Jamaica Olympic Association President Christopher Samuda has called for the formation of a Caribbean Athletes’ Union.

Samuda was speaking at a conference in Rodney Bay, St Lucia, hosted recently by the International Olympic Committee, the World Intellectual Property Office (WIPO), and the Government of St Lucia.

It was attended by local ministerial sport officials and regional stakeholders.

Samuda says, “The evolution of a Caribbean sport ecosystem demands that the rights and interest of the athlete have an infrastructure that goes beyond constitutional seats on boards and commissions and gains expression in bargaining representation.”

While maintaining this view, he commended what now exists with athlete commissions and representation on boards.

“Don’t get me wrong, athletes’ commissions and having athlete representation on boards are organic to the ecosystem of sport,” he said. “They enable critical achievements for athletes, particularly in the fields of education, health, and, to a lesser extent, the business of sport. But while sportsmen and women are competing in their shelf lives, it would be valuable to have concentrated advocacy on athlete welfare that gives expression to a bankable voice from its own household in addition to the voice in the residence of others — their governing bodies.”

This new dispensation, which Samuda supports, will require what he considers a new and proactive thinking on the part of the beneficiaries.

“But it is principally for the athletes themselves to acknowledge, unreservedly, the value of self-determination and instrumental support in that self-help context and act accordingly to protect their fundamental, social, and commercial rights, including their intellectual property,” Samuda said.

Samuda says safeguarding and exercising rights are often an expensive undertaking.

“This very fact compels collective representation that utilises professional expertise and economises efforts,” he said.

The call has been made previously by Samuda, and with the increasing number of competitive sports and accompanying athlete obligations and risk exposure, it is now more than ever relevant and welcoming.

Samuda’s comments follow those he made in a similar context regarding athletes’ welfare recently. In June, after reports of a number of local Olympians switching allegiance to Turkiye for the Los Angeles Olympic Games in 2028, Samuda called for a return of the National Sports Council to have better dialogue with athletes about their concerns.