The European Union United Through Popular Sports

The EUSB (European Sports Badge) is meant to target a large audience through popular sports. Modern sport and its various events have been originated in Europe during the past two centuries. Physical exercise and personal fitness are nowadays well-respected and truly popular. This study aims at responding to the question, to what extent popular sport can make a contribution to the genesis, the implementation, and the fostering of a mutually acknowledged and experienced EU-identity. A differentiation between the two main spheres of sport, professional sports and popular sports, shows that the official and documented emphasis of the EU on the professional sphere hitherto led to negligence and a misconceiving attitude towards mass sports so far.

Bachelor Thesis from the year 2012 in the subject Politics - International Politics - General and Theories, grade: 2,0, University of the Federal Armed Forces Munchen, language: English, abstract: This thesis aims at responding to the question, to what extent popular sport can make a contribution to the genesis, the implementation, and the fostering of a mutually acknowledged and experienced EU-identity. With sport being the major social movement in Europe - unique in its efficiency in bringing people together, being a drive for integration, bridging any kind of borders and its nonpareil ubiquity - its implementation on a European level targeting the European Union people through popular sports will sustainably and remarkably promote the idea of an EU-identity. As an example for a small but utterly profound project, the idea of a European Sports Badge (EUSB) is presented as a transnationally implementable proposal, involving and addressing EU-citizens of all nations, sexes and ages. It should be noted, though, that sports are certainly not a panacea.

This electronic version has been made available under a Creative Commons (BY-NC-ND) open access license. Adopting a distinctive legal and political analysis, this book argues that the EU is receptive to the sports sectors claims for special treatment before the law. The book investigates the birth of EU sports law and policy by examining significant court decisions, the possibility of exempting sport from EU law, sport and the EU treaty, and more.

Given the impact that successive court rulings have had on the organisation of the sports movement in the past 15 years, the autonomy of non-governmental sports organisations has become a highly topical concern in Europe. It is also closely related to the issue of governance, the subject of previous Council of Europe studies. The Enlarged Partial Agreement on Sport (EPAS) decided to explore the concept of autonomy in greater depth by studying the conceptual, political, legal, economic and psycho-sociological aspects of the subject. This study was carried out at the request of the EPAS by the Swiss Graduate School of Public Administration (IDHEAP) on the basis of a questionnaire sent to public authorities in charge of sport and to national and international umbrella sports organisations. In addition to an analysis of the data obtained, documents produced by public authorities and sports organisations on this emerging issue are presented. This study contributes to a better understanding of the concept of autonomy and offers a clear picture of the issues involved.

This is the first book to investigate the significance of Brexit for sport, with a particular focus on the regulatory and legal challenges that it poses, and the economic and political stresses that are likely to follow in its wake. Written by a team of leading researchers working across sport studies, legal studies and political science, and edited by an EU official with nearly two decades of experience working in EU sport policy, the book explains why regulation, and European dis-integration, matter to sport. It examines key topics including free movement, state aid and labour law, and considers the interests of key stakeholders from fans to football clubs to governing bodies. This is an essential reference for any advanced student, researcher, policy maker, administrator or industry professional working in sport, international law, political science, or international business and management.

This work outlines the historical, political, legal and institutional basis of the European unification process. It also describes and analyses the sport policy of the European Union, focusing on a number of topics such as the Bosman case.

Potential of sport is under-exploited at both EU and national level despite its ability to deliver on core policy objectives in the health, education, employment and social spheres. This report considers how the EU can maximise the potential of sport in its own policy making and delivery and how it can help Member States do likewise. It looks at how EU legislation should be applied to sport in order to ensure the sustainability of grassroots sport, particularly its revenue streams from the broadcasting of professional sport. The reports main recommendations include: there is value in a dedicated sport fund but there is greater potential value in main-streaming it into other EU funding streams, including the structural funds and through ensuring redistribution from professional sport. The EU should include sport in its work on digital piracy and should look further at whether the gambling industry should be required to pay a 'fair return' to sport; different Member States are more advanced in certain areas than others, for example Finland on levels of participation among older people, offering potential for the sharing of best practice. The Commission should create a web portal which allows grassroots organisations to make links with each other; the voice of grassroots as well as professional sport need to be heard in Brussels. Dialogue between the Commission and sports organisations needs to be made more representative

Derived from the renowned multi-volume International Encyclopaedia of Laws, this practical analysis of sports law in the European Union deals with the regulation of sports activity by both public authorities and private sports organizations. The growing internationalization of sports inevitably increases the weight of global regulation, yet each country maintains its own distinct regime of sports law and its own national and local sports organizations. Sports law at a national or organizational level thus gains a growing relevance in comparative law. The book describes and discusses both state-created rules and autonomous self-regulation regarding the variety of economic, social, commercial, cultural, and political aspects of sports activities. Self- regulation manifests itself in the form of by-laws, and encompasses organizational provisions, disciplinary rules, and rules of play. However, the trend towards more professionalism in sports and the growing economic, social and cultural relevance of sports have prompted an increasing reliance on legal rules adopted by public authorities. This form of regulation appears in a variety of legal areas, including criminal law, labour law, commercial law, tax law, competition law, and tort law, and may vary following a particular type or sector of sport. It is in this dual and overlapping context that such much-publicized aspects as doping, sponsoring and media, and responsibility for injuries are legally measured. This monograph fills a gap in the legal literature by giving academics, practitioners, sports organizations, and policy makers access to sports law at this specific level. Lawyers representing parties with interests in the European Union will welcome this very useful guide, and academics and researchers will appreciate its value in the study of comparative sports law.