Dec 14, 2013
EU Athletes applied for a project on Player Development Manager with the European Commission, the project have been accepted last week and will start early in 2014.
Dual career of athletes have always been a priority for EU Athletes members. Over the years our members have developed great programmes to help top elite athletes to transition after professional sport.
With the PDM project all the association will be able to compare the work they are doing and will facilitate exchanges between associations.
The funding from the European Commission, EU Athletes will organise two conferences, one in Brussels in February 2014 and an other one in Helsinki in November 2014.
Jean-François REYMOND, EU Athletes General secretary, quoted : “This PDM project will be a great opportunity for our members to compare best practices on transition of athletes. They will travel from to other player unions to see how they are working and how they can improve their day to day work. More importantly we are going to use the guidelines produced by the EU Expert Group on Dual Career, they could be a solid foundation for the work we are doing for our athletes. Last but not least, our cooperation with the other project on Dual Career of TASS, Guy Taylor and myself are looking forward to cooperate and exchange views on this issue”.
Dec 14, 2013
Gender equality in sport was a priority for EU Athletes members in 2013. For this reason, Yves Kummer was present in Vilnius for a conference organised by the European Commission.
EU Athletes members are also representing woman athletes. If the workers rights of men athletes are always questioned by federations, it’s even worst for women athletes.
EU Athletes President, Yves Kummer, brought this message to Vilnius the message, calling for the respect of fundamental rights of women athletes.
Recent example have shown that rights of women athletes are not often respected in case of salaries, pregnancy and androgynism.
EU Athletes is also looking forward for future EU funding on this issue to increase women representation within EU Athletes by helping women to set up atheltes associations or unions.
Dec 14, 2013
Monday 16th december (Brussels) EU athlete held is last board meeting of the year at the UNI Europa office.
The last board meeting of the year was the opportunity to welcome EU athletes new board member Athanasios PSARRAS elected during the last general assembly in Athens.
Athanasios PSARRAS quoted : “it’s a pleasure and a real honor for me to join the board of EU Athletes. With Greece taking the coming presidency of the European Union for the next 6 months it was important for PASAP to be represented in EU Athletes. I’m looking forward to 2014″.
This board meeting was also the occasion for members to officially take note of the departure of EU athletes policy officer in Brussels, Jonas Baer-Hofmann, who going to work full time for FIFPro as head of public affairs.
EU athletes president Yves Kummer stated : “having Jonas (Baer-Hoffmann) in Brussels full time helped us tremendously to develop our connections with the sport policy people around Brussels. For the past 4 years he has been a great asset of the association and we will definitely miss him. I’m glad that we will still be able to cooperate with him and FIFPRO closely on common issues, it’s important for all professional and elite athletes in Europe”.
The rest of the meeting was dedicated to the financial and administrative planing for 2014.
For the first time ever EU athletes will be running multiple project at the same time, two direct EU financed projects : “PROtect integrity” and starting January 1st 2014 “Player Development Manager” project, but also be partner in a project with EPAS and an other one with UNI EUROPA.
The next board meeting will be scheduled in March 2014.
Aug 16, 2013
UNI Europa Sport Pro and EU Athletes in the framework of their European Commission funded project “FOCUS ON ATHLETES” undertook a survey into the working conditions of professional athletes in European Basketball, Rugby, Ice Hockey and Handball.
– Executive Summary
The study examined the working conditions of professional sports players of ice hockey, rugby, handball and basketball. The findings raise a number of interesting issues about life in professional sports, the way players are treated, their attitudes to their career after sport, their health, their financial provisions and how these sports are organised in various European member states. What follows below is a snapshot of the key issues raised by professional players about their working life, which ought to serve as an action plan for the representatives of players, their clubs and the leagues in which they work.
– Players without a contract
Although the majority of players in the study have a formal contract with their club, there are still many who do not, raising issues such as security of employment and the application of employment legislation to protect their rights at work
– Late payment of wages
In a number of countries, regardless of the type of sport, many players complained about receiving their wages late each month. In too many cases players state that their wages are sometimes or always paid late and this is something that ought to be addressed.
– Lack of pension provisions
Many professional players have no pension, which raises doubts about individual players’ capacity to make adequate provisions for retirement. UNI Europa Sport, employers and player associations all must work to raise the awareness among young players of the importance of having a pension.
– Deficit of support from employers for education
While the evidence shows that sports players undertake some form of study while working as a professional, it is clear that players are not aware of educational opportunities for life beyond their career in sport. Furthermore, where players wish to participate in non-sport related training, too often their employer is unwilling to support them to prepare for a new career after they retire from sport. This lack of support by employers could threaten the sustainability of professional sports as younger players become reluctant to pursue this occupation due to the difficulties posed by beginning a new career once they retire from sport.
