SYDNEY, (Reuters) – World Athletics chief Sebastian Coe believes some cases of young athletes switching allegiance between countries before he tightened the rules last year were all but indistinguishable from human trafficking. The new rules prevent anyone under the age of 20 from changing allegiance and demand athletes prove their ties to their new nation after a three-year waiting period. “It’s not an easy thing for me to say but I was finding it quite hard to see a difference between what was emerging and human trafficking,” Coe told Sydney’s Daily Telegraph. Without singling out any particular cases, Coe said he had become increasingly concerned about young athletes moving away from their home countries, often without parental support. “And that’s when I looked at this and thought we also have a responsibility here in the safeguarding space.”

Source: Ethiopian News August 23, 2020 06:11 UTC