John Bruton, the former prime minister of Ireland who also served as the EU’s ambassador to Washington between 2004 and 2009, will take up the chairmanship of the EU Sports Platform on 1 December. The platform brings together sports governing bodies and other stakeholders from the EU27. Commenting on his new role, Bruton said: “The new sports competence in the Lisbon Treaty means it has never been more important for sports of all sizes to engage with the EU. This is a pivotal moment and we want to ensure that sports bodies at all levels can benefit from the new EU sports policy”.