Ethical Obligations of Sports Coaches in Jordan: A Comparative Analysis with International Legal Frameworks

Abstract

This paper examines the ethical obligations of sports coaches in Jordan through a comparative analysis with international legal frameworks established by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), the International Olympic Committee (IOC), and UNESCO. Using a qualitative methodology that integrates doctrinal legal analysis with empirical case studies, the research evaluates Jordan’s Sports Law No. 19 (2009, amended 2018), the Jordan Olympic Committee’s Code of Professional Conduct, and the Jordan Anti-Doping Organization’s regulations against global standards such as the WADA Anti-Doping Code (2021), IOC Ethics Guidelines (2023), and UNESCO’s International Charter (2022). The findings reveal strong formal alignment in anti-doping, safeguarding, and professional conduct provisions, but persistent enforcement gaps driven by institutional fragmentation, limited investigative capacity, and cultural barriers to reporting violations. The 2021 weightlifting doping case underscores these challenges, illustrating how regulatory compliance on paper fails to translate into effective deterrence in practice. The study contributes to sports governance literature by identifying three systemic enforcement gaps—fragmentation, resource constraints, and cultural resistance—and by proposing context-specific reforms including centralized oversight, enhanced investigative resources, and culturally adapted whistle-blowers protections. These recommendations aim to bridge the gap between policy adoption and operational compliance, offering a roadmap for strengthening ethical governance and athlete welfare in Jordan’s sports sector.