Kulturudvalget 2021-22
KUU Alm.del Bilag 228
Offentligt
2533742_0001.png
Kulturudvalget 2021-22
https://pace.coe.int
Resolution 2421 (2022)
1
Provisional version
Sports policies in times of crisis
Parliamentary Assembly
1.
The Covid-19 pandemic has completely disrupted the world of sport, which has been one of the sectors
hardest hit by the restrictions imposed. The Parliamentary Assembly highlights the important part played by
sport in the economic systems of the Council of Europe member States but above all its key role as a means
of building social capital, its contribution to social inclusion and combating inequalities, its educational impact
and, of course, its beneficial effects on health and quality of life.
2.
The Assembly welcomes the new text of the revised European Sports Charter of the Council of Europe,
which states that access to sport for all is a fundamental right and asserts that all human beings have an
inalienable right of access to sport in a healthy environment.
3.
The recovery and sustainable development strategies, which are designed to rebuild better what has
been destroyed by the crisis, should foster an appreciation of the value of sport and physical activity as factors
for human development and personal and collective well-being and for social development and economic
growth, taking due account of its links with other sectors such as health, education, tourism, construction,
transport, media, retail and others. There is a need to highlight the leverage effect that promoting sport can
have in all these sectors and to step up co-operation between public authorities and sports organisations to
create conditions which foster active lifestyles and facilitate and normalise access to physical activity and
sport.
4.
The flow of financial aid must not fuel corruption. The level of oversight should be raised and respect for
the highest standards of integrity should be a prerequisite for the provision of financial support or support in
kind for sport. Co-operation should be established between all stakeholders to ensure a consistent multi-
stakeholder and multi-disciplinary approach and to fight corruption in sports competitions effectively.
5.
International sports governing bodies have a responsibility to seek out balanced, well thought-out
solutions in response to public health and financial issues which cannot easily be reconciled. This must not be
carried out in a way that is opaque, without listening carefully to all stakeholders. Qualification tournaments,
the Olympic and Paralympic Games and other international competitions must take place safely: athletes and
other people involved must not be forced to weigh their participation against their health and the health of
others.
6.
To back up the financial recovery of the sport sector and increase the resilience of the sport system,
solidarity mechanisms will have to be established and financial solidarity will have to be enhanced, operating
between high-level and grassroots sport, and between different sports and across the world.
7.
The whole sports movement, from the top to the bottom, should learn lessons from the crisis, so as to
evolve and modernise. Sports organisations and clubs should, in particular, gear their services even more to
the needs of athletes and members. Digitisation could be a driving force in this regard. Various online tools
1.
Assembly debate
on 26 January 2022 (5th sitting) (see
Doc. 15426,
report of the Committee on Culture, Science,
Education and Media, rapporteur: Mr Carlos Alberto Gonçalves).
Text adopted by the Assembly
on 26 January 2022
(5th sitting).
F - 67075 Strasbourg Cedex
|
Tel: +33 3 88 41 2000
|
pace.coe.int
 KUU, Alm.del - 2021-22 - Bilag 228: Meddelelse om relevante resolutioner og rapporter fra Europarådet vedr. sportswashing
Resolution 2421 (2022)
provide ways for people to participate in sport remotely and to keep members involved. Digital transition
needs to be integrated into provision strategies though this should not mean that proven models of in-person
provision are abandoned.
8.
Among the joint responsibilities of the public authorities and the sports-governing bodies as major
sports events progressively resume, particular attention should be paid to issues relating to spectator safety,
security and services, based on the integrated approach advocated by the Council of Europe Convention on
an Integrated Safety, Security and Service Approach at Football Matches and Other Sports Events (CETS
No. 218, Saint Denis Convention). All member States should ratify it and all stakeholders in the sporting world
should contribute to its implementation
9.
The Assembly also highlights the importance of getting fans and sportsmen and women more involved,
through the intermediary of the organisations representing them, in all the stages of the decision-making
process concerning sports events; their active involvement can only increase the legitimacy, understanding
and observance of restrictive measures.
10.
