Amendment to the Act on Sport approved by the Council of Ministers
On Tuesday, 14 March 2017, the Council of Ministers approved the bill amending the Act on Sport and the Act on the Disclosure of Information on Documents of State Security Agencies from the years 1944-1990 and on their Contents, submitted by Minister of Sport and Tourism Witold Bańka.
The main aim of the bill is to increase the transparency of activities of Polish sports associations. The eradication of corruption and nepotism from sport requires elimination of capital, organizational and personal ties with members of the associations’ bodies. Among the key solutions is the prohibition of capital ties for association board members and their families, i.e. the prohibition of membership in the board of an association for persons whose close ones are engaged in service provision to that association.
Transparency of Polish sports associations will also be increased by the prohibition of membership in Polish sports association’ boards, applicable to former functionaries of the state security agencies of the Polish People's Republic. We strive to make Polish sport clean in every dimension. Persons engaged in the activities of Polish sports associations should be of sufficiently good repute so as not to be accused of actions contrary to moral, ethical and legal standards.
The bill also provides for the Minister for Sport and Tourism’s increased supervision over Polish sports associations through monitoring their operations’ compliance with internal regulations (e.g. rules or guidelines) of the relevant association. The new solution will also allow for much better supervision over the operations of Polish sports associations’ bodies i.e. management boards and internal audit bodies (usually, audit committees).
According to the bill, the Minister of Sport and Tourism may award periodic sports grants to athletes who, for reasons beyond their control (such as injury, uncontrolled falling, exclusion from competitions, damage of equipment, etc.) have failed to achieve a result which guarantees the grant. This will make it possible for athletes in such exceptional situations to continue their preparations for major championship events indicated in the bill.
Numerous other steps will also be taken to increase the transparency of Polish sports associations and prevent conflicts of interest. According to the bill, membership in the board of a Polish sports association may not be combined with employment at the Ministry of Sport and Tourism. The membership may not be combined either with the position of Polish national team coach or coaching team member in the same sport.
The amended regulations will come into effect 14 days after their publication in the Journal of Laws, except for certain provisions which will come into effect 3 months after their publication.