– Sport poses a high risk to health
The findings for all four sports in this study show that 63.2 per cent of sports players within the scope of the research feel that their professional poses a risk to their health. The responses from players across all four sports are littered with injuries – from broken bones, torn ligaments, concussion, injuries to the back and shoulders, damage to teeth to stress, general fatigue and sleeping problems.
– Low incidence of insurance against career ending injuries
Given the high number of days sports players are absent from work due to injury, it is surprising that less than a third of all players in the survey have a current insurance policy to protect them against a career ending injury (31.4%), suggesting there is a significant amount of work to carry out by the stakeholders to ensure this issue is addressed.
– Satisfaction with therapeutic support
Injured players rely upon the therapeutic support provided by their team’s doctors and therapists, however there are significant variations in the quality of support provided to injured players by their employer and these issue needs addressing.
– Low Quality of refereeing
One consistent complaint raised by players across all four sports was the apparent low quality of refereeing. The report contains suggestions for areas of improvement from players.
– Overwhelming support for sector wide collective agreement
Without doubt, the extent of support for the creation of an industry-wide collective agreement to regulate minimum standards for working time, wages, pension provisions and minimum insurance provisions was overwhelming among players from all countries and sports.
– High incidence of harassment and discrimination
The degree to which players have individually been subjected to acts of intimidation, bullying, harassment and discrimination were highlighted in the survey. The findings show that in all sports and across all countries professional players have been exposed to various unwanted physical acts, threats and bullying and discrimination on the grounds of ethnicity and age.
– Doping away from the workplace is considered an invasion of privacy
Players who have experienced being tested outside of their workplace are far more likely to consider this to constitute an invasion of their privacy than those who have not. The issue of privacy and testing therefore needs the attention of the European Commission and the social partners, to provide a methodology that ensures that players who do artificially enhance their performance in this way are caught, yet the process for doing so must rest within the boundaries of what is socially acceptable and must be designed with the issue of privacy at the centre.
– Increase in evening work
Although the research findings for the prevalence of Sunday work show similar trends to those in the previous study, there does appear to be an increase in the number of handball players working in the evenings in both Spain and France.
– Insufficient notice for changes to work schedule
Notice of changes to a player’s work schedule are often inadequate and the vast majority of players in all countries and sports examined regularly experience changes to their work schedule, many through notice measured in hours not days.
– Good work / life balance
The majority of players are satisfied that their working life fits in well with their wider commitments outside the workplace. Although, many players would prefer less matches in the season and more time off around the Christmas / New Year period.
– Low awareness of disciplinary rules
A significant number of players are not familiar with their league or club’s disciplinary rules, and those that are not usually haven’t been sent a copy of the relevant documents by their employer.
– Fines for misconduct
Players are often fined by their club as a disciplinary measure. While the value of the fine varies, many players often agree the level of their fine with their club. However, there do not appear to be any consistencies of this type of approach across specific sports or countries.
It is clear from the research that the perception of professional sports players among the general public is far from the reality of the majority of professional players. The research raises serious weaknesses in the regulation of employment in the sector and the negative effects this has on the working lives of professional players. While these issues are not insurmountable and, in some cases, relatively simple actions would deliver significant improvements to the lives of players, improvements of the kind required will require a multilateral approach, involving the European Commission and its institutions, player associations, employers and the bodies regulating the leagues of each sport across all member states. In addition, the absence of a social dialogue infrastructure within the sector presents a significant challenge to the stakeholders and therefore the role and influence of the European institutions will need to be maximised in order to create an awareness of the problems identified by the research, to bring employers into discussions with player associations and to create a framework for jointly constructed solutions. Thus, improving the working lives of professional sports players will only be possible with the commitment and support of the European Commission in the coming months. The necessary changes are feasible, but they require the commitment and full participation of the stakeholders and a genuine will on behalf of the European Commission.
PDF – final_syndex_sports_report
May 24, 2013
Berlin, 23 May 2013 – EU Athletes, the federation of player associations in Europe representing 25,000 athletes, completed today its three day seminar on education against match fixing. The seminar, which is part of multi-year program financed jointly by the European Commission and the European licensed online betting industry, highlighted the vital importance of all sectors working together to educate professional sportspeople about sports betting integrity.
Androulla Vassiliou, European Commissioner for sport, said:“Match-fixing is a complex problem with many sides to it. But one very important element that the European Commission focuses on in our efforts to tackle match-fixing is prevention. In this respect, educational programmes and awareness raising campaigns can have a significant impact by reaching those most at risk of being approached to fix matches – the athletes themselves. I therefore very much look forward to the results of the project lead by EU Athletes and the European online betting industry.”
EU Athletes three day tutor training seminar heard first-hand from the police, the online betting industry, and former athletes on how to behave properly in relation to sports and betting.