Accordingly, the Assembly calls on the Council of Europe member States to:
10.1. follow the principles and approaches of the revised European Sports Charter of the Council of
Europe when devising and implementing legal and policy frameworks for sport;
10.2. incorporate sport into recovery and resilience plans and mechanisms and to integrate sport
support measures into economic and social sustainable development strategies, including smart
specialisation strategies and regional or local development strategies, while ensuring that a fair share of
the resources allocated to the sport sector – including at regional and local level – are used to support
the recovery of grassroots sport; in this context, there is a need to:
10.2.1. ensure that sport is eligible for any national funds and mechanisms that are set up to
provide emergency aid and assistance;
10.2.2. develop funding support schemes for sports organisations and clubs, paying particular
attention to small grassroots clubs, and establishing simple and rapid procedures for accessing
funding, relaxed eligibility requirements enabling as many potential recipients as possible to
benefit and an assistance and advice service for small bodies; to ensure, in this context, that a
fair share of the funds available goes to women’s sport;
10.2.3. provide targeted funding for the most vulnerable people (athletes in difficulty, amateur
athletes, volunteers) and, in the longer term, to consider other forms of support for athletes’
professional and personal development – ensuring that men and women can benefit from these
on an equal footing – including mentoring, education and capacity building in key areas (for
example media training, financial management, marketing, risk and career management), and to
foster dual-career opportunities;
10.2.4. promote the development of sports infrastructure and an environment conducive to
sporting activities and physical exercise facilitating access to sport for all;
10.2.5. help low-income families and their children to access sporting activities and to adopt
measures to improve provision, aiming at the development of sports activities for health or
activities geared to specific groups (such as sport prescribed by doctors or sports cheques to be
distributed to people with more limited access to sport than others to be used to pay for
subscriptions or one-off sporting activities); at the same time, to encourage sports-governing
bodies and sport clubs to develop a range of activities geared to varying groups, while also
aiming at the development of women’s sport;
10.2.6. value sport and physical education in the context of education systems and to
encourage sport and outdoor activities in the school curriculum during the pandemic measures
and beyond;
10.3. ratify, if they have not yet done so, the Council of Europe Convention on an Integrated Safety,
Security and Service Approach at Football Matches and Other Sports Events (CETS No. 218, Saint-
Denis Convention) and the Council of Europe Convention on the Manipulation of Sports Competitions
(CETS No. 215, Macolin Convention);
2
 KUU, Alm.del - 2021-22 - Bilag 228: Meddelelse om relevante resolutioner og rapporter fra Europarådet vedr. sportswashing
Resolution 2421 (2022)
10.4. adopt relevant standards and sanctions to uphold the integrity of sports competition against
manipulation, to set up whistle-blowing mechanisms and to provide, in co-operation with sports
organisations, awareness programmes and training in sports ethics and integrity; sponsorship of sport
by the betting industry must be properly regulated and overseen, including provisions on conflicts of
interest, responsible gambling, research and intelligence exchange, education and training;
10.5. encourage, in co-operation with sports organisations, the active involvement of fans and athletes
in all stages of the organisation of a sports event, in particular (but not only) with regard to the
restrictions put in place to safeguard health and safety.
11. The Assembly invites the European institutions to ensure that the sport sector can benefit from the
European Regional Development Fund, the Cohesion Fund, the European Social Fund Plus, EU4Health and
other EU financial instruments and to show solidarity, considering the possibility of broadening access for non-
EU member States to the European funds available and developing transfrontier partnerships in the sporting
sphere.
12. The Assembly calls on the International Olympic Committee and other international sport governing
bodies to:
12.1. conduct open, participatory and transparent decision-making processes on the continuation,
cancellation or postponement of international sports competitions and the health rules imposed on
athletes, including enhanced means for the media to follow decision-making processes closely;
12.2. improve co-ordination when deciding on the calendar for major international sports competitions,
ensuring that it is not overloaded;
12.3. launch a real thought process on the mechanisms for financial solidarity between high-level and
grassroots sport, between different sports and across the world, and to aim for a more balanced
distribution of revenues from the sale of broadcasting rights;
12.4. review model contracts (for example those with host cities and other venues for the staging of
major international competitions or broadcasting contracts) in order to better anticipate and cover the
risks that further waves of pandemic (or other similar threats) may create;
12.5. look into building financial safeguards and compensation mechanisms into the funding system of
National Olympic Committees and sports federations so as to limit the impact of the cancellation or
postponement of a major event on their financial stability and, for example to:
12.5.1. give thought to creating reserve funds specific to each international federation and
solidarity funds at the level of the major worldwide umbrella organisations, into which a minimum
percentage of the revenue from each major event they organise would have to be paid, until the
funds reach a certain level;
12.5.2. consider setting up reserve funds at National Olympic Committees level by engaging in
dialogue with national authorities which might promote and support this process;
12.5.3. contemplate setting up collective insurance mechanisms, at least provisionally;
12.6. draw up clear health guidelines and requirements for holding competitions in order to ensure
effective protection of the health of the public, athletes and all other persons involved;
12.7. seek to ensure that athletes who have been vaccinated against pandemics, with vaccines
available and recognised in their countries, can participate fully in international tournaments and
competitions;
12.8. promote the sharing of experience and information on the effectiveness of the measures
adopted with regard to, for example, health and safety requirements, training opportunities, athletes’
rights and duties during lockdown and accessing Covid-19 resources (for example, personal protective
equipment or testing equipment);
12.9. ensure that there is no discrimination on the grounds of nationality as regards access to training
facilities, which should remain open to all competing athletes, whichever country they are from.
3