ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses the emergence and evolution of EU external engagement in international sports governance by focusing primarily on the EU's interactions with sport governing bodies, the main actors in international sports governance. It shows that the EU is much more of an actor in international sports governance than expected given the competences assigned in the treaties. The chapter explains the forms and the extent of EU engagement by pointing to an interplay between institutional and interest-based explanatory factors. The discussion of the EU's legal and policy externalization in international sports governance allows for an assessment of the extent of EU external engagement. The insights on opportunity, presence and capability suggest that the EU's actorness in international sports governance is established, but not guaranteed. The chapter scrutinizes a number of factors and argues that the most important ones are related to institutions and interests, captured by rational choice institutionalism.
