World football association Fifa is also reviewing transgender rules

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"Fifa is currently revising its regulations on gender equality in consultation with experts," said a spokesman

Photo: Ruben Sprich/ REUTERS

The world football association Fifa is working on new guidelines for dealing with transgender athletes.

"Fifa is currently revising its regulations on gender equality in consultation with experts," a Fifa spokesman told the dpa news agency on Tuesday.

On the one hand, Fifa relies on the specifications of numerous interest groups for medicine, law, science/performance and human rights.

In addition, the world association referred to the IOC Framework for Fairness, Inclusion and Non-Discrimination on the Basis of Gender Identity and Gender Differences from November 2021. Since the process has not yet been completed, one cannot comment on the details of the proposed changes to the existing regulations at the moment.

Should FIFA be asked to review a trans person's eligibility to play before the new regulations come into force, each individual case will be dealt with taking into account Fifa's "clear obligation to respect human rights," it said on Tuesday.

New rules in rugby and swimming too

The International Rugby League (IRL) announced on Tuesday that transgender athletes would be banned from international women's competitions until further notice.

The IRL wrote in a statement released by Australian media that it would need further consultation before making a final commitment.

The world swimming association Fina had already set new rules for trans people on Sunday.

According to this, they are only allowed to participate in women's competitions if they have completed their gender reassignment by the age of twelve.

There are also considerations of a so-called "open" competition category.

According to its chairman Sebastian Coe, the World Athletics Federation could also possibly follow the new Fina rules.

Last week, the International Cycling Federation also updated its rules for admitting transgender athletes with stricter limits.

The issue recently came back into focus when US swimmer Lia Thomas became the first trans woman to win the highest level of collegiate athletics in March (read more here).

cev/dpa/Reuters