The Scope for Greater Alignment between the Council of Europe and the European Union in Sport through the Saint-Denis Convention

Abstract

The intersections of security, safety, and wider human rights concerns have long accompanied the hosting of global sport mega-events. This was highlighted in clear unmistakeable terms following the chaotic scenes which came to characterise the Champions League Football Final in Paris, 2022. Against this wider context, this intervention paper argues for greater legal and regulatory alignment between the Council of Europe (CoE) and the European Union(EU) through sport, which we suggest can be achieved by greater adherence by the latter organisation to the CoE’s Saint-Denis Convention. Underpinning this suggestion is the two-fold contention that in view of sport representing a shared priority for both organisations, in addition to Europe being a site of key global sport mega-events, more cohesion and consistency between both organisations in terms of their approach to sports law and policy would contribute to greater European-wide legal unity and certainty from a sporting perspective.