ERASMUS+ Understanding, Evaluating, and Improving Good Governance

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:

1. 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;
2. Evaluating - assessing the current practice across the continent;
3. 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 (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)

• European Elite Athletes Association (EU Athletes)
• European Olympic Academies

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Download the study