Athletes associations issue statement on corruption in sport

At a conference organised by UNI europa and the European Elite Athletes Association in Krakow, Poland in September, participants, representing 26 players associations approved a number of statements, including one on corruption in sport.

The following statements were approved by the conference for release:

Statement on corruption in sport

 The members of the European Elite Athletes Association recognize and commend section C4, clause 44, of the Coubertin Action plan of the White Paper on Sport relating to “corruption, money laundering and other financial crime”.

Corruption, for the purposes of this statement, is defined as the misuse of entrusted power for personal gain, which may not necessarily be financial.

Corruption and conflicts of interest in sport have a substantial and negative impact on the position of the athlete. Therefore, the EU Athletes member associations call, in general, for more transparency and accountability in sport. Athletes associations are prepared to play a positive role in this effort but recognize that all actors in sport including federations and leagues must tackle this problem through the adoption and implementation of codes of ethics, and the establishment of effective ethics commissions and compliance systems as is the norm in other industries.

Statement on player agents

The members recognize problems and conflicts of interest in the player transfer market. They support the process underway to study and potentially regulate the player agent industry in Europe. They call for more transparency on player transfers and agent fees and insist that players associations be involved in efforts related to the licensing and/or accreditation of agents.

Statement of support for the European Social Dialogue in the Sport Sector

 The members of the European Elite Athletes Association support the European Social Dialogue application of UNI europa and EASE and pledge their support to establish and actively participate in a European Social Dialogue in the Sport Sector.

Statement regarding anti doping regulations

Athletes associations across Europe are committed to drug free sport and would support a fair and effective performance-enhancing drug testing regime that recognizes, respects and protects athletes’ legal rights as both employees and European citizens. Aspects of any regime of doping rules that are not sport specific must be negotiated directly with athlete social partner organizations through either a social dialogue or collective bargaining process. 

For more information please contact:

Walter PALMER

EU Athletes – General SecretaryTelephone: +499512413679Email: walterpalmer@euathletes.infoWebsite: www.euathletes.info

Conference participants included representatives from the following athletes organizations:

NL Sporter – the Dutch Olympic Athletes AssociationNL Sporter (Basketball Section) UNI europaIRUPA – the Irish Rugby Union Players AssociationGPA – the Gaelic Players AssociationGIBA – the Italian Basketball Players AssociationSICO – the Swedish Ice Hockey Players AssociationEHPU – the European Handball Players AssociationFHPA – the Finnish Ice Hockey Players AssociationSP.IN – the German Basketball Players AssociationAJBM – the Spanish Handball Players AssociationPPF – the Professional Players Federation (11 players associations in the U.K) FNASS – representing the French Handball Players AssociationAIPAV – the Italian Volleyball Players AssociationABP – the Spanish Basketball Players AssociationPSAK – the Greek Basketball Players AssociationAJFS – the Spanish Indoor Football Players Association

The conference was held in Krakow, Poland from September 18-20, 2009 under the auspices of a European Commission funded project – “Building the Social Dialogue for Elite Athletes within the European Union”. UNI europa (www.uniglobalunion.org) and the European Elite Athletes Association (www.euathletes.info) organized the meeting.