It is also planned to ban competitions in international leagues of team sports where more than half of the teams are from Russia or Belarus. The amendments also prohibit athletes and sports workers from participating in sports competitions in Russia or Belarus. Those who violate this prohibition will not be allowed to be included in the national team, nor will they be able to receive state or local government budget funds to cover the costs of training or competitions.
It is planned that a person who is a staff member of a foreign state security service, intelligence service or counter-intelligence service may not hold the position of a member of the Latvian National Sports Council or the head of an executive body of a sports federation. Also, a person who has been a staff member of the USSR, the Latvian SSR State Security Service, the Intelligence Service or the Counter-Intelligence Service may not be in this position. It is planned that this ban will take effect on August 1 this year.
It is necessary that persons who are not loyal to the State of Latvia and the Satversme and who could use their acquired powers to endanger national security cannot enter the leadership of the Latvian National Sports Council and sports federations, the annotation of the draft law states.
As emphasized in the annotation, Russia’s military aggression and large-scale invasion of Ukraine have raised the issue of participation of Latvian sports teams in sports competitions organized by Russia and Belarus, especially in national championships, given that one of Russia’s “soft power” uses sports.
Amendments to the Sports Law are still to be considered in the Saeima in the second – final – reading. The amendments are expected to take effect on the day following the announcement.
Resources used:
https://www.saeima.lv/lv/aktualitat…
