Legal aid in sport arbitration in Qatar: facilitating access to sport justice for impecunious athletes – lessons learned from the CAS

Legal aid has become increasingly relevant in the field of sports arbitration, particularly for impecunious athletes who are subject to mandatory arbitration imposed by sports federations. Due to the high fees and costs associated with proceedings before the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) and other sports dispute mechanisms, there is often an imbalance between less financially able athletes and wealthier parties such as clubs or federations. This paper explores the forms, conditions, and implications—both substantive and procedural—of legal aid in sports arbitration, at both national and international levels. It evaluates the legal aid frameworks developed by the International Council of Arbitration for Sport (ICAS)—particularly the 2013 guidelines as amended in 2019—and the legal aid regulations adopted by the Qatar Sports Arbitration Foundation, assessing their clarity and effectiveness in ensuring access to justice in mandatory arbitration contexts. The study highlights the prohibitive financial costs of CAS proceedings (ranging from approximately 20,000 CHF to more than 45,000 CHF) compared to the much lower fees before the Swiss Federal Tribunal and assesses how these disparities reinforce the need for legal aid mechanisms.