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FIFPRO, the world football players union, hosted an exchange on global collective bargaining practices in sport this week at their offices in Hoofdorp, the Netherlands. Moderated by UNI Sport PRO's, Walter Palmer, major player associations from around the world including the NFLPA, IRPA (world rugby players union), FICA (world professional cricketers union), the Japanese professional baseball players association and the regional federation of player unions in Europe, EU Athletes participated in the exchange. 

Jeffrey Kessler, who fought landmark cases which helped establish models of free agency for players in the National Football League (NFL) and the National Basketball Association (NBA) said, "What history has taught us is that there's no inconsistency between having a fair system for players and having a healthy sport. Quite the contrary."

"What we've seen is that when sports have given players more freedom and have compensated them better the entire sport has grown on the revenue side. The players and clubs can work together to build the sport much more easily in a fair system than in an unfair system."

"There are many alternatives that could be developed that would benefit the players and would not hurt the clubs but build the sport. On both sides the economics are important but you also have to consider the integrity of the sport."

Don Fehr, Executive Director of the National Hockey League Players' Association (NHLPA) also addressed the meeting. He brought with him decades of experience as a collective bargaining negotiator going back to his time with Major League Baseball Players' Association (MLBPA). He emphasised the need for transparency and a model that ensures the flow of money is always accounted for.

"In any sport you have to look at the particular dynamics and money flow otherwise you don't really understand what happens. While we use the same terms in the US, like free agency, they don't mean the same things between basketball, baseball, football and hockey. They're all sport specific."