Sheffield Hallam University has won the second annual UK Sports Law Competition, beating 20 of the best law student teams from across the UK.
The winning team of Millie Broadbent and Billy Methley were this week welcomed at a special ceremony at the Leeds offices of competition organisers Shulmans to collect their trophy and meet some of the firm’s senior team.
The event, held at Wembley Stadium, attracted some of the best students from the country’s leading law schools, competing against each other in a variety of sports law scenarios, including the negotiation of commercial terms in a sponsorship deal between a brand and an e-Sports FIFA Football team, and resolving a dispute between a football club and a wearable technology company.
The panel of 30 judges were made up of experts from across the sports industry including Richard Harry (CEO of Sport Resolutions), Stuart Tennant (Legal Counsel at RFU), Melissa Hague (head of governance at Basketball England) and Mark Ives (head of judicial services at the FA). Other judges included representatives from GB Taekwondo, St Philips Chambers, Wassermann Sport, RK Harrison and Brandtix.
Broadbent said: “Billy and I are delighted to have won the competition and we both had a fantastic experience. We can’t thank Shulmans and the University College of Football Business (UCFB) enough for organising the day and we hope to bring the trophy home to Sheffield Hallam again next year!”
The competition, which has become an annual event, is the brainchild of Ryan Adams, a solicitor at Shulmans. Adams said: “We had a great day hosting the second UK Sports Law Competition and it was a huge success. Although I was supporting all of the competing teams on the day, as someone loyal to the county I call home, it was great to see Yorkshire succeed.”
UCFB Wembley was named as the academic partner for the competition. Sarah Hale, programme leader for Sports Law at UCFB Wembley, said that there was an extremely high standard of entrants who enjoyed the experience and learnt some invaluable lessons and skills.
