On Tuesday 20 May, MEPs on the European Parliament’s Committee on Culture and Education (CULT) examined the draft report on ‘The role of EU policies in shaping the European Sport Model’, for which Bogdan Andrzej Zdrojewski (EPP, Polish) is rapporteur.
The text calls for greater European involvement in the governance of sport in order to counter the abuses associated with the increasing commercialisation of sport.
For the rapporteur, this was a reminder of the central social and political role of sport, which is, in this sense, “more than entertainment”.
Bogdan Andrzej Zdrojewski called on the European Commission to “present a long-term strategy on sport policy” and to propose “concrete actions”, given the integrity of the sector, which is being undermined by speculative investments, a dwindling voluntary sector, and the profit motive.
He did, however, make it clear that “it is not a question of taking more power, but of making more intensive use of the tools that exist”, particularly in terms of funding, coordination of national policies and legal frameworks.
Among the shadow rapporteurs, Nikola Minchev (Renew Europe, Bulgarian) said it was “absolutely crucial” to preserve financial solidarity and the principle of open competition, “particularly at the present time, when we are seeing the creation of elitist formats”.
He also mentioned the risks of clubs being owned by opaque private interests.
Similarly, Hannes Heide (S&D, Austrian) felt that “when you focus solely on economic results, it could undermine the European sport model”, while Erik Marquardt (Greens/EFA, German) called for sport to “promote democracy” without “politicising it”.
However, Lara Magoni (ECR, Italian) was opposed to the possibility of wage controls in football and insisted on the national nature of funding models. Zsuzsanna Borvendég (ESN, Hungarian) warned against the “politicisation” of sport through sanctions against certain countries.
Amendments are expected up until 23 May, and the report should be presented to the plenary session this summer.
The draft report: https://aeur.eu/f/gx3 (Original version in French by Nithya Paquiry)