Kersti Kaljulaid, Estonia’s former president and now head of the country’s National Olympic Committee (NOC), has delivered a stinging rebuke of how international sport is governed. Speaking at the Play the Game 2025 conference in Tampere, Finland, she accused global sports bodies of operating with little transparency or genuine debate.
“There is no democracy in sport,” Kaljulaid said, summing up her view that major federations often shut down critical voices instead of encouraging open dialogue.
After her appearance, she expanded on her comments in an interview with Play the Game, reflecting on her first year inside the Olympic movement. Her main concern: that sports organisations lack the openness and exchange of ideas that are normal in democratic institutions.
“The management really becomes nervous”
“Well, in the UN, leaders make their speeches and contradict each other, and the journalists analyse who said what. But when you go to an international sports body meeting, it is very well orchestrated, there are no long speeches, and when people start to ask questions, the management really becomes nervous.”
Kaljulaid said she has made her frustrations clear directly to former IOC president Thomas Bach, arguing that silence only maintains the status quo.
“I have said this to Thomas Bach, and therefore I also have a right to talk about it publicly. If I feel that we are not very open and welcoming to new ideas, I will keep saying so. Change can only be brought if people start saying ‘the king is naked’. Otherwise, nothing will change.”
Kaljulaid stressed that she is not an outlier in calling for reform. Others on the same panel – Mark Pieth, Alex Marshall, Arnout Geeraert, Alex Phillips, and Stanislas Frossard – shared her view that sport’s promise of democracy rarely matches reality.
When asked whether her outspoken approach could create tension within her own organisation, she dismissed the idea that she was being confrontational.
“I am not confronting anyone. I just describe what I see, and I voice my opinion freely. And no, I don’t think that we should agree on talking points, vote them though, and then deliver them. I mean, this would be very boring. I don’t think that we should do things in this way.”
Questioning the “Autonomy” of Sport
Kaljulaid has no traditional background in sports governance – and she believes that gives her perspective. One of her most pointed criticisms is aimed at how “sport’s autonomy” is used as a shield against accountability.
“Absolutely. To me, sport’s autonomy is a very good excuse to say we are so special and therefore we have the right to ignore the rest of society. And my question is: why should the rest of society accept it? I don’t understand what sport’s autonomy means. There is no such thing as autonomy from the world around us.”