Feb 4, 2018
The first staff meeting of EU Athletes-coordinated Erasmus+ project PROtect Integrity Plus has taken place at Provale’s office in Toulouse, France on the 26th of January 2018.
The project is a continuation of the succesful PROtect Integrity campaign against match-fixing, started back in 2010 in partnership with ESSA, EGBA and RGA. The new project, following on the need analysis and player feedback, aims to adapt and implement Red Button reporting app in 5 sports (basketball, futsal, handball, rugby, volleyball) in 7 European countries (Denmark, France, Greece, Italy, Ireland, Spain, UK) in order to make sure that athletes have a secure system available to report anything suspicious. Red Button was developped by JPY (Finish Football Players Association) and FIFPro, who will also be involved in the project to share their experiences. Project will also include academic research on reporting and the systsem’s efficiency, led by prof. David Forrest (University of Liverpool).
Next stage of the project is the Red Button Meeting, which will take place in Helsinki, Finland, and will prepare project partners for the project implementation at the national level.
Jan 25, 2018
Following the EU Athletes Board meeting on the 23rd of January in Amsterdam, Paulina Tomczyk has been appointed as the General Secretary. After a recruitment process that started in October 2017, the Board concluded that Paulina’s qualifications, experience within the organization and vision for the future of EU Athletes made her an ideal candidate for the role.
Announcing the decision Brandon Batson, the President of EU Athletes: said: “Through her extensive work within EU Athletes over past years, she has shown commitment and dedication for the cause we fight for. I am happy that Paulina will ensure the continuation of EU Athletes’ development while working for the benefit of athletes around the continent’.
Commenting on her new role as the General Secretary Paulina Tomczyk said: “I am honored to take on this position and I would like to thank the Board for their trust. I’m excited to work with our members and partners to further advance the player associations’ movement in Europe and making sure that the voice of athletes is being heard’.
Paulina Tomczyk is replacing Jean-François Reymond, General Secretary since 2013, who said: ‘I’m really pleased by the Board decision to advance Paulina in her new role. Over the last two years she helped us to gain momentum in Brussels advocating for the cause of working athletes. She was also a key element in the success of our recent Erasmus+ projects, PROtect Integrity and SWAFE. The future of the organisation is in good hands’.
Jan 24, 2018
The main goal of this association, registered in Spain, is to act as FIFA’s interlocutors for the development of women’s futsal. FIPA is formed by well-known international players such as Jozi Oliveira from Brazil, Shiori Nakajima from Japan and Lorena Rubio from Spain among others.
FIPA was constituted on the 15th of December, the main objective being to act as relevant partners and to work on the development of women’s futsal. The association is made up of international players such as Jozi Oliveira from Brazil, Shiori Nakajima from Japan, Lorena Rubio from Spain. The project also includes the President of the Spanish Women’s Futsal Association & Vice president of the European Elite Athletes Association Natalia Orive, the lawyer expert in sports laws, María José López González, as well as the President of the Spanish Men’s Futsal Association, Antonio García-Plata. This association wants to reach the maximum number of female players worldwide, knowing in what way their work is carried out and to promote women´s futsal at all levels women’s. Hence, different nationalities are represented on the Board of Directors.
Currently, this sport suffers from direct discrimination as there are no official competitions nor development programs for the inclusion and development of female football players in the field of futsal. Futsal modality is under FIFA´s protection: men´s futsal have their right to tournaments and official competitions, with the exception of women’s futsal. Recently there has been an Asian Cup and South American Cup Tournament “officially” but without information and promotion. A European Championship is foreseen for 2019 for the first time in the history created by UEFA, however at international level the approach and the strategy for futsal is unknown. There is no response from FIFA despite the serious consequences on women in futsal such as the lack of:
– Economic investment
– Visibility and promotion
– Professionalisation
Not being recognised is giving rise to nonexistent leagues, non-regulation of the competition schedule of existing leagues, causing tournaments in different continents to coincide, such as the Asia Cup, American Cup and 4 Nations Tournament. In these cases, players must choose between leaving their leagues to play with their national team or not play with their national team and therefore the regular league in which they are. And so, they are not considered as elite athletes by not competing officially, leading to precarious sport conditions and jobs.
FIPA is the only existing futsal organisation which is international. It was formed to facilitate the interlocution of federations of all continents and create delegations in every country The key role of this association belongs to the players: they decide which issues and needs are relevant in women´s futsal. Our main goal is that players are treated with respect and equality as professional athletes and that official female futsal competitions are recognised.
Email: fipafutsal@gmail.com
Twitter: @FipaFutsal
Contact: Natalia Orive, president FIPA +0034 647088925
Jan 16, 2018
EU Athletes is the European federation of player associations and sport trade unions in Europe (www.euathletes.org) representing more than 35 players associations in 13 different EU Member States. We are also affiliated to World Players Association, the international federation of player unions (www.uniglobalunion.org).
