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Organisations representing more than 40,000 professional sportspeople in Europe came together in Brussels on 31 January for the first-ever European Professional Sportspeople’s Forum, where they demanded respect and justice for players and called for their right to unionise and bargain collectively.



The Forum is built on a co-operation agreement between the ETUC, UNI Europa and FIFPro, the global body for footballers.

UNI Europa Sport Pro, with EU Athletes on board since 2010, represents a wide spectrum of sports’ professionals and aims to be a powerful advocate in Europe and globally.



UNI Global Union General Secretary Philip Jennings called it a historic day in sport.



“This is a real breakthrough, a new start,” Jennings said. “From now on athletes have a new platform for their collective voice in Europe. These professional players should be respected as workers and have the right to join unions and negotiate collective contracts. Together we have made a new reality in Europe. The next step is to take this worldwide.”



Theo Van Seggelen, Secretary General of FIFPro, which represents 50,000 professional sportspeople worldwide, underlined the importance of the European Professional Sportspeople’s Forum.



This is the first time in the history of professional sports that sportsmen and women have come together and made a strong statement regarding the position of all professional sportspeople within the European Union. The basic message in the joint statement ratified by the participants of the forum is clear; sport activity is subject to the application of E.U. law.



“The most important conclusion of the joint statement is that European law is applicable in professional sports,” Van Seggelen said. “Professional sports are an economic activity and for that reason professional sports have to follow European law, and of course national law.”



Yves Kummer of EU Athletes said the organisations should focus on social dialogue.



“The social partners – the athletes, clubs, leagues and governing bodies must make a commitment to work together in the social dialogue,” Kummer said. “Specificities of sport can only be implemented if there is a commitment between all the parties involved and especially from the professional sportspeople. This is to avoid having the European Court of Justice, the final arbiter on specificity, stepping in through court decisions.”



John Monks, the General Secretary of the ETUC, opened the Forum wishing the parties success and emphasizing his interest in sport and the importance of the sport sector to the European economy.



There is a global labour market in the sports sector, which requires a Global Union response. The aim is to change the rules of the game to bring dignity and a seat at the table for professional sportspeople.