Sports Clubs and Association Relationship

Legal Status of Sports Clubs

Sports clubs are legal entities established according to certain rules, with defined authorities and responsibilities for each member, possessing facilities, equipment, and materials through which every individual can engage in sports through both amateur and professional sports activities, and fundamentally aiming to develop high-performance athletes. When we speak of the legal entity of sports, sports clubs are the first to come to mind. In the words of Dr. Önder Ege, "The organization within social life that has legal personality and strives to carry out sports within the framework of universal competition rules is called a sports club association." As previously stated, sports clubs are generally established in the form of associations. In this regard, the definition pursuant to Article 4 of the General Directorate of Youth and Sports Regulations — "Sports club: Refers to associations established for the purpose of engaging in sports activities that have registered with the General Directorate" — is evidence that sports clubs are predominantly established in the form of associations. Consequently, associations are regulated according to the provisions of the Associations Law and the Turkish Civil Code concerning associations.

Structure of Sports Clubs Established as Associations

Within the scope of organizing sports and sustaining its activities in our country, the Constitution has imposed various obligations on the state through laws, regulations, and similar arrangements. Specifically, pursuant to Article 59 of the Constitution, the state has a duty to promote sports. Indeed, this duty of the state is also directly expressed in the Constitution. In this capacity, the state must apply certain regulations within the framework of laws and apply existing legal provisions to sports activities in order to fulfill its duties and responsibilities related to sporting activities.

As explained in the previous section, the concept of association, by virtue of various conditions in both the Civil Code and the Associations Law, is also applicable to sports clubs established in the form of associations. When explaining this definition, the first consideration is that individuals must come together with a common purpose to establish an "association." Therefore, it is an undeniable fact that the common purpose in sports clubs is undoubtedly to engage in sporting activities.

It can be said that sports clubs are generally established in the legal form of associations, while also rarely existing in joint-stock company structures. According to Turkish legal legislation, as regulated by Article 14 of the Associations Law, a club is the general name for associations established for the purpose of youth activities, sports activities, or youth and sports activities and registered with the General Directorate of Sports Services. Additionally, it should be noted that after the submission of the association's founding charter and other documents to the highest civil authority of the locality, a sports club is legally deemed to have been established. However, despite the completion of this procedure, associations cannot immediately commence sporting activities. For associations to legally commence their sporting activities, they must be registered in the registration book in accordance with the Youth and Sports Club Regulations of the General Directorate of Youth and Sports, or if they are football clubs, they must be registered with the Turkish Football Federation.