I. Human rights in sport regulations
II. Selected CAS cases related to human rights issues
III. Sport and the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR)
IV. SFT judgements dealing with the application of human rights in CAS matters
V. List of CAS arbitrators with specific expertise in human rights
VI. List of topics related to Human Rights in sport discussed at past CAS seminars

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CAS once again confirmed that:

1. In order to impose a sanction to a direct or indirect member, the relevant body of a sport Federation which imposed said sanction must have an attributed competence to do so.
2. A decision that has been characterized as a “punishment” or a “penalty” must be qualified as a disciplinary measure.
3. For a sanction to be imposed, a sports regulation must prescribe the misconduct with which the subject is charged, i.e., nulla poena sine lege (principle of legality), and the rule must be clear and precise, i.e., nulla poene sine lege clara (principle of predictability).

Click here to read the full ruling.

Watch transparency in action as COSAFA broadcasts its entire AGM live. Click here to watch the full proceedings of the 2023 COSAFA AGM

Since 2011, Play the Game has worked with leading academic experts and actors in sport to develop tools to benchmark and develop good governance practices in sports organisations at all levels.

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On this theme page, you can find

• an introduction to Play the Game’s approach to benchmarking sports governance

• an overview of Play the Game’s governance projects in historical order

• link to our theme page about how you can do your own governance benchmarking of international and national sports organisations

• links to all publications from our governance projects

Play the Game has launched two online tools that allow anyone to benchmark an international sports federation or national sports organisation following the principles of our governance observer tools. Click here to download the tool. 

On this theme page you will find information about and links to the two tools

• The Sport Governance Observer tool (SGO tool)

• The National Sports Governance Observer tool

• (NSGO tool)

FIFA and WHO extend Memorandum of Understanding for four more years

WHO Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus and FIFA President Gianni Infantino sign new agreement in Geneva, Switzerland

Click here for the full story

Follow Day 1 of the proceedings by clicking here

Follow Day 2 of the proceedings by clicking here

On 30 March 2023 the Premier League announced various changes to its Owners and Directors Test (“OADT”) which significantly expand its ambit.[1] The redraft of the OADT was published on 6 April 2023 and became effective immediately. The OADT is set out in Section F of the Premier League Handbook.[2] It applies to anyone who becomes an owner of a Premier League club (i.e. someone who obtains control of a club) and anyone who becomes a director of a club. The test applies upon the control or appointment event occurring but is also an ongoing test.

The test principally sets out a list of circumstances in which a person is disqualified from being an Owner or Director of a football club.

Click here to read the article

By Nick Said – 8 May 2023

That South Africa has just a single player featuring in Europe’s top five leagues is a telling indictment of the country’s football, which has seemingly been left behind by the rest of the world.

ForbesAfrica.com

Click here to read the full article in Forbes Africa.

UEFA’s latest benchmarking report found 180 clubs worldwide with around 6,500 players under contract in 2022, but Play the Game’s more recent research identified 256 clubs with shareholders or owners with significant stakes or influence in other clubs.

Using the same metric as UEFA, the number of clubs identified by Play the Game suggests more than 9,000 players are under contract at clubs in MCOs. Some of these clubs will also have relationships with academies that tie in players, so that figure is probably substantially larger.

Click here to read the full report.

By Dennis A. Mumble – March 2022

This paper examines whether the 2022 changes to the SAFA Statutes meet the FIFA alignment objectives and demonstrates how SAFA’s Members have been disempowered by a clique at the top of the governance ladder.

On 13 August 2021, the SAFA NEC resolved to appoint a Task Team of three NEC Members to engage SAFA Members and to conduct a workshop with them “to include the Regional and Provincial structures” and “to ensure alignment with FIFA and CAF”.

Click here for the full story …