EL 
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Just as schools cannot exist and function without teachers, sport cannot exist without coaches. Yet the coaching profession is not formally protected in Greece.
Member of the International Council for Coaching Excellence and the European Coaching Council
www.popa.gr
Press Release
Just as schools cannot exist and function without teachers, sport cannot exist without coaches. Yet the coaching profession is not formally protected in Greece. Coaches are at the mercy of federation and club administrations. People lacking knowledge and substantive qualifications can become coaches, and coaching schools often produce graduates with inadequate knowledge. These are just some of the problems facing Greek coaches for which the POPA Board presented proposed solutions at a press conference today, Tuesday.
The main points highlighted were:
- Coaches must be able to participate in decision-making in sport. The profession must be formally recognised, with a right to work, minimum remuneration for each coaching category, mandatory employment contracts, insurance and a pension.
- To ensure that only licensed coaches obtain work, checks and penalties must apply to offending coaches, clubs and federations. POPA proposes a two-person inspection team comprising its representative and a representative of the relevant coaches’ association. The team would report infringements to the competent department of the General Secretariat of Sports for sanctions under Law 2725/1999, and would also check coaches of clubs participating in national championships.
- Sports teachers and instructors working in tourism must undergo a defined examination and certification process and join a professional body for registration and oversight. Activities such as climbing, water skiing, skiing and river canoe-kayak carry significant risks and require high safety standards. Similar checks should apply to businesses offering football, such as five-a-side and seven-a-side, that run training academies.
- Article 31, paragraph 5(d), of the sports law requires clubs offering individual sports to employ coaches when they have athletes under 18. We believe the law should expressly require a coach regardless of athletes’ age.
- Unified coaching regulations are needed, covering conditions for practising, formal qualifications, categories, employment, coach identity cards, clubs’ hiring obligations, employment of foreign coaches, incompatible activities and suitability.
- Coaches in each sport must have a say in selecting national team coaches. All interested coaches must be allowed to apply, candidate qualifications must be defined, and selection must be made by a committee representing the federation, the General Secretariat of Sports and the sport’s coaches or their association.
- POPA proposed a National Coaching School as a higher education institution admitting athletes and physical education students through examinations. Current financial circumstances require an alternative based on improved education from suitable teaching staff, schools operating only where new coaches are needed, a defined curriculum and syllabus of sufficient duration, practical training and reliable examinations. Some sports have no university specialisation, so coaching schools remain essential. Continuing education through seminars every two years, organised by the General Secretariat or POPA, is also necessary.
- People working as coaches or personal trainers without a degree or certification from a competent authority put athletes and participants at serious risk. We demand mandatory qualification checks.
- Coaches plan and take responsibility for athletes’ preparation and are the architects of their success. They should receive the same benefits as athletes.
- National team athletes must undergo full medical examinations to protect their lives and health. The Greek state must not allow a tragedy such as the death of canoe champion Andreas Kiligaridis in Poland in May 2013 to happen again.
- All national team athletes should be tested for prohibited substances before international competitions. POPA condemns the failure to conduct sufficient tests because of a lack of funds.
- National teams must not participate in international competitions or training camps without a delegation leader, doctor and legally qualified coach.
- The General Secretariat of Sports must actively inspect federations, ensuring compliance with laws and regulations and imposing specific penalties for infringements.
Finally, POPA representatives referred to their efforts to improve the knowledge of Greek coaches across all sports. An agreement in principle has been reached with the renowned Cologne coaching academy. POPA has also joined the International Council for Coaching Excellence (ICCE) and its European branch, the European Coaching Council (ECC), whose aims are international recognition of the coaching profession and appropriate coach education.
The topics presented at the press conference are set out in greater detail below.
Press Conference Topics
Introduction
The Hellenic Federation of Sports Coaches and Trainers (POPA) presents a series of proposals on important issues requiring immediate change. We recently presented our concerns and proposals to Deputy Minister of Sports Giannis Andrianos.
Ensuring that the Voice of the Coach is heard is also vital to progress on many issues in sport. Coaches are fundamental to sport’s very existence, a fact that sports organisations systematically tend to forget. Just as schools cannot exist and function without teachers, sport cannot exist without coaches.
By the nature of their profession, coaches do far more than design and implement training programmes: they deal with many other matters affecting their work. Their views therefore carry—or should carry—considerable weight and can contribute to sound decision-making.
