Informal meeting of EU Sports Ministers
Social inclusion through sport and Financial Fair Play (FFP) were the subjects of the informal meeting of EU Ministers for Sport, held in Rome. The Polish delegation presented national examples of the use of sport for strengthening social cohesion, and emphasised FFP’s key role in promoting the integrity of sports competitions. The meeting was held on 20-21 October 2014 at the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and was one of the events organised in the framework of the Italian Presidency of the Council of the European Union. The meeting was attended by representatives of the Member States, the European Commission, the European Parliament and the Council of Europe; the session on FFP was also attended by representatives of UEFA and the Italian Olympic Committee.
The discussion on the role of sport in social inclusion emphasised sport’s particular ability to integrate people regardless of their views and origin. Good practices were presented and possible forms of cooperation at the European level were proposed. Representatives of the Member States appreciated the special value and effectiveness of sport, in particular in the field of cooperation with challenging youth groups.
FFP is an initiative developed by UEFA in order to improve and stabilise the financial situation of European football clubs. According to the FFP principles, the clubs should not spend more than they earn. UEFA President Michel Platini who took part in the meeting evaluated to-date results of FFP as successful given the fact that the clubs’ indebtedness has been significantly reduced. Mr Platini also encouraged the participants to combat another problem of modern football, i.e. third party ownership. Representatives of the Member States appreciated UEFA efforts in the field of FFP, which provide an example to be followed by other sports.