Although European Athletics was formally established in 1970, the organization has its origins almost a century earlier.
In 1932, at that time the International Amateur Athletics Federation formed a special commission to organize a European athletic championship. In 1933, the Council of the International Athletics Federation appointed a European Standing Committee.
And at the end of 1934, the first European athletic championship was held. Since then, the Special Commission mentioned above has been elected every four years by all members of the International Amateur Athletics Federation.
The goal and operational objective of European Athletics are to expand the sport’s competition system in Europe. The 1960s were a particularly busy time for the organization’s construction of the league system so that the first European Athletics Cup was held in 1965.
The European Athletics Team Championship
The European Cup then became the European Athletics Team Championship. The first European Indoor Games was held in 1966 and was replaced by the 1970 European Indoor Athletics Championship.
In November 1969, at a meeting of the Commission in Bucharest, The Association of European Members of the International Athletics Federation was established and rules of operation were confirmed at the plenary session of the International Athletics Federation in 1970.
These rules were in effect at the Congress of the European Sports Association (first in Paris in November 1970). The role of the European Sports Association is to promote the further development of the athletic competition system in Europe. Besides, it develops the sport at all levels in Europe, and to support the members of Confederations.
The European Athletics brand
It was after moving to the Olympic capital in Lausanne and a new Constitution reflecting changes to the organizational structure and practice of the European Sports Association was adopted by an extraordinary Congress in October 2005.
Svein Arne Hansen became the fifth President of European athletics at the congress. It took place in the town of Sri Lanka in April 2015. Svein Arne Hansen was re-elected to serve a further four-year term at the 26th European Athletics Congress in Prague in April 2019.