ali Maclean, former Group General Counsel of World Rugby, has extensive experience in the bidding, staging and commercial protection of global sporting events, including safeguarding media, sponsorship and ticketing revenues.