People of the Union: Andrew Scott-Howman (New Zealand)

People of the Union puts the spotlight on individuals across FIFPRO’s member associations who are dedicated to improving the wellbeing of professional footballers in their country.

Andrew Scott-Howman, general counsel and founder of the New Zealand Professional Footballers Association (NZPFA), talks about his experiences in football, his initiatives on behalf of the union and his daily motivation.

FIFPRO: What is your current role and what is your background?

Andrew Scott-Howman: I'm an employment lawyer, and I started off by acting for the New Zealand men’s national rugby team, the All Blacks, because they wanted to establish their own player association. We succeeded in establishing a player association and negotiating a collective agreement for them. 

After I had achieved that, I got a call in 2003 from Theo van Seggelen, FIFPRO’s general secretary at the time, who said: “Are you the guy that established the rugby player association? We need you to do the same job for football players”. I told Theo he was crazy because I didn’t know anything about football, but we organised a meeting and together with Brendan Schwab [former FIFPRO board member and PFA Australia CEO] he convinced me. Once I established a union for rugby players, it was in my blood, and I was happy to start one for footballers as well.

What do you most enjoy about the work you do at the union?

There are two things. The first is that I enjoy working with athletes. My job as an employment lawyer can sometimes be boring. You tend to do the same things over and over. But when you meet athletes, they are extraordinary people who come from a totally different world. It is inspiring being able to work with them and help them out. 

The other thing that I find interesting is using the law in a way that's never been done before. I will give you an example. Right now, I am also working for Olympic athletes in New Zealand. I am trying to make them government employees as that would dramatically increase their conditions and pay. Some of them hardly make the average income. We went to court and we won that battle, but the government has filed an appeal and the hearing is in two weeks’ time. I am kind of breaking new ground and that is really exciting.

What issue affecting player welfare are you most passionate about?

I'm passionate about data, image rights and player property, because I believe that it is going to become the single most valuable product in the world of sport very quickly, and unless we act to protect it and make sure that our players are educated about it, we're going to see all of that value slip away from us. I am talking about the players’ image rights, biometric data, and on-the-field data. Once it’s established that this is the player’s property, then the player has to be paid in order for somebody to use that. Players should be rewarded for the use of their data. 

Can you share one of your proudest achievements working as a union representative?

This one is easy, and I have to start out by complimenting Sarah Gregorius [former New Zealand international and former NZPFA board member] because it was the two of us that worked for this. In 2018, we succeeded in getting equal terms and conditions for men’s and women’s national team footballers in our country. Sarah and I did the negotiations and I think only the Norwegian union had done this before. That's my proudest moment, and it wasn't easy.

I remember the breakthrough moment. We were sitting in the federation’s boardroom and one of their representatives was telling us how we were never going to get equal prize money because the women just weren't good enough. And until they performed better on the field, they didn't deserve to get prize money the same as the men did. 

Then Sarah started talking: "I am so tired of people like you. My whole life I've had someone like you in my face from when I was seven years old telling me don't play football because you're a girl. Everyone will laugh at you. To when I was 13 and I had to play with the boys because I was too good to play with the girls. To when I was 16 and I was told I wasn't allowed to play in the boys’ team because there was no changing room. I had to change at home and come to the ground in my kit while the boys could get changed there. All my life there's been some nitwit like you telling me I'm not half as good as I think I am. And now I'm confident enough to tell you, that you're not half as good as you think you are. It's time that you acknowledge that we're as good as any person". 

The FA representatives went away and then agreed to equal prize money that we still have today. It was an amazing moment.

If you could change something in football, what would it be?

I would like to be treated as an equal by FIFA and negotiate with them. Wouldn't it be wonderful if we had a collective agreement for the World Cup, so that every player, no matter what country they came from, had the same rights and the same revenue? It would mean that all countries that can't negotiate for themselves could actually benefit.  

Is there anyone in the union world or in sports in general who inspires you?

There are two people that I think of straight away: Brendan Schwab and Takuya Yamazaki [FIFPRO Asia/Oceania Chair]. Brendan was the first person to support me when I started the NZPFA. To this day, I enjoy spending time with him because he's always challenging me. He's always making sure that I've got the best deal I can possibly get. If he doesn't think I'm doing the right thing, he will tell me. Plus, he will also give you a book to read about someone that inspires him. 

I've got nothing but respect for Takuya Yamazaki. He is the most generous, most respectful and most encouraging friend to me. I was telling you about the work I'm doing with the Olympic athletes; he's been a real support of me doing that work.  

What is your favourite football memory to date?

New Zealand qualifying for the men’s 2010 World Cup in South Africa. It was the first time they qualified since 1982. It’s a remarkable story. We had to play our final qualifier at home against Bahrain. The FA wanted to host it in Auckland, but most players wanted to play in Wellington, also because eight of the All Whites played in Wellington. Auckland had never attracted more than 5,000 spectators. They wanted to play in Wellington before their home crowd and fill the 35,000-capacity stadium. Because all the players were members of the NZPFA, it was my job to get the game shifted to Wellington and to fill the stadium. I had to use all my legal skills to get the game shifted.

We succeeded in winning the game, going to the World Cup and setting a record crowd for football in New Zealand. It’s nothing short of a miracle and easily my best football memory.