We therefore demand that coaches participate in decision-making in sport.
Recognition of the Profession
For coaches to form part of our country’s economic activity, it is essential that they have:
- The right to work, together with a minimum level of remuneration for each coaching category and mandatory employment contracts.
- The right to insurance.
- The right to a pension.
To achieve this, POPA will contact the Ministry of Labour to change the current situation for coaches’ benefit. Thousands of coaches work in various sports, clubs and federations without receiving regular pay. Many are paid in the form of travel expenses, have no insurance or contracts, and must settle for whatever they are offered.
Checking the Legal Qualifications of Club and National Team Coaches
To ensure that only legally qualified coaches holding a professional licence can obtain coaching work, checks must finally be introduced and penalties imposed on offenders, whether coaches, clubs or federations. Oversight is the starting point for the proper implementation of decisions and regulations.
We propose that POPA undertake checks on club coaches through a two-person inspection team comprising one POPA representative and one representative of the coaches’ association for the sport concerned. Any infringement—employment of a coach without a professional licence and coach identity card—will be reported to the General Secretariat of Sports’ department responsible for clubs and gyms, so that the penalties under Article 8, paragraph 3, and Article 50, paragraph 6, of Law 2725/1999 can be imposed. The same team will also check coaches of clubs participating in national championships.
Certification of Sports Instructors Working in Tourism
To ensure high-quality services, sports teachers and instructors working in tourism must undergo a defined examination and certification process and join a professional body responsible for registering and monitoring them. The sports they teach—such as climbing, water skiing, skiing and river canoe-kayak—carry significant risks, so these instructors must provide a high level of safety. Similar checks should also apply to football businesses that operate training academies.
Sports Law
Article 31 (Coach), paragraph 5(d), states: “The following are required to employ a coach in accordance with the above: sports clubs offering an individual sport and having athletes under eighteen (18) years of age.” We believe the law must expressly require clubs offering individual sports to employ a coach regardless of athletes’ age, as is implied in paragraph (c) of the same article for team sports clubs.
Training can take place only under the supervision of a legally qualified coach, the specialist able to guarantee proper and safe preparation for athletes of every sport and every age.
Coaching Regulations
There must be unified coaching regulations covering the general matters affecting coaches:
- Conditions for practising the coaching profession.
- Formal coaching qualifications.
- Coaching categories.
- Employment of coaches.
- Coach identity cards.
- Sports clubs’ obligations to employ coaches.
- Conditions for employing foreign coaches.
- Activities incompatible with practising as a coach.
- Checks on coaches’ suitability.
The regulations must also address the particular requirements of each sport. We will not set out those details here: they should be examined by the General Secretariat of Sports’ legislative drafting committee. We again stress two matters of paramount importance: inspection teams must monitor compliance, and penalties must be imposed for non-compliance so that the regulations are effectively applied.
Selection of National Team Coaches
Coaches in each sport must have a say in selecting national team coaches. Such appointments should not be made without consulting their colleagues. In the selection process:
- All coaches who wish to do so must be entitled to apply.
- The qualifications required of candidates must be specified.
- Selection must be made by a committee comprising representatives of the relevant federation, the General Secretariat of Sports and the sport’s coaches or coaches’ association.
This will establish a transparent, valid, reliable and objective process for selecting the most capable candidates.
Coaching Schools
POPA proposed establishing a National Coaching School as a higher education institution, modelled on the curriculum of university departments of physical education and sport science, but with specialisation in each sport. Athletes and students from those departments would gain admission through examinations. However, the country’s current financial circumstances require us to develop an alternative proposal, based on:
- Improving the standard of knowledge provided.
- Operating schools only where a demonstrated need for new coaches exists to meet genuine demand.
- A defined curriculum and syllabus.
- A course duration sufficient to provide proper, comprehensive knowledge.
- Practical training.
- Reliable examinations.
- Appropriately qualified teaching staff.
The schools must be established by the General Secretariat of Sports and supervised by a committee comprising representatives of the Secretariat, the relevant federation and POPA.
Note: Some sports are not offered as specialisations in university physical education and sport science departments. Coaches for those sports must therefore qualify through coaching schools. Continuous professional development is also essential, through seminars held every two years by the General Secretariat of Sports or POPA.