EU Athletes is an established stakeholder in the sport sector, cooperating with the European Union and Council of Europe institutions and bodies. Since 2013, we have implemented multiple EU-funded project on topics such as integrity in sport, dual career of athletes and gender equality.
Within the framework of our new Erasmus+ project, EU Athletes is looking for an intern to support the project team managing the project in the field of the fight against match-fixing and implementing various project activities. The work will consist also in daily communication and administrative tasks, as well advocacy and policy work in different areas.
The position will provide an excellent opportunity to gain work experience in the professional sport sector, working for independent organisation representing European athletes from different sports.
Duration of the internship: 5-6 months
Beginning of the internship: March-April 2018
Monthly compensation, with possibility to apply for Erasmus+ Mobility for Traineeships
Location of the internship: Brussels, with possible travel within the EU
Profile of the intern:
Student currently enrolled in master’s degree programme: management, administration of EU projects, political science or similar.
Skills:
Methodology of European projects management;
Excellent writing, summarizing and reporting;
Strong organization skills;
Computer skills;
Sociable, with strong communication and people skills;
Autonomy, mobility and flexibility;
Fluent English, knowledge of other European languages is a plus.
An interest in the professional sports environment is a plus, as well as a sensitivity in (sports) trade unionism and the rights of athletes. Finally, a reflection/knowledge on the impact of the Lisbon Treaty on the professional sports sector would be highly appreciated.
Interested candidates are kindly asked to send their application (CV and a short cover letter) before the 9th of February 2018. Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted for interviews, which will take place in February (in Brussels or via Skype).
Contact: Paulina TOMCZYK
paulinatomczyk@euathletes.org
Dec 14, 2017
WASHINGTON—The world’s leading player association executives—collectively representing more than 85,000 players and athletes—will announce a Universal Declaration of Player Rights (Declaration) on 14 December 2017 in Washington, D.C. The Declaration will address the persistent, systemic and long-standing violations of players’ fundamental rights throughout world sport. It is the first framework ever that explicitly articulates the internationally recognised human and labour rights of players across the world.
The unveiling of the Declaration will be part of a gathering of the world’s largest and most influential player associations. In attendance and available for interviews will be 30 of the world’s leading player union executives from a variety of sports including football, basketball, rugby, cricket, baseball and ice hockey:
- Brendan Schwab (Switzerland), Executive Director of the World Players Association
- DeMaurice Smith (United States), Executive Director of the NFLPA and World Players Executive Committee member
- Don Fehr (Canada), Executive Director of the National Hockey League Players Association (NHLPA) and President of the World Players Association
- Theo van Seggelen (The Netherlands), Secretary-General of FIFPro and World Players Vice President
- Paulina Tomczyk (Belgium), Secretary-General-elect of the European Elite Athletes Association
“The Declaration fills a glaring gap. In the rule books of world sport there are thousands of pages detailing onerous obligations, but not one that coherently spells out the internationally recognised human rights of the athletes,” said Brendan Schwab. “The result has been the widespread and sometimes tragic violation of the rights of the world’s players. The Declaration makes clear that the rights of players can no longer be ignored and athletes must be able to quickly access justice to ensure their fundamental rights are protected, respected and upheld.”
“Athletes around the world should not have to accept violations to their basic human and labor rights just because of their profession. We should want athletes to be involved and ready to stand for important issues in their community in the same way everyone should want athletes to have the same rights to fairness and safe working conditions of other workers. Unions are the only organizations to make this a reality and we are proud to host our brothers and sisters from across the world for this important meeting,” said DeMaurice Smith, Executive Director of the National Football League Players Association (NFLPA) and Executive Committee member of World Players.
In recent years, the need for the Declaration has become abundantly clear. Scandals have exposed corruption in international sport as well as rampant inequality, discrimination and abuse in professional and development leagues. The Declaration also builds on the more than 50 years of experience of generations of players who have organised through player associations so that they can increasingly access and pursue sport free of discrimination, in keeping with their fundamental human and labour rights and, where needed, have swift and effective access to justice.
The World Players Association brings together 85,000 players across professional sport through more than 100 player associations in over 60 countries. Major player associations belonging to World Players include:
- FIFPro, the world football players’ union
- the Federation of International Cricketers’ Associations (FICA)
- the International Rugby Players’ Association (IRPA)
- the European Elite Athletes’ Association (EU Athletes)
- the National Football League Players Association (NFLPA)
- the National Hockey League Players Association (NHLPA)
- the National Basketball Players Association (NBPA) and the Women’s National Basketball Players Association (WNBPA)
- the Japanese Professional Baseball Players Association (JPBPA)
- the Australian Athletes’ Alliance (AAA).
The World Players Association was formally established on 5 December 2014 an autonomous sector of UNI Global Union (UNI), who represents 20 million skills and service workers in 150 countries.
