Politicians from across European nations voted unanimously on Thursday 25 June in Strasbourg to support a report which lamented the state of Press freedom at major organised news events such as sports tournaments.
The report was backed by the full Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) after being prepared for its Committee on Culture, Science, Education and Media by rapporteur Tone Wilhelmsen Trøen (Norway, EPP/CD). It set out the structural, political and societal pressures on media freedom in sport, among them restrictions on journalistic access, contractual limitations, and the growing control over news content by organisers and rights holders.
While focusing on Press freedom in sport, the report also takes a wider view on the importance of on-the-ground reporting. At a time of disinformation and AI-generated content, the report argues, it is “vital for governments and other institutions to proactively support and enable professional witness-based newsgathering and reporting.” Sports journalism, the report finds, is particularly vulnerable because it depends on access to events, proprietary content regimes and the commercial value of media rights — and resulting in a tendency of newsrooms today “not to send journalists to sporting events,” making costly long-form and investigative work harder to sustain.
The report points to the build-up to the 2026 FIFA World Cup as a case in point, noting that media and policy discussions have already highlighted “increasingly restrictive accreditation systems, the growing control of content by rights holders, and the complexity of ensuring consistent media access across multiple host countries.”
On access, the report is blunt: “Economic pressures and restricted access to events severely hamper journalists’ ability to perform their role.” It points to restrictive practices by some sports organisations and event organisers that, it says, “often stem from a desire to control the narrative and prioritise direct communication with fans over independent reporting.” Media access is inconsistent across sports and countries: while some bodies recognise the importance of a free press, the report observes, “others treat journalism as an afterthought.”
It also sets out how rights holders exert control. Some sports organisations still treat journalistic content as their own intellectual property, and the sale of broadcasting and media rights, the report notes, “frequently includes exclusivity clauses that exclude independent news organisations.” Journalists are routinely required to sign accreditation contracts carrying restrictions that range from copyright-assignment clauses to demands that “nothing detrimental” be published about an event, its organisers or commercial partners. Even where accreditation is granted, the report finds, access is often limited in practice — reporters unable to ask questions at press conferences, photographers kept from the best positions around the field of play, and newsrooms blocked from footage of events they were prevented from covering themselves.
Alongside these structural and contractual pressures, the report notes that journalists increasingly face hostile environments — online harassment, threats, and intimidation — which can discourage critical reporting and weaken the media’s watchdog role in sport.
The Assembly voted for Council of Europe Member States to guarantee fair, transparent and non-discriminatory access for journalists to events, athletes and institutions, and to review broadcasting-rights, accreditation and contractual rules so they do not disproportionately restrict reporting or the public’s right to information. It urges sports bodies and event organisers to avoid unnecessarily restrictive or costly visa and accreditation procedures at major events, to stop using accreditation to control editorial content, and to drop contractual terms that undermine editorial independence.
The report acknowledges that Council of Europe and European Union standards “already provide relevant principles to safeguard media freedom, including access to information, short reporting rights and protection of journalistic sources,” but finds that “gaps remain in their practical implementation in the specific context of sport.” Its recommendations, it says, aim to translate these observations into concrete policy for member states, sports organisations and other stakeholders. It also encourages closer cooperation between sports organisations, media and public authorities — including voluntary charters of good practice — and stresses that respecting media freedom should be seen “not as a constraint but as a means to enhance transparency, accountability and public trust in sport.”
For the NMC, the report speaks directly to its campaign to protect and enable Primary Source Journalism — the everyday but vital reporting carried out on the ground in cities and communities, and at events of public interest including sport. Andrew Moger, NMC Chief Executive who attended the PACE debate and vote said: ‘Safeguarding that work, the NMC argues, depends on preserving genuine access for independent journalists, photographers and video teams, rather than leaving it to be defined by rights holders or commercial partners.’
The PACE report draws directly on the News Media Coalition’s own assessment of 2026 FIFA World Cup rules affecting news operations. It warns that these trends “may further affect the ability of journalists to report freely and independently” — and, at that point, cites the NMC’s article “NMC Calls on FIFA to Further Enable Independent News Journalism at the World Cup.”
Source: PACE — Committee denounces restrictions on media access in sport and growing control of content
