FIFA, World Athletics, and other sports governing bodies are set to review their transgender inclusion policies in wake of FINA’s landmark ruling.
On Sunday, world swimming’s governing body FINA voted to ban transgender women from elite competitions and instead proposed a new “open” category for them in some events as part of its new policy.
Emboldened by the ruling, FIFA and other sports bodies are reviewing their own transgender policies.
FIFA is currently reviewing its gender eligibility regulations in consultation with expert stakeholders,” said a FIFA spokesperson.
“Due to the ongoing nature of the process, FIFA is not in a position to comment on specifics of proposed amendments to the existing regulations,” the spokesperson added.
FIFA said it was taking guidance from medical, legal, scientific, performance, and human rights experts and also the position of the International Olympic Committee (IOC).
Meanwhile, Sebastian Coe, the president of the World Athletics said that the organization will review its own policies at the end of the year while welcoming FINA’s ruling.
“We see an international federation asserting its primacy in setting rules, regulations, and policies that are in the best interest of its sport,” he told the BBC
“This is as it should be. We have always believed that biology trumps gender and we will continue to review our regulations in line with this. We will follow the science.
“We continue to study, research, and contribute to the growing body of evidence that testosterone is a key determinant in performance, and have scheduled a discussion on our regulations with our council at the end of the year,” he added.
Coe has always maintained that these decisions must be taken to protect the “integrity of sports”.
Last year, the IOC issued a ‘framework’ on the topic, leaving eligibility decisions up to individual sporting bodies.
International Cycling Union (UCI) tightened its rules on transgender participation just last week by increasing the transition period for low testosterone to two years and reducing the maximum permitted testosterone level in athletes.
Now, the Rugby league has also banned transgender players from women’s international competition until further notice following FINA’s decision.
