03/06/2026 Culture, Science, Education and Media
The Committee on Culture, Science, Education and Media, meeting on 2 June in Istanbul, highlighted structural, political and societal challenges affecting media freedom in sport, including restrictions on journalistic access, contractual limitations, growing control of content by rights holders, intimidation and harassment, legal pressure and gender inequalities within sports media.
Added to this is a “profound transformation of the media environment” driven by digitalisation, which is affecting sports journalism, while the latter remains highly dependent on access to events, athletes and institutions, the committee underlined.
The report by Tone Wilhelmsen Trøen (Norway, EPP/CD), adopted unanimously by the committee, emphasises that these developments “may further affect the ability of journalists to report freely and independently across a range of major competitions and high-profile international events,” such as the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
The committee called on member states to guarantee freedom of expression and freedom of information in sport, and in particular “to review legal and regulatory frameworks on broadcasting rights, accreditation systems and contractual arrangements” so that they do not restrict journalistic activity or the public’s right to information.
Furthermore, it called on states to guarantee practical and non-discriminatory access for journalists to sporting events, athletes and relevant institutions; to support investigative journalism in sport; and to combat intimidation, harassment and violence against sports journalists, both online and offline.
According to the adopted draft resolution, sports organisations, federations and event organisers must also recognise media freedom as “a core element of good governance in sport”.
Finally, the committee proposed that the Committee of Ministers “reinforce the Council of Europe’s standard-setting and monitoring work on media freedom in sport”, building on the European Convention on Human Rights, the case law of the European Court of Human Rights, the European Sports Charter, and various recommendations of the Committee of Ministers.