The Sport&EU Association is delighted to announce the Call for Papers for its 20th Annual Conference, to be hosted by the Olympic Studies Research Centre for Safe Sport and Human Rights, Canterbury Christ Church University in Canterbury, United Kingdom, from 24-26 June 2026.

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Keynote Speakers

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We are glad to announce that we have confirmed three excellent keynote speakers for our conference. For the second time in our history, the annual conference will feature an all-female list of keynote speakers. We are proud to feature three leading figures in the world of sport in our programme:

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• Professor Laura McAllister, UEFA Vice-President and Chair of UEFA’s Sustainability and Fair Play Sub-Committee, and Professor of Public Policy and the Governance of Wales at Cardiff University’s Wales Governance Centre.

• Claudia Bokel, Olympic medallist in fencing, former Chair of the IOC Athletes’ Commission and IOC member, and currently Strategic Advisor to the Dutch Sports Council (NLsportraad), among other leadership roles in sport.

• Dr Lombe Mwambwa, CEO of the Global Observatory for Gender Equality and Sport (GO) in Lausanne, an initiative supported by the Canton of Vaud, the City of Lausanne, and the University of Lausanne (UNIL).

 

Registration details

 

We can confirm now the excellent value registration fees (starting from as low as £80 for students) that we are able to offer thanks to the great work of our local organisers.

 

Our great value registration fees are:

• Early Bird Student (before 13/04/26): £80

• Early Bird Professional (before 13/04/26): £150

• Student fee (14/04/26-11/05/26): £100

• Professional fee (14/04/26-11/05/26): £180

 

Registration is now open, and you can find the conference booking link here.
 

Should you experience any technical issues, please do not hesitate to contact our local organiser directly (dikaia.chatziefstathiou@canterbury.ac.uk). 

 

Accomodation

 

Finally, we are glad to provide a list of partner hotels in Canterbury with preferential rates for the conference delegates. Contact the hotels directly for researvations.

 

For any queries related to the conference or the Call for Papers, please contact: Prof. Dikaia Chatziefstathiou and Jeannie Goulding. Email: SportEU2026@canterbury.ac.uk 

 

We are looking forward to seeing many of you in Canterbury in June