Meeting of EU Sport Directors
The role of multisport clubs as models of social capital building, and methods of counteracting violence in sport were the main themes of the meeting of the EU Sport Directors, held on 2 and 3 December 2014 in Milan.
The Sport Directors meeting formula allows for the exchange of information and experience among persons responsible for designing and implementing solutions in the field of sport in the individual Member States. Therefore, the expert nature of the meetings has an added value thanks to the possibility to discuss specific solutions
The discussion on multisport clubs was preceded with a presentation given by Mr. Federico Eichberg, coordinator of the European Multisport Club Association, who spoke about the significance of such clubs for social inclusion and for increasing the level of physical activity among citizens. Multisport clubs are understood as organisations providing not only the opportunity to practise numerous sports disciplines, but also the possibility for amateur athletes to participate in professional sports clubs. This solution allows amateurs to identify with their club colours, to use the club infrastructure and to feel motivated to undertake regular physical activity.
The discussion showed that such clubs exist only in some EU member states. However, other initiatives are also developed with the aim to get citizens more involved in spending time together in an active way. Examples of such initiatives include open-access sports clubs established by local communities, and the Polish project "Animator: my pitch Orlik".
The meeting also discussed issues related to security in sport. The participants highlighted the need to protect the ethical dimension of sport and the role of education and prevention. Attention was also paid to numerous legislative changes implemented at the national level in order to improve security in the stadiums. The Council of Europe’s representatives present in the meeting emphasised that works are finalised on the new draft of the convention on security of sports events. The Directors also exchanged experience related to the implementation of fan projects. Among good examples in this area is the Polish project „Fans Together”.
This was the last meeting organised by the Italian Presidency. Since 1 January 2015, the presidency of the Council of the European Union will be held by Latvia.