May 9, 2022
EU Athletes is pleased to announce that the Social Dialogue in Europe for Professional (SDE Pro) Sports project has been approved and is set to officially start in June 2022 under the Support for Social Dialogue programme. In the course of this 2-year project, co-funded by the EU, EU Athletes will together with the European Association of Sport Employers (EASE) and the German Sport University of Cologne contribute to the development of social dialogue between employers and employees in professional sport in the EU.
As highlighted during the Covid-19 pandemic, social dialogue in professional sport is underdeveloped at EU level, and needs to be strengthened. Social dialogue is an essential element to good governance in the sport sector and an important tool for the development of professional sport. It enables the economic development of the sector on the one hand, and the protection of athletes on the other hand. Therefore, this project is expected to bring about positive change for EU Athletes members, particularly in regards to capacity building, organization, and the creation of new player associations.
The first phase of the project (2022-2023) will consist of mapping and highlighting positive aspects of the various collective agreements in place on national level around Europe. From this, the project partners will produce guides gathering good practices and relevant information for the implementation of social dialogue in professional sports at national level (2023-2024). The common work of the associations and organisations from various European countries will potentially also contribute to the development of social dialogue in professional sports at a European level. There is no such framework in place in the EU right now, but this project will encourage a reflection for the future.
On 28th of April 2022, the SDE Pro Sports project partners met on Teams for a first operational meeting. The upcoming kick-off meeting is to be held in July 2022, including the three partners and five members each from EU Athletes and EASE. Members will be invited to the meeting to share their knowledge and reflect on a common ground for social dialogue in Europe. They will also be brought into the project at later stages and enabled active participation throughout its duration.
More information about the project is available here.
Jan 28, 2022
The PROMobility project, coordinated by EU Athletes and financed by the EU under the ‘Exchanges and Mobility in Sport’ Preparatory Action, aims to develop cooperation in sport through job shadowing for the staff and volunteers at player associations in Europe and South Africa. Its goal is to improve the skills and knowledge base of key personnel at player associations, thereby enabling them to better support their athletes.
On 28th of January, the fifth and final Online Exchange took place as part of PROMobility, focusing on on Commercial development and marketing. Presentations were given on the topic by Iris Slappendel (The Cyclists Alliance), Eugene Henning and David de Villiers (My Players), and Ben Broster (Provale) – representing organisations with varying size, operation and experience. Subsequently, the participating organisations were divided into breakout rooms where they engaged in constructive discussions.
Previous Online Exchanges have dealt with Player recruitment and engagement, Response to the Covid-19 Pandemic, Communications and media, and Player development.
The project is henceforth entering into a much anticipated phase, as participating organisations will take part in job shadowing exchanges between March and September 2022.
Dec 3, 2021
Following the recent Resolution of the Council on the key features of a European Sport Model, EU Athletes takes note of an expressed need to ‘further explore and continue on-going discussions with all sport stakeholders on the key features of a European Sport Model by acknowledging the diversity of approaches and new developments across different types of sport…’.
We support this approach as we believe that emerging challenges related to the governance of sport should be addressed through dialogue, negotiations and multi-stakeholder initiatives. Therefore, EU Athletes remains committed to cooperating with the governments, European organisations and institutions, as well as the sport organisations, and making sure that the voice of the European athletes is properly taken into account in these discussions.
As previously stated in EU Athletes’ position, any model of sport that can be accepted in Europe must comply with the principles of good governance, rule of law and democracy, while respecting and promoting the human rights of athletes and other people involved. Furthermore, there cannot be any support for a model that disregards the views, rights and interests of professional and elite athletes as people and workers.
We reiterate that the freedom of association, defined as one of the key features of a European Sport Model, is a fundamental right of athletes. Athletes have a right to form or join an athlete association to defend and advance their interests, to be represented in the decision making by the people of their own choosing and to collectively negotiate the terms upon which they are involved in sport. It is essential to ensure that these rights of athletes are respected, protected and promoted by the Member States, the European Union and the sport organisations.
In any case, the concept of a ‘European Sport Model’ cannot be used as an excuse for sport organisations to claim special treatment’ or exemption from the application of national and European law, including EU competition law. Ensuring that the sport sector is sustainable and fit for future challenges requires setting clear limits to the autonomy and specificity of sport.
EU Athletes recognizes and supports a crucial role that the European governments and the European Union have to play in ensuring that sport is well governed, complies with the law and respects the fundamental rights of athletes and other stakeholders. We believe that these considerations need to be at the centre of the future inclusive and multi-stakeholder discussions on a European Sport Model.
For any further information, contact Paulina Tomczyk, EU Athletes General Secretary paulinatomczyk@euathletes.org
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