12/10/2016 Session
Sport plays an important role for social cohesion by providing opportunities for people of different gender, abilities and nationality or from different cultures to meet and exchange ideas. However, “sport for all is not yet a reality”, PACE underlined today.
Adopting a resolution on the subject, based on the report by Carmen Quintanilla (Spain, EPP/CD), the Assembly called for a more integrated and dynamic approach to promoting access to sport, notably through increased co-operation between stakeholders and through establishing effective monitoring mechanisms of any form of discrimination in sport.
The parliamentarians called on member States to reduce gender-based remuneration gaps and disparities in prizes, recognise women athletes’ achievements and significantly increase media visibility of women in sport, notably by devoting more public service broadcasting airtime to women’s sport and by promoting a non-sexist view of sport.
They should also consider launching talks with sports organisations on a better redistribution of revenues generated by top-level professional sport in order to allocate a percentage of that money to projects aimed at improving access to sport for all.
The resolution supports the work of the Council of Europe Enlarged Partial Agreement on Sport and encourages the International Olympic Committee to develop a comprehensive programme for the promotion of sport for all and the fight against discrimination.
The President of the International Olympic Committee, Thomas Bach, who addressed the parliamentarians during the debate, said that “we can only make progress by joining forces, by working together. Your resolution on sport for all is a great opportunity for us to join hands and to unite behind such a common wish. The IOC is built on the belief that we can make the world a better place through sport. But we can only do so if we work together”.