The growing importance of sport for Europe's regional identity was reflected in a forum entitled "Sport, a vehicle for the identity of regions and cities" held at the European Parliament in Brussels this month. An impressive array of regions and cities from across the EU were represented in this initiative organised in co-operation with the European Committee of the Regions.
Sport is continuing to grow as an influence in the lives of European citizens today. In the recent revision of the Treaty of Rome at Amsterdam, the EU acknowledged the growing importance of sport. Sport has the capacity to bring the people of Europe together, to create links that otherwise might not exist. It can have a positive impact on an area that suffers unemployment or poverty, and can help combat racism.
The organisation of sporting occasions, such as the 1992 Barcelona Olympics, would not have been such a success without the pivotal role of Europe's regions. Commenting on next year's World Cup preparations in France, Patrick Braouezec, mayor of St Denis, the town which will be hosting the final, spoke of the importance of the event in putting St Denis on the map and creating jobs and encouraging investment.
The forum also included contributions from Gerhard Rehberg, the president of football club Shalke 04, recent winners of the UEFA Cup, and Franz Klammer, former Olympic skiing champion. The forum was presided over by the president of the International Olympic committee Juan-Antonio Samaranch. Elsewhere, the European Parliament's intergroup on sport, as part of its effort to exclude racism from football, has organised a meeting for October which will include the football players Eusebio, formerly of Benfica and Portugal, Eric Cantona, formerly of Manchester United and France, and Garth Crooks, formerly of Tottenham Hotspur and a current sports commentator. Eric Cantona will also be taking part in a special "football against racism" tournament on October 17th along with the Liberian international George Weah and Argentine world cup winner Diego Maradona.