The Right to Access Sport for All in Europe

Abstract

The right to access sport is connected to the rights to culture, education, and leisure in, amongst others, two United Nations core international human rights instruments and the Council of Europe's non-binding Sports for All Charter (1975). Yet this article demonstrates that the right to access sport is increasingly coupled with the right to health too. Notably, the Council of Europe's revised European Sports Charter (2021) stresses that a "stand-alone" right to access sport for all is instrumental for health. While requiring considerable resources, investing in this right is ultimately more beneficial than not doing so in Europe.