Sports

The Brief – Watch your Olympic (flag) politics

Since their start in 1896, modern-day Olympic Games have rarely been free of politics. The upcoming Tokyo Games, opening on Friday, seem unlikely to break away from that pattern.

The Brief, powered by Greens/EFA – Notti Magiche

After the grand finale, came the mourning after; if you are an England fan, that is.

The Brief, powered by UNESDA – Dreams of summer

After four weeks of a European Championship that started with the horror and near tragedy of Danish star Christian Eriksen’s collapse on the pitch, football’s coming home. Or to Rome.

The Brief, powered by Martens Centre – Football in the time of COVID

The idea to have a continent-wide Euro 2020 was a romantic idea when it was first proposed in the salubrious days of 2012. But to plough ahead with it in 2021 – as national authorities are scrambling to prevent COVID variants from spreading – smacks of pig-headedness.

The Brief, powered by VDMA – When greed is not good

The absence of sport, and particularly football, Europe’s favourite game, made last year’s lockdowns to stop the spread of Covid-19 even harder to bear. Since last summer, we have had the eerie spectacle of football without supporters. Lockdown football is...

COVID-19 teaches us about the need for a unified approach to health

Could World Health Day 2020 mark a milestone in global health history? Perhaps, but not in the way that one might immediately imagine, writes David S. Evangelista.

National team competition is vital for preserving European sports model

At the latest Education, Youth, Culture and Sports Council meeting, a number of European sports ministers expressed concern over the impact of commercial trends in elite sports on the integrity of the European sports model, based on solidarity. Kamil Novak explains what role the EU should play

Tackling corruption in football is actually a fight for democracy

Football can be a force for good and democratisation but it can also shelter some of the worst aspects of society, like corruption and money laundering to mask illegal activities, warns MEP Stelios Kouloglou.

Weighing the tradeoffs of joy versus long term health

Consumers make hundreds of choices every day, some of  which imply weighing the tradeoffs of joy versus long term health. These are highly subjective decisions, and in a free society adult consumers should have the right to make these choices and not have them dictated to them by public health tsars, writes Fred Roeder.

Paris 2024 is a bet on Europe

On Tuesday 6 June, a delegation for the Paris bid for the 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games will be received by the European Parliament in its assembly. It is a big opportunity for Paris, and also for the European Union, writes Julian Jappert.

A healthy environment means healthy citizens and a more vibrant EU

Europeans have some of the highest rates of anxiety, depression and other non-infectious diseases in the world. Today, on World Health Day, nature is an overlooked remedy, argues Magda Stoczkiewicz.

Nationalism, technology, and the Olympics

The Olympic Games have turned into a competition between nations, rather than individuals, writes George Friedman.

How to fix FIFA

Anne Brasseur spells out exactly what Sepp Blatter or his successor must do to “lance the boil” and clean up football’s world governing body.

Tourist boom in Georgia and Azerbaijan helps mitigate low oil prices

Georgia and Azerbaijan, two South Caucasus countries that offer breath-taking natural beauty, architectural treasures and rich histories, are going all-out to develop their tourism industries, writes Giorgi Meladze.

The other side of Bansko, Bulgaria

Open letter from young Bulgarian skiers to the participants in the Ladies Ski World Cup held in Bansko, Bulgaria 2015.

Engage sports federations in politics

Engaging sports movement in politics would be a chance for Europe. In 2010 only 1% of French people were members of a political party - one of the lowest rates among EU member states - while 24% signed up to belong to a sports federation, writes Nadège Chambon.

The fight against corruption in sport is a major European issue

Without a stricter Europe-wide approach to combat corruption in sport, one of humanity's oldest pastimes risks losing its value, concludes a recent EU-commissioned study by KEA, a Brussels-based consultancy. The think-tank Sport and Citizenship says illegal betting and the recent examples of match-fixing pose among the biggest threats. In the opinion of Philippe Kern, Europe needs stricter laws with new and better methods for prevention, detection and punishment to combat the problem.

EU at the Olympics: An invisible powerhouse

The London Games should confirm the EU’s position as a major soft power (at least in its sportive dimension), despite the global financial turmoil and economic crisis on the Old Continent, writes Piotr Maciej Kaczy?ski.

Russia’s Winter Olympic Games: Stepping up to the sustainability challenge

Global sports events like the Winter Olympics can and must contribute to mitigating environmental damage, writes Dmitry Chernyshenko, president and CEO of the Sochi 2014 Organising Committee, pointing to vast differences in environmental consciousness in the EU and Russia which the organisers hope Sochi will help change.