ERASMUS+ Understanding, Evaluating, and Improving Good Governance
Understanding, Evaluating, and Improving Good Governance in the Employment Relations of Athletes in Olympic Sports in Europe
Head of Project
Prof. Dr. Jürgen Mittag
Project Coordinator
Maximilian Seltmann M.A.
IESF Project staff
Lorenz Fiege M.A.
Period of Research
January 2020 – December 2022
Project Funding
European Commission Erasmus+ Sport, ERASMUS+ Project 622796-EPP-1-2020-1-DE-SPO-SCP
Next Multiplier Sport Event: Friday, 13 May 2022, University of Rijeka
Defining Good Governance in the Employment Relations of Athletes: Open Forum
We kindly invite all stakeholders and interested parties to join this fourth MSE, taking place on Friday, 13 May 2022 at the University of Rijeka, Faculty of Law (Croatia) and its Centre for Sports Law, Sports Policies and Sports Diplomacy.
The aim of this event is to widen and deepen the ongoing debate about what constitutes good governance in athlete relations. The project team will present its interim findings as well as the draft concept and principles of good governance. A keynote and two panel debates will engage in an open discussion about the current state of athlete relations in south-eastern European countries, good practice and shortcomings, as well as potentials for improvement.
Speakers include:
- Blanka Vlašić (EOC Athletes' Commission)
- Zoran Primorac (ITTF Athletes' Commission & Croatian Olympians Club)
- Kaveh Mehrabi (IOC Athletes' Department)
- Caradh O'Donovan (Global Athlete)
- Raša Sraka Vuković & Petra Robnik (Slovenian NOC Athletes' Commission & Athletes Career Center)
- Walter Palmer (Centre for Sport and Human Rights)
- Biserka Vrbek (Croatian Olympic Committee)
- Krešimir Šamija (Croatian Ministry of Tourism and Sport)
- Miloš Milenković (Serbian Olympic Committee)
- Borut Kolarič (Slovenian Olympic Committee)
- Rožle Prezelj (Government of Slovenia)
About the EMPLOYS Project
Project Description
This collaborative partnership aims at improving good governance in the employment relations of athletes in Olympic sports by providing, evaluating and sharing evidence based information, practices and recommendations in an important, yet largely neglected, subdomain of sport and governance.The project team, consisting of five academic partners and two practice-oriented partners, both umbrella organisations representing essential parts of the sports sector in this certain field, will provide evidence based policy recommendations for sport governing bodies from the local to the global level as well as for national public authorities and EU institutions.
The project is structured around three specific goals, all of which are attained through different phases and methodologies. These goals are:
- Understanding - establishing an evidence base of the legal and socio-political landscape defining the employment relations of athletes in Olympic sports in 29 European countries and the European Union;
- Evaluating - assessing the current practice across the continent;
- Improving - formulating and implementing concrete policy recommendations for key stakeholders.
Building on a rigorous and participatory methodology, the expertise and unique network of the project team, this collaborative partnership will inform substantial and sustainable policy change on all levels of governance. The results empower athletes for a secure and successful career in sport and beyond.
Project Partners
Project partners (academic)
- University of Rijeka (Pravi Fakultet Sveucilista u Rijeci), Croatia
- Universidade Europeia, Portugal
- Edge Hill University, Great Britain
- Institute for Sport Governance, Poland
Partner (stakeholder representation)
Project Outputs
Interim Fact Report: Understanding the Employment Relations of Athletes in Olympic Sports in Europe
This Interim Fact Report provides a ground-breaking and comparative analysis of the employment relations of athletes in Olympic sports in 29 European countries. On the basis of national expert reports in the 27 EU member states, the United Kingdom and Norway, a comprehensive analysis of the legal and socio-political landscape of the situation of elite athletes is carried out. The rich data and the comparative design provide an initial understanding of the complex topic of athlete employment relations. Some analytical conclusions with regards to the influence of national settings, with their respective sport as well as labour and welfare systems, change dynamics and potential ways for institutional reforms are derived from the key findings.
Version 1.1 (April 2022, official publication): Download the study
Version 1.0 (December 2021): Download the study
Past and Future Multiplier Sport Events (MSE)
MSE1: 22 October 2021, Cologne
Understanding the Employment Relations of Athletes in Olympic Sports in Europe: Results of an EU-wide study
At this first event, the results of our European study will be presented. This study (Fact Report) provides an initial and ground-breaking understanding of the employment relations of athletes in Olympic sports in 29 European countries. The event will host stakeholders from Germany as well as from the trans- and international level of sport governance and labour regulation, including:
- International Olympic Committee
- European Olympic Committees
- German Olympic Sport Confederation
- German Federal Ministry of the Interior
- Luxembourg Ministry of Sport
- International Labour Organization
- Council of Europe
- EU Athletes
- Athleten Deutschland
A report of the conference published by the Deutschlandfunk can be found here.
MSE2: 17 December 2021, Lisbon
Understanding the Employment Relations of Athletes in Olympic Sports in Europe: Results of an EU-wide study
At this event, the results of our European study will be presented. This study provides an initial and ground-breaking understanding of the employment relations of athletes in Olympic sports in 29 European countries. The event will bring together stakeholders from sport organisations from many different countries, with a focus on southern and central Europe, policy makers from different institutions and internationally renowned academics.
MSE3: 16 March 2022, Edge Hill University
Defining Good Governance in the Employment Relations of Athletes in Olympic Sports: Open Forum
At this event, which took the form of an open forum for discussion, the project team presented its draft principles for good governance in the employment relations of athletes in Olympic sports. The event fostered debate about what constitutes good governance in the employment relations of athletes and brought together stakeholders and experts from the northern European region and the EU and transnational level of sport governance and public administration. The findings of the first project phase, published in the Fact Report, served as the basis for the discussion about future directions and actions to improve good governance in athlete relations on a national, transnational and EU level.
Download the programme.
MSE4: 13 May 2022, Rijeka
Defining Good Governance in the Employment Relations of Athletes in Olympic Sports: Open Forum
At this event, which takes the form of an open forum for discussion, the project team will present a literature review on decent work in sport and good governance. The event aims at fostering debate about what constitutes good governance in the employment relations of athletes by bringing together key stakeholders from the various levels of sport governance and public administration.
MSE5: June 2022, Warsaw
Evaluating the Good Governance in the Employment Relations of Athletes in Olympic Sports in Europe: A Critical Perspective
At this event, the project team will present its Evaluation Report which addresses the most prominent issues relating to the employment relations of athletes in Olympic sports in Europe from a comparative perspective. The event will host key stakeholders from the various countries included in the study as well as policy makers on all levels on administration.
MSE6 Final Event: October 2022, Brussels
The Future of Olympic Sports from an Employment Relations Perspective: Improving Good Governance in the Employment Relations of Athletes in Olympic Sports in Europe
At this event, the project team will present its Final Report which proposes evidence-based recommendations for policy change to improve good governance in the employment relations of athletes in Olympic sports in Europe.
News and Dissemination
Newspaper of Rijeka "Novi List" (in Croatian)
About the introduction of the EMPLOYS project: to the article(2021-06-18)
Radio Station Deutschlandfunk (in German)
About the MSE1: to the radio report