The seminar is part of a ground breaking co-financed campaign (see link) by the European Commission and the European licensed online betting industry that targets 15,000 athletes in 13 countries in more than 10 different sports (including football, rugby, basketball and handball). The educational campaign is based on 6 main principles:
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Know the rules of your sport relating to betting
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It is safest to never bet on your own sport
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Be careful about handling sensitive information
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Fixing any part of an event is an absolute No-No
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Report any approaches
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Fixers will be caught: Suspicious bets are monitored
Jean-François Reymond, Secretary General of EU Athletes, added: “Our education project is unique in its focus on face-to-face education delivered directly into the locker rooms by people the players know and trust. This personal touch is giving players the knowledge to make sure they don’t gamble with their careers.”
Maarten Haijer, Secretary General of the EGBA and co founder of this program said: “The EGBA is proud to be part of this campaign, which EGBA and the European Sports Security Association (ESSA) pioneered together with EU athletes back in 2010. Education is fundamental to combat the scourge of match fixing that hurts sports and operators alike.”
Clive Hawkswood, Chief Executive of the RGA added: “The Berlin seminar has demonstrated again the importance of player education and has thrown a light on what more might be achieved in the years to come by continued cooperation between the European Commission, betting operators, athletes associations and indeed anyone else who is committed to safeguarding the integrity of sports.”
END
Notes to Editors
The project will provide face-to-face education to 15,000 European elite level and youth athletes in 13 countries and at least 10 different sports. It has a total budget of €500,000 and will be co-financed by the European Commission, the EGBA, RGA and ESSA with respective contributions of 46%, 41%, 10%, and 3%.
Building upon best practice, the education campaign will be delivered by people the players trust and respect – their national sporting trade unions. The countries and sports targeted are listed below. For a full list of the associations seelink:
- Sweden (Ice Hockey, Basketball)
- France (Handball, Rugby, Cycling, Basketball, Football)
- Italy (Volleyball, Basketball, Rugby; Sky)
- Latvia (different sports)
- Spain (Indoor Football, Handball, Cycling)
- The Netherlands (Rugby, individual athletes, volleyball, Ice skating)
- Germany (Basketball, Handball)
- Lithuania (Basketball)
- Ireland (Gaelic sports, Rugby)
- United Kingdom (Football, Cricket, Rugby)
- Slovenia (Ice hockey, Football, Basketball and individual sports)
- Denmark (Handball)
- Greece (Volleyball)
The education will be supported by athlete friendly key messages on posters, wallet cards, social media and an upgraded internet site that will be accessible from smart phones and tablets
About EU Athletes
The European Elite Athletes Association is a federation of independent athletes associations from all over Europe with member associations from 15 European countries representing over 25,000 professional athletes. Among the sports represented are basketball, cricket, Gaelic sports, handball, ice hockey, rugby and volleyball. EU Athletes has member associations in for example Denmark, England, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Israel, Italy, the Netherlands, Scotland, Spain and Sweden.For more information, please visit http://www.euathletes.info/ or call General Secretary Jean-François Reymond +33 6 60861223
About ESSA
The European Sports Security Association (ESSA) was established in 2005 by the leading online sports book operators in Europe to monitor any irregular betting patterns or possible insider betting from within each sport. To achieve this goal ESSA implemented an early warning system between its members that highlights any suspicious betting activity. The Early Warning System allows ESSA to work with the sports regulators and their disciplinary and legal department, ensuring that when an alert is given the regulator is informed immediately which may prevent the possibility of any game manipulation on a given event.
So far, ESSA has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with FIFA, The FA, DFB, ATP, ITF, WTA and has established close relations with the IOC and many other sports regulators. ESSA members include: Betclic; Bet-at-Home; bwinparty; Digibet; Expekt; Goldbet; Interwetten; Ladbrokes; Paddy Power; Sportingbet; StanJames; Stanleybet, Unibet and William Hill and. For more information on ESSA please go to the ESSA website http://www.eu-ssa.org or contact Khalid Ali, Secretary General at +32 2256 7565
About EGBA
The EGBA is an association of leading European gaming and betting operators Bet-at-home.com, BetClic, bwinparty,Digibet, Expekt, and Unibet. EGBA is a Brussels-based non-profit association. It promotes the right of private gaming and betting operators that are regulated and licensed in one Member State to a fair market access throughout the European Union. Online gaming and betting is a fast growing market, but will remain for the next decades a limited part of the overall European gaming market in which the traditional land based offer is expected to grow from € 71.9 Billion GGR in 2010 to € 79 Billion GGR in 2015, thus keeping the lion’s share with 86% of the market. Source: H2 Gambling Capital, September 2011. For further information or comment please contact: Maarten Haijer +32 2 554 08 90
www.egba.eu
About the RGA
The RGA is the largest online gambling trade association in the world representing over 30 of the largest licensed and stock market-listed remote gambling operators and software providers (see www.rga.eu.com). The organisation provides the remote gambling industry with a single voice on all issues of importance to regulators, legislators, and key decision makers around the world. For further information, please contact Brian Wright +44 20 7831 2195
