France: New Law Compels Reform of Football Policy that Discriminates against Muslim Women

On 24 February France adopted a new law aimed at democratising access to sports. A group of Senateurs ultimately failed in their repeated attempts to introduce a discriminatory amendment intended to prohibit women who choose to wear headscarves from participating in all sporting competitions and events organized by state-regulated sports federations and their associate organizations. However, these lawmakers successfully hijacked the legislative process ensuring that parliamentary sessions were stained with inflammatory rhetoric, offensive stereotyping and debates that stigmatised Muslim women.

View Report

Related news

Women’s Tennis Association: Drop Rushed Sex Testing Policy

Women’s Tennis Association: Drop Rushed Sex Testing Policy

First Federation to Implement Olympic Policy Despite Lack of Evidence and Need (Amsterdam, August 13, 2026) – The Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) should pause its implementation of mandatory sex testing and consult with impacted athletes and experts before it causes permanent harm and trauma, the Sport & Rights Alliance said today. The WTA has become […]

READ MORE

Jim Watson/AFP

FIFA: Governance Crisis Reveals Urgent Need for Rights Reform

Human Rights Groups Call for Systemic Transformation to Prevent History Repeating Itself  (Amsterdam, August 6, 2026) – FIFA’s current crisis spotlights the need for governance reforms and transparent systems to protect human rights, the Sport & Rights Alliance said today. Though Gianni Infantino’s FIFA Forward Enterprise (FFE) proposal has been rightly withdrawn, the growing calls […]

READ MORE

Germany: Request for Mandatory Safe Sport Compliance

Germany: Request for Mandatory Safe Sport Compliance

Letter to German Bundestag’s Committee on Sport and Volunteering The Sport & Rights Alliance, through the Athletes Network for Safer Sports and together with Football Supporters Europe, Human Rights Watch and The Assist, wrote to the Members of the Committee on Sport and Volunteering of the German Bundestag in support of mandatory safe sport compliance […]

READ MORE

Related resources

SAFER Handbook: Football Supporters Europe publishes project outcomes and good practices

SAFER Handbook: Football Supporters Europe publishes project outcomes and good practices

SAFER – Support & Awareness for Female fans in European football through Research, prevention, and remedy Football Supporters Europe is delighted to share the handbook from its SAFER (Support & Awareness for Female fans in European football through Research, prevention, and remedy) project. Download the SAFER handbook here. About the project SAFER, a Football Supporters Europe project supported by the […]

READ MORE

Germany: Request for Mandatory Safe Sport Compliance

Germany: Request for Mandatory Safe Sport Compliance

Letter to German Bundestag’s Committee on Sport and Volunteering The Sport & Rights Alliance, through the Athletes Network for Safer Sports and together with Football Supporters Europe, Human Rights Watch and The Assist, wrote to the Members of the Committee on Sport and Volunteering of the German Bundestag in support of mandatory safe sport compliance […]

READ MORE

Failures in Brazilian Football Expose Culture of Misogyny and Abuse

Failures in Brazilian Football Expose Culture of Misogyny and Abuse

Persistent risks for women and children in Brazilian sport (Sao Paulo, March 6, 2026) — Ahead of this year’s International Women’s Day, renewed attention must be paid to the persistent risks facing women and children in the world of sports. Nowhere is this more pertinent than in Brazil, set to host the 2027 FIFA Women’s […]

READ MORE

Join the Network

Sport has the potential to be a catalyst for human development, unity, and freedom, but too often it instead brings harm to its athletes, fans, and communities. We exist to uncover and rectify the many abuses that exist both in and around sport. We aim to transform sports into an authentic force for good.