The Lisbon Treaty has given the EU a new competence on sport. Sport is one of the so called areas where the Union shall have competence to "carry out actions to support, coordinate or supplement the actions of the member states." This is one of the areas where the Member States should have exclusive competence but the Union provides support or co-ordination. The EU has now competence for coordinating member states' sports policies. This means that the EU will interfere by directing British sport policy.

The new legal basis allows the Union to adopt measures for developing the European dimension in sport. It is important to recall that the European Commission adopted in July 2008 a White Paper on Sport which covered extremely controversial issues such as transfers of players and TV rights. At the time, the Commission has stressed that it was just waiting for the Lisbon Treaty to enter into force to propose concrete proposals for further EU action.

According to Article 165 (4) TFEU, the Council, acting by QMV, and the European Parliament through the ordinary legislative procedure (co-decision), “shall adopt incentive measures” aiming at contributing to the “promotion of European sporting issues”, including “promoting fairness and openness in sporting competitions and cooperation between bodies responsible for sports, and by protecting the physical and moral integrity of sportsmen and sportswomen, especially the youngest sportsmen and sportswomen."

On 10 May, at the Education, Youth and Culture Council, the member states’ ministers in charge of sports held their first debate on EU sports policy after the entry into force of the Lisbon Treaty. According to Jaime Lissavetzky, Spanish Secretary of State for Sport, the Council has regonised the EU’s role in sport should be focus on education and social issues.

The Commission is set to present, this year, a Sport Programme covering the period 2012-2013 as well as a Communication on the implementation of the sport provisions in the Lisbon Treaty. The Council has suggested five areas for future EU action, such as “Social and educational functions of sport”, “Sport structures,” “Fairness and openness in sport” which includes fight against racism and discrimination, “Physical and moral integrity of sportspeople” particularly the fight against doping, and “Dialogue and close cooperation with the sport movement.”

It should be mentioned that the Commission has recently adopted its 2010 annual work programme on grants and contracts for the "Preparatory action in the field of sport" and for the "Special annual events" European Youth Olympic Festival (Liberec) and Special Olympics (Warsaw) which amounts to a total of €11 million of taxpayers money.