The European Sport Charter

The European Sport Charter provides guidance for the Council of Europe’s member states to perfect existing legislations or other policies and to develop a comprehensive framework for sport.
History The “European Sport for All Charter” was launched in 1975 by the European Sports Ministers. It was officially adopted on 24th September 1976. From that date, sport policies in Europe were endowed with a common programme based on the conviction that the values of sport would contribute to the fulfilment of the ideals of the Council of Europe . Building upon the principles of the “European Sport for All Charter”, the European Sport Charter was adopted in 1992 and revised in 2001 in order to provide a common set of principles for all Europe. Contents The Charter provides the framework for sports policy to which all European countries have to put their name.	Reference document The European Sport Charter (1992) The Code of Sports Ethics (1992) Other reference texts More information on… The member states’ compliance with the Charter
The Code of Sports Ethics acts as a complement to the Charter. It is based on the principle that “ethical considerations leading to fair play are integral, and not optional elements, of all sports activity, sports policy and management, and apply to all levels of ability and commitment, including recreational as well as competitive sport”. In these documents, governments have committed themselves to provide their citizens with opportunities to practice sport under well-defined conditions. Sport must be : accessible to everybody available for children and young people in particular healthy and safe, fair and tolerant, building on high ethical values capable of fostering personal self-fulfilment at all levels respectful of the environment protective of human dignity against any kind of exploitation of those engaged in sport Achievements Governments have certain clear overall responsibilities in the field of sport, and the European Sports Charter has achieved three essential prerequisites: to lay down stable parameters within which sports policies can develop to lay down common framework and basic principles for national sports policies to provide the necessary balance between governmental and non-governmental action and to ensure the complementarity of responsibilities between them.