The European Athletes & Players Association (EAPA) joined ministers, sporting organisations and youth representatives in Monaco on 3 and 4 November for discussions on strengthening the protection of children and young people in sport.
Held at the Grimaldi Forum under the theme Safer and Healthier Sport for All Children, the 19th Council of Europe Conference of Ministers responsible for Sport brought together representatives from across Europe to consider how sport can provide a safer, healthier environment for young people.
Opening the conference alongside H.S.H. Prince Albert II of Monaco, Council of Europe Secretary General Alain Berset delivered a clear message: “Human rights, democracy and the rule of law do not stop at the playing field.”
It was a message that resonated strongly with EAPA, which participated as a member of the Consultative Committee of the Council of Europe’s Enlarged Partial Agreement on Sport (EPAS). The Committee brings together sports organisations, NGOs and international bodies to contribute their expertise and perspectives to European sports policy discussions. For EAPA, participation provided an opportunity to reinforce the importance of recognising athletes as rights holders and ensuring that their voices are heard in the development of policies designed to protect them.
A central focus of the conference was the need to strengthen safeguarding standards and cooperation across European sport, particularly for children and young people. Discussions addressed the responsibility of sporting organisations and public authorities to create safe environments, provide appropriate protections and ensure that young people have a meaningful voice in decisions affecting them.
The conference concluded with the adoption of a resolution on safer and healthier sport for all children and young people, outlining a shared commitment to strengthening standards and cooperation.
For EAPA President Natalia Orive, the discussions highlighted issues that extend beyond youth sport and are relevant to athletes at every level.
“Everything is connected,” she said. “What was discussed in Monaco applies fully to the athletes and associations we represent: giving children and young people a voice where decisions are made, creating safeguarding standards and the funding needed to guarantee their protection, respect for human rights, no exemption for sport from European legislation, and making sure that autonomy of sport never becomes a loophole that leaves athletes unprotected,”
EAPA’s participation reinforced the importance of involving athletes and their representatives in shaping safeguarding policies, ensuring that the people those policies are intended to protect have a meaningful role in their development.
From grassroots participation through to elite competition, the principle remains the same: athletes’ rights must be recognised, respected and protected, both on and off the field of play.