New Spanish Sports Law Bars Undocumented Migrant Teen from Football Club

In this new law, it is stated that the administration "will promote the practice of sport by foreigners who legally reside in Spain, especially minors, as a means of social integration" and that the federations, for their part, "must eliminate any obstacle or restriction that prevents or hinders the participation of foreigners who are legally in Spain and their families in the sports activities they organize".

For the lawyers’ association, these provisions that impose legal residence as a condition for practicing a sport constitute "a serious violation of the fundamental right to education, including sport" of thousands of children who are in an irregular situation due to the "severity of immigration laws, the confinement of the administration and its ultramontane spirit, and the dissemination of ultranationalist theses at different levels of our society".

The association reports having already contacted the Ombudsman to ask him to file an appeal of unconstitutionality against this text. But the Ombudsman explained that the text does not speak "only" of the rights of legal residents, but "especially" of them, without exclusion. This appeal is nevertheless necessary to have a "clear" interpretation of the law, add the lawyers, denouncing this wait-and-see attitude of the Ombudsman.

"The child does not know about permits or residences, he only knows that he wants to play in his school club and with his friends," the association stressed in a statement, specifying that "no human being, and even less if it is a child, is illegal". According to it, this law is likely to restrict the rights of migrant minors and promote exclusion. The minor concerned has also filed a complaint with the Ombudsman. The association hopes that his case will be dealt with and "will prevent the occurrence of similar events in the future".