ERC demands reactivating in Congress its reform to make attending the Spanish national team voluntary and reopens the debate on Catalan national teams

Esquerra Republicana has urged the Congress of Deputies to resume the processing of the reform of the Sports Law that it registered more than a year and a half ago and that seeks to eliminate the obligation to attend calls from Spanish national teams. The party considers that the initiative remains paralyzed without reason and demands that a calendar be set as soon as possible to continue its parliamentary journey.

The request has been submitted by deputy Etna Estrems through a letter addressed to the Bureau of Congress, an body in which PSOE and Sumar have a majority. The move also comes just one day after the men's national football team won its second World Cup.

The legislative proposal was taken into consideration by the Plenary in December 2023 thanks to the support of nationalist and independence groups, as well as PSOE and Sumar. Socialist support occurred despite the then Minister of Sports, Pilar Alegría, having previously expressed her reservations about the initiative.

The main objective of the reform is to modify the current legal framework so that wearing the national team jersey ceases to be an obligation and becomes an individual decision of each athlete. ERC defends that any player, male or female, can accept or reject a call without facing disciplinary consequences.

Currently, sports regulations contemplate sanctions for those who do not attend a national team call, which can result in economic fines or even the suspension of the federative license. The republicans intend to eliminate these measures, considering that they limit the freedom of athletes.

“There is no justification to prevent the parliamentary debate of an initiative that seeks to expand the rights and freedoms of athletes,” states Estrems, who demands the opening of the amendment period so that the bill can advance in the Cortes.

Along with this parliamentary offensive, the deputy has registered several questions addressed to the Government about the situation of the Catalan national teams and their possible recognition in international competitions. ERC asks the Executive to specify its position on this issue and what steps it has taken to materialize the commitments acquired in this matter.

"Sport is a tool for national expression and international projection of peoples," argues Estrems, who denounces a "political blockade" to the recognition of Catalan national teams. In her opinion, "few things generate as much sense of belonging as a sports team" because "it is there where a people shares colors, symbols and presents itself to the world with its own voice."

The parliamentarian also demands explanations on whether the Government considers it compatible to prevent the international presence of Catalan national teams with the right of the citizens of Catalonia to represent themselves through their own symbols. Likewise, she asks if this veto is due to sporting reasons or a strategy to exclusively maintain the international representation of the State.

"In a democracy, no athlete should be sanctioned for not wanting to compete under symbols they do not feel as their own. Catalonia must be able to compete internationally with its own teams on equal terms with other nations," summarizes the republican leader.