CEF Can Mir promotes regulatory changes that favour the sports practice of minors in foster care
The initiative is based on the difficulties that young people in foster care have in order to register and compete in federated leagues. In this sense, we find barriers to make sport accessible to everyone, both for the regulations in Catalonia and for the requirements requested by sports federations to register these athletes.
These regulatory limitations and requirements are contradictory to those that protect the rights of minors, such as the Declaration and Convention of the Rights of children of the United Nations, the Statute of Catalonia, the Spanish Constitution, the Organic Law on the Rights and Freedoms of Foreigners in Spain and their social integration, the Law of rights and opportunities in childhood and adolescence of the Generalitat de Catalunya, the Pact for children in Catalonia, the Citizenship and Migration Plan of Catalonia, or the Decree of sports entities in Catalonia.
CEF Can Mir drafted a resolution proposal that can be approved, in the first instance by the city councils, to support these changes and that could be transferred to other institutions and agencies.
The regulatory and regulatory amendments proposed in the resolution are as follows:
1) The amendment of Decree 58/2010, of 4 May, of the sports entities of Catalonia, which establishes that "they are considered Catalan athletes, for the purposes of the official competition of the Catalan federation... those who have acquired the administrative neighborhood in this territory, and who accredit it in the last two years... "
In this sense, it would be necessary to eliminate the criterion of the two years, which can be understood as a discriminatory element and that does not favor the integration of newcomers from the moment of their arrival, understanding sport as an element of reception and relevant inclusion.
2) To urge the federations (FCF, FEF and FIFA) that the requirements for the registration of children and young people in sports competitions comply with the existing legality regarding the right to sports practice and in general those of minors.
Also, that the scope of application of strict federation requirements is limited exclusively to clubs linked to professional football or to the transfer practices of players that do not guarantee the rights of children and young people.
3) To urge the Catalan Football Federation (FCF), as well as the Spanish Football Federation (FEF) to:
- To recognise as identification documentation of minors, in case of not having a passport, the Personal Identification Number (NIP) and if necessary, accompanied by certification issued in the case of Catalonia, by the Directorate of Child and Adolescent Care (DGAIA) of the Generalitat de Catalunya. Currently they can only be registered if the identification document is the DNI, NIE or passport.
- That the FCF and the FEF are urged to extend the concept of parental functions and role to natural and legal persons who exercise the legal guardianship of children and young people for the purposes of the documentation to be presented. Currently they need authorization from families so that they can play football, which often becomes a difficult process to achieve.
- That in case of null or negative response by the different federation bodies, the General Secretariat of Sport studies the possibility of generating resources, together with the General Directorate of Child and Adolescent Care (DGAIA) and in collaboration with the Regional Councils and municipalities of Catalonia, to make sports accessible, and specifically football competitions, children and young people who currently cannot exercise their rights.
- To specify an agile mechanism that allows children and young foreigners in care who can prove certain documentary requirements, in accordance with the fact that the function of guardianship of the parent has been assumed by the Administration, and that is done by the DGAIA.
This resolution has been approved by the Plenary Session of the Terrassa City Council on April 29 (unanimously), and by the Plenary Session of the City Council of Sant Cugat del Vallès on May 16 (with the vote against JxC).
Rubí City Council is in favour of the content of the resolution and will surely be presented, and we believe it will be approved, in a next Municipal Plenary Session.
At the same time, we are managing a meeting with the FCF (Catalan Football Federation) to discuss this issue, once the electoral process in which this federation is located has been completed.
We consider that the benefits that these regulatory and regulatory changes will bring will not only affect athletes positively, but also to the different sports entities in the country that do not make commercial or economic use of the practice of football, as well as other sports disciplines.
We attach the document with the text of the resolutions approved so far.