GPA Hosts EU Athletes Conference in Croke park

THE Gaelic Players Association will host a prestigious conference of EU Athletes in Croke Park this weekend (Sept 17-19) to coincide with the All-Ireland football final.
Following the GPA's admission last year to EU Athletes, an organisation representing players' bodies across Europe, it was decided to bring the EU Athletes Conference to Dublin, the European Capital of Sport for 2010, in recognition of the important role played by amateur athletes within indigenous sports such as Gaelic Games.
Player representatives from major European sports and from 17 different countires will be present including rugby, cricket and basketball. Along with the GPA, Irish rugby players body IRUPA will also attend.
The delegates will attend a civic reception in the Mansion House on Saturday evening as guests of the Deputy Lord Mayor of Dublin, Cllr Edie Wynne.
The theme of the weekend's discussions will be 'Promoting Social Dialogue in the Sport Sector' and the programme will include speakers on anti-doping, sports betting and intellectual property rights.
With the final ratification of the Lisbon Treaty last December the European Commission gained a new competence for sport and the importance of creating a real dialogue between the European social partners increased accordingly.
Representing players bodies in Europe, EU Athletes now has an important role to play in this sector and the task of the conference is to take an important step towards defining that role by bringing representatives from European players unions together to share information, exchange best practices, define common goals and develop action plans.

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Sports

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• GPA
• EU
• Athletes
• Dublin
• City of Sport
• GAA
• Croke Park
• IRUPA