THE SPORTS ASSOCIATION and the GDPR

THE General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) is a European regulation that governs how organizations collect, process, and protect the personal data of European Union (EU) citizens. Since its entry into force in 2018, the GDPR has had a significant impact on various sectors, including sports associations. This article examines the implications of the GDPR for sports associations and provides recommendations for ensuring compliance.

A sports association is aimed at any individual or group of individuals who wish to practice a sporting activity collectively. This may involve practicing a sport competitively or as a hobby, a fitness activity, an outdoor activity, etc.

THE sports associations can be created by athletes, coaches, sports clubs, local authorities, businesses, schools or universities, social centers, neighborhood associations, etc. The members of a sports association can be volunteers or employees, depending on the resources available to the association.

The sports association may be a 1901 law association or a so-called "1905 law" association (law on religious associations and congregations), depending on its purpose and operation. In all cases, it must respect the rules of transparency and democratic management specific to associations. It may also be affiliated with a sports federation to be able to participate in official competitions.

Sports associations may process different categories of personal data, including:

• Identification data: name, first name, address, telephone number, email address, date of birth, etc.
• Data relating to sports practice: sport practiced, level of practice, sports results, sports licenses, etc.
• Health data: medical certificates, allergies, medical history, etc. Financial data: amount of contributions, payments made, etc.
• Images and videos: photos and videos taken during sporting events organized by the association.

It should be remembered that the processing of certain categories of data, particularly health data, is subject to specific rules regarding the protection of personal data. Sports associations must therefore comply with the provisions of the GDPR and the "Informatique et Libertés" law for any processing of personal data.

Importance of the GDPR for sports associations

Sports associations, like any other organization, regularly manage the personal data of their members, employees, volunteers, sponsors, and supporters. This data can include personally identifiable information such as names, addresses, telephone numbers, and email addresses, as well as sensitive data such as athletes' medical information or biometric data. The GDPR aims to ensure that this data is processed securely and transparently, thereby protecting the privacy of the individuals concerned.

Principles of the GDPR applicable to sports associations

Legality, loyalty and transparency: Sports associations must process personal data lawfully, fairly, and transparently. This includes clearly informing individuals about how their data is used and obtaining their explicit consent for the processing of their data.

Limitation of purposes: Personal data must be collected for specific, explicit and legitimate purposes, and must not be further processed in a manner incompatible with those purposes.

Data minimization: Sports associations must ensure that they only collect and process personal data that is strictly necessary to achieve the purposes for which it was collected.

Exactness: Personal data must be accurate and, where necessary, kept up to date. Sports associations must take all reasonable steps to ensure that inaccurate data is rectified or deleted.

Conservation limitation: Personal data should only be kept for as long as necessary to achieve the purposes for which it was collected.

Integrity and confidentiality: Sports associations must ensure the security of personal data by implementing appropriate technical and organizational measures to protect data against unauthorized access, modification, disclosure or destruction.