7. The regulation of sporting activities in England and Wales.

The approach of English law to the regulation of sport is generally a non-interventionist one. There is no general 'law of sport' to regulate activity in the sector and specific statutory intervention has generally only occurred where there is a specific public interest to warrant it. As a result of this autonomy, sport is organised on a private consensual basis, largely through an array of sports 'governing bodies', which exist at different levels (providing for international, national and, in some cases, regional administration), so as to form a pyramidal structure with individual sports clubs at the bottom. Accordingly, the authority of sports' governing bodies is derived from the voluntary agreement of