Mapping the landscape of sports law: a bibliometric analysis

Authors

  • Sharad Kumar Pandey Symbiosis Law School, Noida, Symbiosis International (Deemed University), India
  • Ravi Dubey Maahir Associates (Law Firm), Lucknow, UP, India
  • Arpit Sharma School of Law, National Forensic Sciences University, Delhi, India
DOI: https://doi.org/10.6018/sportk.727821
Keywords: Arbitration, Doping, Bibliometric Analysis, Interdisciplinary Legal Research, Sports Law

Abstract

The aim of this study was to examine the research field of sports law through bibliometric techniques, highlighting thematic trends, subject focus, and the progression of legal discourse. The study highlights the evolution of sports law into an interdisciplinary domain that intersects governance, health, human rights, and arbitration. The study utilizes bibliometric analysis, drawing on data from the Scopus database spanning 1983 to 2025. VOSviewer facilitates co-occurrence, clustering, and network analysis. It delineates publication patterns, leading countries, major subject areas, and keyword interrelationships to provide a systematic assessment of the field's development. There has been a significant increase in publications since 2010, peaking in 2021 and 2024. The United States and the United Kingdom are the primary contributors, with Social Sciences accounting for the largest share of publications. Four principal thematic clusters emerge: arbitration and fundamental rights, athlete welfare, regulatory governance, and legal issues related to doping and equity. Keyword analysis identifies "sports law" as the central keyword, together with terms such as arbitration, anti-doping, and human rights. The findings aid policymakers, legal scholars, and sports organizations in understanding research trends, supporting informed policymaking, and addressing issues related to doping, discrimination, and athlete rights. This is one of the few comprehensive bibliometric analyses in sports law, connecting academic knowledge with practical legal and societal needs.

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Published
19-07-2026
How to Cite
Pandey, S. K., Dubey, R., & Sharma, A. (2026). Mapping the landscape of sports law: a bibliometric analysis. SPORT TK-EuroAmerican Journal of Sport Sciences, 15, 70. https://doi.org/10.6018/sportk.727821
Issue
Vol. 15 (2026)
Section
Articles

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The works and papers that are published in this Journal are subject to the following terms:

1. The Publication Service of the University of Murcia (the publisher) has the Publication Rights (Copyright) to the published papers and works, and favors and permits the reusing of the same under the license indicated in point 2.

© Servicio de Publicaciones, Universidad de Murcia, 2013

2. The papers and works are to be published in the digital edition of the Journal under the license Creative Commons Reconocimiento-No Comercial-Sin Obra Derivada 3.0 España (legal text). The copying, using, spreading, transmitting and publicly displaying of the papers, works or publication are permitted as long as: i) the authors and original sources (Journal, publisher and URL of the publication) are quoted; ii) it is not used for commercial benefit; iii) the existence and specifications of this users license are mentioned.

3. Conditions of Self-Archiving. It is permitted and encouraged that the authors spread electronically the pre-print (before printing) and/or post-print (the revised, evaluated and accepted) versions of their papers or works before their publication since this favors their circulation and early diffusion and therefore can help increase their citation and quotation, and also there reach through the academic community.