I am writing a short story for the Short Story Contest this week (https://www.writingforums.org/showthread.php?t=58882) and I've decided to base it in a football match (soccer, not American football). My main character plays for Sunderland, a EPL team, and though my MC is not real, I'm tempted to use the names of the actual players in the team. They have no major roles and are mainly there for description. Should I do that? Am I allowed to do that? I hope my question is not too vague... I would post what I'd written if I hadn't written it for the contest, but I hope you get my question? Also, is this thread in the right place? I'm new, so I'm not sure. Thanks!
I don't see why not. If the team is a real team, why not use the real players' names? I say go for it.
if you show the real people in a bad light, or doing things they wouldn't do, you could be in legal hot water... when in doubt on questions like this, don't take advice of people on writing sites [includes me], consult a literary attorney...
I guess that famous footballers are public people, thus, you don't need any special allowance to mention them.
Even 'public people' have legal rights and are inclined to pursue them more vigorously than 'not public'? people.
