The Georgian Legal Layer of a Footballer's Contract
In the eyes of the Georgian Labor Code, a footballer's relationship with a club is an employment contract, and this layer does not cancel transfer specifics — it frames them. Under Article 12, an employment contract is concluded orally or in writing, for a fixed or indefinite term, and where the employment relationship exceeds 1 month, written form is mandatory. A professional contract is almost always written, so attention shifts from form to substance: for what term is the contract concluded and how well that term is justified under the law.
Restrictions on Fixed-Term Contracts
The Labor Code strictly regulates fixed-term contracts: unless the contract term is 1 year or more, a fixed-term contract may be concluded only where one of the statutory grounds exists — including performance of work of a specific volume, seasonal work, a temporary increase in workload, or replacement of a temporarily absent employee. In football, seasonality and squad-building for a defined period are natural, yet the club must substantiate these grounds in writing. The following rule is especially important: where the contract term exceeds 30 months, or where the relationship continues through two or more consecutive fixed-term contracts with a total duration exceeding 30 months, the contract is deemed concluded for an indefinite term. Fixed-term contracts are deemed consecutive where a new contract is concluded within 60 days of the expiry of the previous one. For a footballer this means: a repeatedly extended seasonal contract may already count as indefinite — with all the consequences that entails.
The Mandatory Content of the Contract
Article 14 lists the essential terms of an employment contract: information about the parties; the start date and duration of the relationship; working and rest time; the workplace; the position and description of the work; remuneration — salary and supplements — and the manner of its payment; the rules for remunerating overtime; the duration of paid and unpaid leave and the manner of granting it; the procedure for terminating the relationship; and provisions of collective agreements where they regulate conditions differently. In a footballer's contract this list is supplemented by bonuses — for goals, matches, titles — which fall under the regime of remuneration supplements and require precise drafting. Transfer-related terms — buyout clauses, percentage of a future transfer, transfer-window restrictions — must be set out in contractual form. The law also regulates the employer's duty to issue a certificate of employment upon request.