Source: European Parliament
The Commission promotes equality, diversity and inclusion in sport for all, notably through its strong commitment to building a Union of Equality, including for lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, non-binary, intersex and queer (LGBTIQ) people through the LGBTIQ Equality Strategy 2020-2025[1], as well as through funding programmes such as Erasmus+.
As announced in President of the Commission Political Guidelines[2] and in the 2025 Commission Work Programme[3], the LGBTIQ Equality Strategy will be renewed beyond 2025.
Based on the core principle of autonomy of sport, it is for each sport and its governing body to decide on the participation of transgender athletes in sport competitions.
The Commission notes the International Olympic Committee’s Framework on Fairness, Inclusion and Non-Discrimination on the Basis of Gender Identity and Sex Variations, that offers a 10-principle approach to help sport organisations to develop criteria applicable to their sport.
One of the Erasmus+ horizontal priorities is inclusion, and its inclusion and diversity strategy aims at creating equitable opportunities of access to the programme for everyone. In the sport field, some of the sport-specific priorities include values of non-discrimination, anti-racism and openness and tolerance.
The Commission’s commitment to equality and inclusion alongside the evolving policies of sports federations, plays a key role in shaping a fair and inclusive environment for women’s sports.
- [1] https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=celex:52020DC0698.
- [2] https://commission.europa.eu/document/download/e6cd4328-673c-4e7a-8683-f63ffb2cf648_en?filename=Political%20Guidelines%202024-2029_EN.pdf.
- [3] https://commission.europa.eu/document/download/7617998c-86e6-4a74-b33c-249e8a7938cd_en?filename=COM_2025_45_1_annexes_EN.pdf.