Personal Training
A major problem in sport and private gyms is the presence of people who present themselves and work as coaches or personal trainers without holding a qualification or certification from a competent body, placing athletes and other participants at serious risk. To eliminate these practices and protect participants’ health, we demand mandatory checks on the qualifications of anyone seeking to work in these settings.
Benefits for Coaches
Coaches should receive the same benefits as athletes. The coach plans and is responsible for an athlete’s preparation, works alongside them and is the architect of any success. Coaches must therefore enjoy benefits equivalent to those of athletes, correcting the injustice they face, bringing their role out of obscurity and recognising their contribution to Greek sport.
Athletes’ Health Checks
To prevent tragic incidents during national teams’ participation in international competitions, and above all to protect athletes’ lives and health, team members must undergo full medical examinations before departure to confirm that they are in excellent health.
The Greek state must not allow a tragedy such as the death of canoe champion Andreas Kiligaridis during competition in Poland in May 2013 to happen again.
Anti-Doping Tests
To protect our athletes’ health and the integrity of our sport, we consider it essential to test all national team athletes for prohibited substances before every international competition. POPA condemns the failure to conduct the necessary number of tests because of a lack of funds.
Accompanying Team Officials
Under no circumstances should a national team’s departure for international competitions in Greece or abroad, or for a training camp, be approved without:
- A delegation leader.
- A doctor.
- A legally qualified coach.
They are responsible for the delegation’s safety, health and proper functioning.
Active Oversight of Federations by the General Secretariat of Sports
Experience to date demonstrates that the General Secretariat of Sports must move from simply supervising federations to actively inspecting them. Federations must operate in accordance with laws and regulations, rather than at the whim of their leaders, and specific penalties must apply to every infringement so that those laws and regulations fulfil their intended purpose.
This oversight rests on the fundamental fact that federations receive state funding. All subsidised federations require full, thorough checks of their actual operations, not merely general supervision. Federations wishing to invoke self-governance should choose self-financing instead of support from Greek taxpayers’ money.
Finally, the state and successive lawmakers should reflect on their grave responsibility for the unhealthy situation arising, in some cases, from the legislation itself and, in others, from its non-enforcement.
POPA’s International Partnerships
Cooperation with the Cologne Coaching Academy
In its effort to improve Greek coaches’ knowledge across all sports, POPA has reached an agreement in principle with the Cologne coaching academy. Sport-specific coaching seminars will be held in Greece, taught by professors from the academy, professors from university departments of physical education and sport science, and Greek sports scientists.
POPA Membership of the World and European Coaching Councils: Their Purpose and the Benefits for Greek Coaches
POPA recently became a member of the International Council for Coaching Excellence (ICCE) and its European branch, the European Coaching Council (ECC). These organisations seek international recognition of the coaching profession and appropriate education for coaches.
The initiative is supported by the European Commission, particularly its Education, Culture and Sport Unit. EU support for sport is provided through the Erasmus+ programme.
The IOC also supports ICCE’s work through its Olympic Entourage Committee. In recognition of coaches’ contribution to sport, it has been proposed that medals should also be awarded to coaches at the Olympic Games, bringing them out of obscurity and highlighting their decisive role.
International—and therefore European—recognition of the coaching profession, combined with POPA’s ICCE membership and European Commission support, will also lead to favourable developments for Greek coaches, particularly concerning employment.
POPA Board
President: Athanasios D. Villiotis (Canoe-Kayak)
First Vice President: Konstantinos Tournavitis (Swimming)
Second Vice President: Theologos Danezis (Sailing)
General Secretary: Dimitris Stefanidis (Coaching athletes with disabilities)
Deputy General Secretary: Alexandros Moraris (Swimming)
Treasurer: Filippos Oikonomou (Cycling)
Organisational Secretary: Giorgos Arachovitis (Skiing)
Members: Alexandros Nikolopoulos (Swimming), Kostas Grekas (Coaching athletes with disabilities), Vangelis Kozompolis (Swimming), Vasilis Diafas (Canoe-Kayak), Gerasimos Nikolaidis (Sailing), Nikos Vezos (Swimming), Giannis Kavarlingos (Sailing), Aristotelis Lampridis (Weightlifting).
POPA was founded in 2010. Its members are coaches’ associations representing sailing, swimming, weightlifting, canoe-kayak, badminton, fencing, cycling, boxing, skiing and water skiing, tennis, archery and athletes with disabilities.
