FIFPRO ENCOURAGES POLICY MAKERS TO STRENGTHEN PLAYER RIGHTS

Baer-Hoffmann said “it is critical that we do not only reflect upon how we can grow out of this crisis from a competition structure perspective but what bigger value systems are applied.

“Many of these the Council of Europe already stands for, such as solidarity and how we drive an inclusive and fair game. It is critical for our industry to identify better mechanisms to provide sustainable career paths for players across markets and how we deal with discrimination. This is still a massive problem. As we saw in the season before the coronavirus hit us, we had every weekend scandals of racial abuse of players in stadia.

“But it also concerns – and this is a critical element – labour relations. We have not been able to tackle this as a sport, and it is everybody's responsibility, ourselves included, that many players, male and female, are still working under conditions that are unacceptable and that do not comply with what we would consider decent and dignified employment for anybody working in this industry.”

Baer-Hoffmann was also asked to address the topic of sexual abuse within the football industry. FIFPRO, together with human rights organisations, has recently helped support women players in Afghanistan and Haiti. Federation executives in both countries received lifetime bans from FIFA.

In the second round table, discussing how different stakeholders can act to strengthen the protection of young players’ rights and better uphold their human development, Baer-Hoffmann talked about the position of minors in the transfer market and how the industry must ensure the rights of the child, protect children from human trafficking while providing sufficient opportunities for player mobility as long as safe conditions can be guaranteed.